In the traditional Hagaddah, we recount the ten plagues with which the Eternal strikes the people of Egypt. Then we read about the parting of sea so that the Israelites can escape Pharaoh. Following that, there is a curious section that begins with a quote from Rabbi Yose the Galilean. How does one derive that, after the ten plagues in Egypt, the Egyptians suffered fifty plagues at the Sea? Rabbi Yose proves this using a principle of Biblical interpretation, but the question is why would he want to do so? Why did the Egyptians suffer more at the parting of the sea greater than during the plagues of darkness or the turning of the Nile into blood?

Rabbi Yose does not give an answer, but there is a hint in a Rabbinic story about what happened immediately before the parting of the sea. According to this Midrash, when Moses cries out to the Eternal to save the people, God's response is, "What are you waiting for, start moving!" So the people begin walking into the sea. Nothing happens. When the water reaches their waists, nothing happens, their shoulders, still nothing. The water reaches their mouths and the people begin to swallow water, at that moment the waters part.

Rabbi Yose may have been alluding to the fact that unlike the 10 plagues, the miracle until the people do something first. In fact, the waters do not part until the Israelites had done everything humanly possible. The ten plagues were to teach the Egyptians a lesson about the cruelty they had imposed on Israel. This Rabbinic Midrash teaches that the sea was to test the faith of the Israelites. The miracle came in response to their faith. It is one thing for the Egyptians to suffer due to Divine power. There is no shame in being beaten by the power of the Universe. It is quite something else to suffer because of the faith of former slaves, the very people over whom they had exalted themselves.

The point of the Midrash is to teach us something important about ourselves. When faced with challenges, waiting is not an option. This is true about national challenges as well. We cannot wait for salvation to come from somewhere else, but each one of us must do all that is in our power to overcome the challenge. The real miracle is that we have the power to change destiny.

Kim, Evan, Seth Micah and I wish you a healthy and joyous Pesach.