One miraculous occurrence followed another; is there a relationship between the two? Chazal seem to think so. They say in the Talmud Pesachim 118a: “A man’s sustenance is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea.” Simply, put, providing man with sustenance is as great a feat as Krias Yam Suf. The Zohar Ha’kadosh questions Chazal’s statement. Is there any act that is difficult for Hashem to perform? Was Krias Yam Suf difficult for Hashem? Is it difficult for Hashem to sustain a person?
A number of explanations address this Chazal. The Chozeh M’Lublin, z”l, suggests a profound insight. Chazal are not focusing their observation upon Hashem. They are, rather, speaking to man concerning which path to take when life becomes more demanding. Earning a living is — by any standard — a complex endeavor. It demands great fortitude and commitment. It requires determination, resolution, and — most importantly — faith in the Almighty. What does one do when the situation is bleak, when prospects for success are — at best — limited, when every way one turns the door to success “seems” closed?
Chazal’s message is to follow the lesson of Krias Yam Suf. The Jews were trapped. They could either look forward to dying at the hand of the Egyptians or to drowning in the Red Sea. What could they do? They had no other choice but to be boteach b’Hashem, trust in the Almighty. They turned to Him in the hope that He would spare them. With this hope and trust, they entered the threatening waters of the Red Sea to be saved by Hashem. Likewise, when we are faced with the challenge of parnassah, livelihood, trusting humans is ineffectual. Absorbing one’s mind – and even soul – in the anxiety that accompanies the quest for parnassah is wasteful and detrimental to one’s physical and spiritual health. Only one approach will achieve success — bitachon, true trust in Hashem. If one truly believes that Hashem will help him, He will.
Horav Simcha Bunim, z”l, M’Peshischa gives a similar response with a slightly different twist. At the Yam Suf, the Jews had no idea how they would be rescued. In fact, the splitting of the Red Sea was probably the last thing they expected to happen. With regard to parnassah, Hashem sends salvation from a source that, for the most part, is unheralded. We have no idea from where Hashem will bring about our sustenance. We have only to trust that He will.
