Krias Yam Suf, the Splitting of the Red Sea, left an indelible impression of faith in Hashem on the Jewish People. While they had witnessed varied miracles in Egypt, the miracles that accompanied Krias Yam Suf (Yalkut Meam Loaz enumerates fifty miracles) had a compelling effect on the Jewish spiritual mindset. Horav Asher Weiss, Shlita, relates the story of a father and his young son at the Seder table. The father was extolling the miracles connected with the Splitting of the Red Sea, when suddenly, his young, wise son interjected with a question. “Tell me, Father, why are we so impressed with the Splitting of the Red Sea? If Hashem created the sea – certainly He is able to split it in half!”
Although impressed with his son’s level of perception, the father maintained his composure and proceeded to answer the question with a parable. An expert sculptor once made an image of a horse that was so incredibly perfect and so lifelike that it was almost impossible to discern the difference between the sculpture and the real thing. The sculptor proceeded to take his sculpted horse outside where people could see and admire his work.
When a few days passed with no one stopping to admire his handiwork, the sculptor became anxious. How could anyone walk by his extraordinary piece of art and ignore it? How could they walk by without complimenting the brilliance of the sculptor? Unable to hold in his feelings, the sculptor stopped a passerby and asked, “Why have you not taken notice of the amazing horse that appears so realistic?” The man replied, “Exactly for the reason you mentioned. Since your sculpture looks so real, it does not capture anyone’s interest. The street is filled with horses. What is one more horse?”
The sculptor accepted the reason with some reservation. “If that is the case,” he thought out loud, “why did I spend so many hours of precious time to make such a brilliant sculpture? It looks so real. Yet, no one appreciates it. Why did I spend years in school and hours upon hours of practice to achieve a sculpture that no one appreciates?”
Hearing him muse out loud, a wise man who happened to be walking by, stopped and said, “Let me give you a bit of advice. Cut your horse in two parts and place the two halves next to one another. This image will certainly capture the attention of anyone walking by. Who would not want to see this ‘real’ occurrence of a horse cut into two parts?”
This is the idea which the father sought to convey to his son. If we would have the proper insight to be impressed by the wondrous creation of the sea and, indeed, all of nature, the synchronized daily miracles which we accept as natural, there would be no need for Hashem to split the sea. Since, however, we suffer from the disease of complacency, whereby we get used to seeing miracles, they become habit-forming. Since we are no longer aroused by nature, it was necessary to “get their attention” by splitting the sea, so that they be inspired by both the large and small miracles. Krias Yam Suf is an incredible miracle made necessary because we have become “spoiled” by miracles, thinking that we are entitled to them.
