The פסוק at the onset of שירת הים says:
ויראו העם את ה’ ויאמינו בה’ ובמשה עבדו
Klal Yisrael at קריעת ים סוף gained אמונה in Hashem The Chofetz Chaim asks: The תורה in פרשת שמות states that after משה came with the announcement of the redemption
ויאמן העם
Klal Yisrael believed in Hashem. What then was added at קריעת ים סוף that the תורה repeats ‘ויאמינו בה?
Chazal say
ראתה שפחה על הים מה שלא ראה יחזקאל בן בוזי
By קריעת ים סוף every single member of כלל ישראל merited a tremendous גילוי שכינה, the likes of that even the great נביא יחזקאל, who witnessed מעשה מרכבה, wasn’t granted. So while in מצרים they already had אמונה in Hashem, that was only אמונה במח, at the level of the mind, understanding and believing in Hashem’s existence. But with the great revelation at the ים סוף, they reached a much higher level. The level of אמונה בלב, in which they actually felt the presence of Hashem. That is an entirely different level of belief.
בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות עצמו כאילו יצא ממצרים
It’s our obligation to attempt to reach that level of אמונה בלב, which is something we can all aspire to. And while we won’t see the קריעת ים סוף like כלל ישראל did at the time, we can still see the Hand of Hashem guiding us each and every day of our lives. The more we open our eyes to Hashem’s presence and kindness, the more we Daven to Him, and the more we acknowledge and thank Hashem for His kindness, the more our own אמונה will be strengthened. As the פסוק says
האמנתי כי אדבר
By seeking and speaking about Hashem’s constant kindness, we can strengthen and build up our own אמונה, and aspire to reach the great level of אמונה בלב.
We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point, told by famed speaker Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, in his own words.
” I was born in raised in a secular Jewish home, the younger brother of twin girls. We belonged to an Orthodox Shul, but only attended on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. At age 10, tired of being the only boy in the family, I decided to do something I’ve never tried before: Pray to G-d. One night, alone in my bed I spoke to Him. ‘G-d, please give me a brother. If You will, I promise to follow the Torah to the best of my ability. And to prove that You heard my prayer, please let him be born on my birthday.’ I concluded my heartfelt prayer and went to sleep. “
“Several months later, on a family holiday, my mother told us that she has a surprise announcement. ‘You’ll soon be having a new sibling!’ I screamed out loud ‘ It’s going to be a boy!’ Sure enough, just before my 11th birthday, my baby brother was born. Not sure how to proceed with my promise to Hashem, I let the matter slip from my mind. A year later, though, it was time to begin preparing for my Bar Mitzva. As required by the Shul, I had to schedule learning sessions with the Rabbi. It was then, for the 1st time in my life, that I was exposed to Torah learning and values. I remembered my promise and grew interested in Torah observance, slowly taking on more and more practices. One day, I related the story of my prayer and the birth of my brother to the Rabbi, and added ‘Although he wasn’t born exactly on my birthday, I’m sure it was Hashem answering my תפלה, albeit not exactly as I had asked for.’ The Rabbi replied that there’s something called a Hebrew Calender and that if Hashem wanted to give me a brother on my birthday, it’s likely that he would be born on that Birthday, not the secular one. He then proceeded to open up his 50 year calender book and look up the exact Hebrew dates of mine and my brother’s birthdays.”
“Both birthdays were exactly on the same day!”
Hashem’s kindness is indeed all around. It’s up to us to see it and appreciate it.
Weekly Parsha Shiur 