Krias Yam Suf - Splitting of the Red Sea

A Depiction of the Splitting of the Red Sea

The splitting of the Red Sea was a miraculous event that occurred on the 21st of Nissan (the seventh day of Pesach), 2448 (1312 BCE). It was part of the process of the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt. During this event, the waters of the Red Sea were split and stood like a wall, allowing the Children of Israel to escape from the Egyptians, who drowned in the sea after it closed back over them.

Details of the Event

After Pharaoh sent the Children of Israel out of Egypt, his heart was turned, and he decided to pursue them. Since Hashem changed the route of the Children of Israel on their journey to the Land of Israel, they found themselves being pursued by the Egyptians, with no ability to escape except by entering the sea.

The people of Israel were divided into four groups: "One said to fall into the sea, one said to return to Egypt, one said to wage war against them, and one said to cry out against them," but Moshe rejected all their suggestions. Nachshon ben Aminadav from the tribe of Yehuda jumped into the water with complete trust in Hashem that He would perform a miracle for them, and his entire tribe followed him. Because of his Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's name), his tribe merited to rule over the people of Israel, as described in the verses: "When Israel went out of Egypt... the sea saw and fled... Yehuda became His sanctuary, Israel His dominions."

Hashem commanded Moshe to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea, and through this the waters were split into 12 parts, one part for each tribe, and at that hour, all the waters in the world were split. The Children of Israel entered the sea, and after they exited (on the same side they entered), Hashem drowned the Egyptians in the sea, who had entered after the Jews. When the Jews saw the miracle that had occurred to them, they sang the song known as "Shirat HaYam" (Song of the Sea).

The Splitting of the Red Sea in Chassidus

In Chassidic teachings, the splitting of the Red Sea is an expression of a general spiritual matter that occurred during that period between the Exodus from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah. Therefore, we mention it every day in prayer. However, Chassidus rejects the idea that the splitting of the Red Sea was solely for the salvation of the Children of Israel, for Hashem has many ways to save them. Especially since the Children of Israel exited on the same side they entered.

Splitting of the Tzimtzum

The purpose of the Children of Israel leaving Egypt (apart from saving them from Egyptian slavery) was to receive the Torah. One of the main things that the giving of the Torah accomplished in the world was the annulment of the decree whereby the upper realms could not descend below and the lower realms could not ascend above - materiality could not connect with spirituality in an effective way, and at the giving of the Torah this decree was annulled. It began with Hashem descending upon Mount Sinai, and Moshe ascending to Hashem.

As preparation for the annulment of the decree and receiving the Torah, there was the splitting of the Red Sea. The sea is a metaphor for the sefirah of Malchut, which gathers within it all the lights and revelations of the Creator in the world of Atzilut – the world of Godliness, called from our perspective Alma D'iskasya (the hidden world), and prevents them from descending to the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah – the worlds of creation, called Alma D'isgalya (the revealed world). The splitting of the sea symbolizes the splitting of the tzimtzum (contraction) between the worlds.

The need to split the sea into 12 parts is because the 12 tribes in the world of Beriah are connected to the 12 diagonal boundaries in Atzilut, so when they connect, a connection is made in 12 ways.

Mode of Connection

Regarding the mode of connection between the lights of Atzilut and the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, there are two approaches:

According to the Zohar, the souls in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah ascended to the level of souls in Atzilut. This approach is based on the verse: "And the Children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea."

According to the Arizal, the connection of Atzilut with the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah was the opposite - souls in Atzilut were born and revealed in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. This approach aligns with the language of the verse: "He turned the sea into dry land."

However, in Chassidus it is explained that the point of both approaches is one. And that in truth both approaches are correct, and the connection is made in both ways.

"A Maidservant at the Sea Saw What Yechezkel Did Not See"

Our Sages say, "A maidservant at the sea saw what Yechezkel did not see," and "Even the embryos in their mothers' wombs sang at the sea."

The reason why everyone attained such a lofty divine revelation, and it was equal for all, is because unlike at the giving of the Torah, the flow that occurred at the splitting of the Red Sea was not according to the spiritual work of those receiving the revelation, and therefore there was no reason for the perception to differ from person to person.

The Splitting of the Euphrates River in the Future

In the Haftarah read on the last day of Pesach, the prophet foretells the events of the future: "And Hashem will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian Sea, and wave His hand over the River with His mighty wind, and strike it into seven streams, and make men tread it with shoes."

Just as on the way to receiving the Torah there needed to be a splitting of the tzimtzumim (contractions), so too in the future, in order to receive the new revelations, including the new level of Torah - "a new Torah," there will first be a splitting of the Euphrates River. There are several differences between the description of the splitting of the Red Sea and the splitting of the river in the future.

The main difference is that in the future a higher level will be drawn to us than what was at the giving of the Torah, when only the revealed Torah that was drawn from the world of Atzilut to the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah was revealed. In the future, the Torah will be revealed in the form of a revelation of the essence, and for this, the tzimtzum between the world of Atzilut and what is above Atzilut will also need to be split. This separation is a tzimtzum in the form of thought (whereas the sea is a tzimtzum in the form of speech), and a metaphor for thought is the river that flows constantly like thought.

The Four Groups

In Divine Service

The Rebbe explains that the four groups symbolize four levels in divine service: There are those who want to fall into the sea - Torah and holiness - and not engage with matters of this world. There are those who are willing to return to Egypt - and work in the world, but they consider victory over the world as discouraging, oppressive labor. And there are those who fight with Egypt - knowing that the power of holiness prevails over the world. And the best way is those who pray - they do not fight and use their talents, but rely completely on Hashem and His help.

On another occasion, the Rebbe explains that the four groups into which the Jewish people were divided on their way to receive the Torah represent four ways in which the Jewish people transform opposition to holiness, thereby bringing peace to the world - as the ultimate purpose of Torah:

Fall into the sea: Since Hashem commanded that the Jewish people are servants of Hashem and not servants of Egypt, there was an obligation to sacrifice one's life in order not to transgress Hashem's command. The way of peace in this approach is by weakening the power that the world's reality seems to have over the Jew.

Return to Egypt: This group did not agree that one should sacrifice one's life, since then Hashem's intention for them to be free people would not be fulfilled. Rather, they thought that Hashem's will was to return to Egypt in order to complete the command "and you shall empty out Egypt." The way of peace according to this approach is by transforming the opponent into a helper.

Make war with them: This group was concerned about fulfilling the purpose of receiving the Torah and therefore were ready to fall into the sea or return to Egypt, since the Egyptians were likely to enslave them again, and therefore believed that the solution was to fight and nullify Egypt's opposition to receiving the Torah. The way of peace in this manner is through war and nullifying the existence of the opponent.

Cry out against them: This group believed that in order to nullify the opponent, there is no need for war, but it is enough to pray to Hashem against them. The way of peace in this manner is by clinging to Hashem, who is beyond being relevant to any opposing reality.

The Song at the Sea

Opening of the Song by Moses

The Gemara presents three approaches to how the Song at the Sea was recited. One approach is that for everything Moses said, the Jews responded "I will sing to Hashem." A second approach is that everything Moses said, they repeated after him. A third approach is that Moses began the song, but the rest of the song was recited by everyone together.

The Rebbe explains the common element among these approaches: the song was opened by Moses in order for the Song at the Sea to be in complete unity among the Jewish people, and this was accomplished through Moses - the leader of the generation, who encompasses the entire generation within himself. And in this there are three ways: one way is that the people do not express their existence at all, and only respond "I will sing"; a second way is that the unity is apparent even within their own existence, when they themselves speak like Moses; and a third way is that the unity between Moses and Israel is evident when both say it together.

As the Or HaChaim describes: "That they would sing together without any aspect of change or separation until they were like one person even though they were many, and they intended together and did so and said 'I will sing' in the singular as if they were one person, for without this they would have said 'we will sing'."

Participation of the Women

In one particular aspect of the Song at the Sea, it appears that the joy among the women (led by Miriam the Prophetess) was greater than that of the men, in that specifically the women went out with drums and dances. The reason for this is because the women's suffering was also greater due to the decrees against their children in Egypt.

Nevertheless, it is still evident in the Song at the Sea that the main singing was done by the men, especially when comparing it to the Song of Deborah, where the main singer was a woman. The Rebbe learned from this that just as in the situation of the Jewish people in the desert - outside their homes - the main role belonged to the men, and only during the period when the Jewish people were in their homes in the Land of Israel did women have the primary role, so too should it be in every Jewish home: matters related to the outside belong to the husband, and matters related to the home belong to the wife.

Hint to the Resurrection of the Dead

At the beginning of the Song at the Sea it is written "Then Moses will sing," and the Gemara learned from the fact that it says "will sing" in future tense, proof that there will be resurrection of the dead.

The reason that the resurrection of the dead is hinted at specifically in the Song at the Sea is because at the time of the splitting of the Red Sea, a level of Hashem was revealed in which He was, is, and will be as one, and in the Song at the Sea was included the song of the future time of the resurrection of the dead.

Take Them Out Against Their Will

In the verse describing what happened after the splitting of the Red Sea, it is written "And Moses moved Israel from the Red Sea," and it is brought in the Midrash that Moses had to "take them out against their will."

The reason their journey from the Red Sea was considered against their will was because according to the understanding of the Children of Israel, they were obligated to remain in order to fulfill the command "and you shall empty Egypt," especially since this mitzvah was considered a "passing mitzvah" in Halachic terms, which overrides even the mitzvah of Torah study (and for them - the Giving of the Torah itself).

In Chassidus it is explained that within all the wealth of Egypt there were many sparks of holiness that needed refinement, and since the work of birurim (refinement) is an important principle in divine service, and it is the purpose of the creation of the world, to make a dwelling place for Hashem in the lower realms, therefore their abandonment of the work of refinement was contrary to their understanding of divine service, and consequently was considered by them as compulsory.

The Completeness of the Exodus from Egypt and a Foretaste of the Future Redemption

The escape of the Children of Israel from the Egyptians did not reach its completion until the splitting of the Red Sea when all Israel saw that Egypt "was dead on the seashore," and therefore it is written in the Tosefta that "one must mention the Exodus from Egypt... and the splitting of the Red Sea," and it is explained that the reason for this is because "the completion of the redemption was at the splitting of the Red Sea."

Nevertheless, the death of the Egyptians was a foretaste of what will happen in the redemption, when Hashem will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth. For this reason, prophecies related to the time of redemption and resurrection of the dead are mentioned in the Song of the Sea.

To such an extent did our Sages say that the Children of Israel in that generation were worthy that their redemption should be an eternal redemption, and only because they angered Hashem in the desert did they not merit this.

Something from Nothing

In the revealed Torah, the splitting of the Red Sea serves as an example of a "difficult thing," because it was a very great miracle. And although there was something similar in the creation of the world when Hashem said "Let the waters gather," nevertheless, at that time there was no change in the waters themselves but only a change in location, whereas in the splitting of the Red Sea, the waters themselves turned into dry land.

The Alter Rebbe's Explanation

In Shaar HaYichud V'haEmunah, the Alter Rebbe uses the splitting of the Red Sea as an example of creation ex nihilo (something from nothing), regarding the detail that every innovation requires the continuous presence of its innovator, as was the case in the splitting of the Red Sea, when the standing of the waters as a heap and a wall was accomplished by an "east wind all night," and if the wind had stopped, the waters would have returned to flowing according to their nature.

In the occurrence of the miracle - something from nothing - there were two stages: in the first stage, the waters "stood like a heap of liquids" - gathered and collected in one place, and in the second stage, the east wind effected an even greater miracle when the waters themselves became in their nature like a wall.

In explaining the need for an "east wind" after the nature of the waters had already changed to the nature of a wall, the Rebbe brings two explanations: According to the Ramban, it was to deceive the Egyptians into thinking that the waters were standing due to the wind. Another way is that within the east wind was clothed the power of the Ancient One of the world, by whose power this miracle and innovation was made.

However, the Alter Rebbe qualified his statement by saying that the creation of the world is a greater innovation of something from nothing than the splitting of the Red Sea. This qualification is explained in Chassidus in two ways: According to one explanation, since the very definition of the material of water does not necessitate that it be liquid, but this itself is something additional to the essence of water, therefore the standing of the water is not the creation of a new reality, but only a replacement for its previous nature. According to another explanation, the innovation in the splitting of the Red Sea is not so great because this nature of standing like a wall is not a completely new idea, but already exists in stones and walls.

See Also

• Seventh Day of Pesach
• Splitting of the River

Further Reading

• Siddur Im Dach Shaar Chag HaMatzos
• Hemshech VeHecherim 5631