Rabbi Howard Morrison

Here is the scene - The Israelites have approached the banks of the Sea of Reeds. A stormy sea awaits them, and the Egyptians are pursing them. There is no sign of a miracle at this point.

An ancient Midrashic interpretation based on Biblical verses suggests that the Israelites were divided into four camps: Let us throw ourselves into the sea; Let us return to Egypt; Let us fight them; Let us cry out against them."

In the Torah text, God instructs Moses, "Speak to the Israelites that they should move forward." The text is then silent on the matter.

In the Midrash, an unknown Israelite at the time, Nachshon ben Aminadav, jumped into the sea. He was in the process of drowning as the water reached his nose. Then, the sea was miraculously split. All of the Israelites followed and walked through the sea on dry land.

Not a leader, but an unknown Israelite who believed in God, took the plunge. He demonstrated not only a leap of faith but also a leap of action. His behavior united what had been a divided and diverse people.

Another Midrash raises the question - How could all of these many thousands of people have emerged together on the same spot of dry land? Each tribe was united in the midst of the sea in a transparent vault. Thus, each tribe saw where it was in relation to the other tribes so that they could emerge as one. This is another instance where a diversity of tribes truly became one nation.

The famous song of deliverance, recited in daily morning prayer, has Moses and the children of Israel singing as "one," given that the verb for "sang" is in the third person singular.

Men and women are also united as one, given that Moses initiated the song with the children, perhaps, the men of Israel. At the end of the song, Miriam unites all of the women in song and dance with instruments.

From the text and commentaries, we witness a fragmented people uniting in common purpose. With all the challenges facing Israel and the Jewish people these days, may the unity of our contemporary common purpose be our lesson, one learned from this week's Torah portion.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison