Mitzraim, the nation that bragged that no
slave had ever escaped their land, stood by helplessly as the Chosen nation
triumphantly left. The Jewish people, now some 3 million strong, marched
through the desert surrounded on all sides by clouds that protected them,
led by a pillar of cloud that lit up the night as if it was day.
Yet even at this moment, Pharaoh sent
spies along to follow them. After three days, his agents reported back that
the Jews had veered off course. Pharaoh called out to his people, “Let us
reclaim that which is ours,” and he led them in pursuit.
When the Mitzrim arrived on the scene, the
Jews were camped out against the Yam Suf. With the sea against them and no
place to move, it seemed certain that the Mitzrim would recapture them. At
that moment, the cloud of fire that led the Jews moved to the back of the
camp and separated the Mitzrim from the Jews. That entire night, both camps
stood in their places separated by the clouds of glory.
The Ramban tells us that an eastern wind
began to blow - this was the wind that split the sea. At first it made small
indentations in the sea, but as the night wore on, the wind became stronger
and those small indents grew in size and depth until the sea itself was
split into 12 distinct pathways - ready for each Shevet to cross in its own
channel.
Why split it with an Eastern wind?
The Ramban explains that HASHEM split the
sea with an eastern wind “so that it would appear as if the wind split the
sea into partitions.”
How could the Mitzrim possibly
believe the wind split the sea?
This concept is very difficult to
understand. How could the Mitzrim possibly think that it was the wind that
split the sea? In fact the Ramban himself says, “even though the wind
doesn’t split the sea into partitions.”
Understanding free will
The answer to this question seems to be
predicated upon understanding the concept of free will. Free will doesn’t
mean a theoretical ability to do good or bad - rather a
practical ability - where either side is possible.
As an illustration: Do I have free will to
put my hand in a fire? In theory I do. I could do it. But I never would. It
is damaging to me, and so while in theory I have free will to do it,
on a practical level I don’t.
Creating man
Chazal tell us that HASHEM created man to
give him the opportunity to shape himself into what he would be for
eternity. That molding of the person is accomplished by choosing that which
is good and proper and avoiding that which is wrong and evil. By making
these choices, man is given the ability to form himself.
To give man an even playing field, HASHEM
put the Sechel -that pure, brilliant part of me - and inserted it into a
body filled with drives, passions, and hungers, and He integrated the two.
Now I don’t want only what is good and proper and noble. I also desire
things; I hunger for many things. So my choice of doing only that which is
good is now not so simple.
However, if HASHEM created man only out of
these two parts, the Sechel and the guf,
the purpose of creation would never have been met. The wisdom of man is so
great that it would be almost impossible for him to sin. Since every sin
damages me and every mitzvah makes me into a bigger, better person, my
natural intelligence wouldn’t allow me to sin, no matter how tempted I might
be. I would clearly recognize it as damaging to me. Much like putting my
hand into a fire, in theory I would have free will to do it, but on a
practical level, I wouldn’t.
Imagination – its role and function
Therefore, HASHEM added one more component
to the human: imagination, the creative ability to form a mental
picture and sense it so vividly, so graphically that it is as if it is real.
Ask anyone who has ever cried over a novel whether imagination isn’t a
powerful force.
Now armed with imagination, man can create
fanciful worlds at his will, and actually believe them. If man wishes to
turn to evil, he can create rationales to make these ways sound noble and
proper- at least enough to fool himself. If he wishes he can do what is
right, or if he wishes, he can turn to wickedness, and even his brilliant
intellect won’t prevent him - because he is now capable of creating entire
philosophies that explain how the behavior he desires is righteous, correct
and appropriate. Now man has free will.
People believe what they want to
believe
The reality is that people don’t believe
that which is factual, proven and true - they believe what they want to
believe. And while there are countless examples of this, one of the greatest
manifestations is the Mitzrim following the Jews into the Yam.
Despite living through the Makkos, despite
seeing the Yam split into sections, they didn’t believe it was a miracle.
They attributed it to the wind because that is what they wanted to believe.
Understanding this can help us relate to
the real challenge of belief - honesty. There are many reasons why a person
won’t want to accept what his mind tells him is true. He has to be able to
put away all other issues and focus on this one question: what do I think is
the truth? Forget the consequences. Forget my agenda. Is there a Creator of
this world? Logic will bring them to see the hand of God. However, if he
isn’t honest, then nothing in the world will convince him, not the greatest
miracles, not even the splitting of the Yam Suf itself.
For more on this topic please listen to Shmuz
#18
People Believe what they want to believe
