Rabbi Chaim's Blog

 You might be surprised to learn that contrary to common belief, many Jewish sources claim, based on scriptures, that the Jews entered the sea, made a semicircle, and came out on the same side as they had entered!

This explains why in Hebrew it is called the splitting, not the crossing of the sea.

Why would G-d perform such an amazing miracle just so they can return to the same side?

Let me first share with you a story.

A mother once asked her son after returning home from Hebrew school what he had learned that day. The boy said “Mom, you will never believe what the rabbi had told us”. “Tell me anyways”, said the curious mother.  

Well, the rabbi said that when the Jews arrived at the sea and couldn’t continue any more, Moses ordered his men to build a bridge over the water and all the Jews crossed safely. When the chasing Egyptians followed and were exactly in middle of the bridge, Moses activated the bombs they have placed on the bridge before getting off and blew up the bridge. This is how the Jewish people were saved.

“This is impossible”, said the mother. “Did he really tell you that?”

“You see”, said the child. “If you don’t believe this story, you will surely never believe what he really told us”.

A known Talmudic principle says that G-d doesn’t perform miracles in vain. There must be a purpose it serves.  

Some commentators explain that the splitting of the sea was for the purpose of punishing the Egyptians, not only saving the Jews. But since that could’ve been done in many other ways, there must be some purpose with G-d specifically splitting the sea.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the splitting of the sea served as a preparation for the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. How?

In Jewish mysticism, the sea, which conceals everything it contains, represents the hidden dimension. Dry land is a metaphor for that which is revealed. At the splitting of the sea, when the sea was transformed into dry land, the divine energies that are normally hidden became openly revealed. This served as a preparation for the giving of the Torah, when we were given the power to reveal the inherent G-dliness in our physical world through the performance of Mitzvot.

So next time you see any physical object try to “split” it so you can find the G-dly potential that is hidden within it.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Chaim Greisman

Today, January 27, marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Events around the world honor and commemorate the memory of the holy victims, and serve as a reminder to humanity of the horrors anti-Semitism and religious intolerance can lead to.  

Remembering the past is important. Governments and other authorities must do their utmost in combatting any sign of religious and racial hate. As Jews, we must ask ourselves: what are we doing today, on a personal level, for a brighter tomorrow?

Last week I visited Germany for the first time in my life. I spent an evening with my cousin, the Chabad rabbi in Hannover, as they were beginning to write a new Torah Scroll in the presence of hundredths of Jews, as well as Israel’s chief Rabbi, Yona Metzger.

The next day I attended the coronation ceremony of my friend Shlomo Bistritzky as the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Hamburg. In early 1976, The Lubavitcher Rebbe sent both of our parents to settle in Safed, Israel, so we have known each other since we were small children. From 2003, Shlomo and his wife serve as the Chabad emissaries to Hamburg.

Rabbi Bistritzky's grandfather, Leibel, a Hamburg native, was forced to flee his hometown in 1937 at the age of 9. Last week he was back in Hamburg to witness his grandson assume spiritual leadership of the city he escaped. His great-granddaughter now attends the Talmud Torah he went to as a child and studies Torah in the same classroom in which he studied. What better revenge can we take of the Nazis, to have Jewish life flourishing in the same place they wished to make Judenrein.  

Hitler, Pharaoh, Haman and many others tried eradicating the Jewish people from the face of earth. The best way to make sure they are defeated is to ensure that we, our children and grandchildren will be proud and active Jews. The more Jewish we are, the greater the victory.

Am Israel Chai!