Reply To: Short & Sweet

Bishalach: Up To You

When Bnei Yisroel found themselves chased by Pharoh’s army and backed up against the sea, they did what seemed to be the right thing – they Davened to Hashem.

And yet, Hashem was not pleased by this response. מה תצעק אלי, דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, why are you calling out to me? Tell Bnei Yisroel to keep going, right into the water. Rashi puts an even stronger emphasis on this point: עלי הדבר תלי ולא עליך, is this matter mine to deal with and not yours?

It seems that unlike the Ten Makkos, there was an element of a nisayon in Kiras Yam Suf. By the ten Makkos, all Bnei Yisroel had to do was to sit back and watch the show. But that was not the case by Krias Yan Suf. This time, we had a job to do. The miracle of Krias Yam Suf would not begin until we did something to show that we believed Hashem would keep his word.

To sit back and passively absorb a lesson, even a lesson as great as the ten Makkos, can only have a limited effect on a person. But when a person decides to act on their own convictions, that becomes a part of who they are. By forcing Bnei Yisroel to make the first move before Krias Yam Suf began, Hashem was giving us an opportunity to not just think about our ideals, but to actually live them.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום