By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
ויולך ה’ את הים ברוח קדים (פרק יד פסוק כא)
Moshe raises his hand over the ים סוף and Hashem sends a powerful eastern wind
throughout the night to split the sea. The Ramban explains that the reason for this wind
is to provide the Egyptians with a logical explanation in the splitting of the sea. This way
they would persist in pursuing the Jews, ignoring the potential repercussions of running
into the sea. Had they recognized that it was a miracle from Hashem, they certainly
wouldn’t have placed themselves in such a vulnerable situation through which Hashem
could easily punish them. Even though the sea split into many parts and this could not
have happened naturally, their strong desire to harm the Jews overtook them and
blinded them to this “mere detail” of the miracle. We see how a person’s selfish desires
and urges can blind him to even the most obvious of Hashem’s messages to him.
והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם (פרק יד פסוק כב) בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה
The תורה describes how בני ישראל walked into the sea, which then turned into dry land
and the sea became walls for them on either side. A few פסוקים later there is a similar
description, but this time it says that they walked on the dry land- which was the sea,
and the water became walls for them. In the first פסוק it says “sea” first and in the
second it says “dry land” first. Additionally, in the first פסוק it says חומה (wall) with a “ו”
and in the second it says חמה without a “ו”. The ווילנא גאון explains that the תורה is
referring to two different groups. Some of כלל ישראל had full אמונה and jumped into the
water, which only afterwards became dry land. Others waited to see the dry land and
then they entered, they had less faith in Hashem. He also uses this to explain the
difference between חומה/חמה. The מדרש says that without a “ו” it can also be read with a
צירי under the “ח” which means anger. Hashem saved them but with a certain amount of
anger because they weren’t truly deserving of a נס. This refers to the second group who
were lacking in אמונה and therefore were only saved with חמה- anger.
