On Shevi’i Shel Pesach (the Seventh Day of Passover), we commemorate the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf (the Parting of the Sea of Reeds). While numerous Midrashim and Torah commentators describe the various miracles that occurred for our ancestors at the moment they walked through the sea, one in particular stands out. Upon seeing the sea split and the subsequent destruction of the Egyptians, the Torah tells us, “And Israel saw the Great Hand, which the Lord had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moshe, His servant” (Shemot 14:31). Why is this a miracle?

According to Rav Yosef Soloveitchik, “In Egypt, God did miracles with a ‘Mighty Hand’ (Yad Chazakah). Why the change in terminology to ‘Great Hand’, (Yad HaGedolah)? The person who witnesses a ‘Mighty Hand’ does not necessarily become greater through the experience. However, through a ‘Great Hand’ the witness himself becomes a greater person. In Egypt, the people did not understand the full significance of the Exodus: they experienced the physical liberation, but the spiritual significance of the event was lost on them…Only at the Red Sea did they see God’s Hand; the Children of Israel experienced prophecy (see Rashi on 15:2). Believing in God and in Moshe His servant, they recognized fully the spiritual significance of the Exodus” (Chomesh Mesurat HaRav, Shemot 14:31). 

This was the hidden miracle of Yam Suf – the people recognized their greatness by seeing the Great Hand of God. All throughout their time in Egypt, they saw God punishing the Egyptians with a Mighty Hand. But that, says the Rav, didn’t really change them or inspire them to realize the greatness of their own spiritual potential, which is what the Exodus was supposed to evince. However, upon seeing the Great Hand of God at the sea, every Jew felt inwardly transformed, they connected with God and with Moshe on a wholly new and different spiritual level, and could refocus their entire experience in Egypt through a spiritual lens. Every Jew could see how important they were, that God wanted a personal relationship with them, and that they could all aspire to levels of spiritual greatness yet unknown. Hence, they all attained prophecy at that moment. 

Our relationships with God should not be based on “seeing what God can do for us,” on how God acts with a Mighty Hand in the world. Rather, we should be constantly striving to see the Great Hand of God, which is revealed to His people to show them that just as He is great, so too are they, and in this way, every Jew can seek to emulate the greatness of God, to walk in His ways and to resemble Him in His kind and loving attributes. 

May the last days of Pesach transform us from a band of oppressed people seeking physical liberation into a noble nation seeking to fulfill its spiritual destiny. Just as God revealed His greatness to us at the Sea of Reeds, now that we have been changed, it is incumbent upon every Jew to reveal that greatness to others, so that they may too feel connected to the Boreh Olam and strive to attain spiritual greatness, bringing about the redemption of us all. 

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Kasher v'Sameach!

  -Rabbi Dan