It seems unnecessary for Moshe to have stretched out his hand across the waters in order to return the sea to its natural position. Once the purpose of the miracle had been fulfilled and its effect confirmed, would the waters not have “returned” to their original state on “their own”? Horav Mordechai Gifter, Shlita, derives a remarkable insight from this pasuk. We have become so accustomed to believing in the concept of “nature” that we fail to realize that teva, nature, is actually a neis, miracle. The natural order of creation and the functioning of the world has license to exist only as a result of the will of Hashem. When Hashem expressed His desire that the waters separate, that immediately became the new order of “nature.” Life doesn’t simply return to “business as usual” after the miracle has ended. In order for the waters to revert to their pre-miracle standard, another miracle was needed.It would not happen automatically. Indeed, it is our goal to be able to perceive the constant miracles in what we refer to as “routine” nature.
