Transparency

For years, I have studied the Pesach Haggadah in depth and have puzzled over a question that seems to be an obvious one to me. We discuss how one must talk about the Exodus from Egypt and its associated miracles. Yet, there were far more miracles at the crossing of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds, not “Red” Sea). There is a Mishnah in Pirkei Avos that talks about the ten miracles at the sea, yet the majority of the Haggadah and our Seder discussions are regarding the plagues in Egypt. We do not read much about what happened during the actual Exodus, when we crossed through the sea. Although we make some references to the Yam Suf events, we don’t discuss them or elaborate on them. So, how are we fulfilling the obligation of “kol hamesaper b’yetzias Mitzrayim” if we leave out this discussion? I confess that at my own Pesach Seder, I do talk about the miracles of the Exodus and the crossing of the Yam Suf.

There’s a Midrash that helps us out. The Midrash actually outlines the miracles that took place at the crossing of the sea. The fact that we made it through the parted waters is miraculous on numerous levels. The Midrash tells us that more wonders happened. I want to discuss one of them in particular. Imagine hundreds of thousands of freed slaves being pursued by their hostile, vengeful enemies. Chariots and warriors converged on the fleeing Jewish throngs, leaving us with nowhere to run. To the left: armies. To the right: armies. Behind us: armies. Before us: a raging sea. We jumped in and the sea parted. All twelve tribes formed lines and families worked hard to stay together. By the laws of nature, they would either die together or survive together, tribe by tribe, family by family.

The waters miraculously parted. Twelve tunnels appeared, forming channels beneath and amidst the receding waves. One by one, each tribe found its tunnel and marched forward. A tunnel for the tribe of Reuven, a tunnel for Shimon, one for Levi, and so on. But then, as the people of each tribe filed through the tunnel, another miracle occurred. Sea water can appear green or blue. It is never “red,” hence the true name of the sea is the Reed Sea, not Red Sea. In reality, the sea’s water is clear. Take a bucket and check the next time you are at the ocean. The water is really the color of water. The sky’s reflection has much to do with the appearance of the azure color of the ocean. Notice that on a cloudless day, the ocean looks blue and on a cloudy day, it is grayer. One of the miracles at the sea was that those tunnels were formed by frozen sea water, which meant that the tunnel walls were like crystal. People could see through the tunnels into the other tunnels.

As I thought about this, I realized that the miracle within that miracle was that every tribe, while clinging to their own family, could see the other tribes marching through their own tunnel, parallel with each other. In this manner, no one was worried that they were separated from each other, never to see each other again. I thought about the images of the Holocaust and the evil ones who sent the Jews to the gas chambers, slave labor, or other horrors. I thought about the shock and terror as each group of Jews saw another group disappearing into different lines, never to be seen again. The trauma associated with isolation and separation is terrifying. Think back to your own childhood when you were suddenly alone, lost, unable to find your parents. The tears that flowed, the panic that erupted, the horror of desertion, all of that was devastating. The miracle at the Yam Suf was that even though each tribe was separated by their separate tunnels, they had the reassurance of seeing their brothers passing through their own tunnel to safety. And at the end of the ice channel, we would be reunited with our fellow tribes once again.

I share this thought at my own Pesach Seder. It is one way to focus on the theme of telling the wonders of the Exodus, not only the plagues. It is also a wondrous metaphor for Jewish unity. We have our various factions and we march along our respective channels and tunnels. What matters is that we notice each other and at the end of the journey, we want our fellow Jews to make it through too. What matters is that we look forward to being reunited as one nation at the end of this long galus the way we were reunited all those years ago. May the geulah be easier for us than kriyas Yam Suf! 

Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox is a forensic and clinical psychologist, and director of Chai Lifeline Crisis Services. To contact Chai Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis helpline, call 855-3-CRISIS or email [email protected]. Learn more at ChaiLifeline.org/crisis.