The Sea That Argued With Moses and Fled Before God

"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove back the sea" (Exodus 14:21). The sea began to stand against Moses. He told a parable. To what is this like? To a king of flesh and blood who had two gardens, one within the other. He sold the inner one but did not sell the outer one. The buyer came to enter, but the keeper would not let him. He spoke to him in the name of the king, and he did not accept it; he showed him his ring, and he did not accept it. The king himself came along. When the keeper saw the king, he began to flee. He said to him, "Every day I was speaking to you in the king's name and you would not accept it. Now why are you fleeing?" He said to him, "It is not before you that I flee, but before the king I flee." So too, when Moses came and stood at the sea, he said to it by the word of the LORD, "Make, I pray, a way that the redeemed may pass over." The sea answered Moses, "Son of Amram, was not the first man created only at the end of the six days of creation? And I was created before he was created. I am greater than you. I will not be split before you." Moses reported before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Thus and thus the sea said." The Holy One said, "Master of the world, the sea is unwilling to be split before me; rather, say You by Your word and let it split." The Holy One said to Moses, "If I say to the sea, Be split, it will never have healing forever and ever. Rather, say you, and it will be split, so that it may have healing through you. Behold, the strength of My power is with you." At once Moses came, with the divine Power going at his right, as it is said, Who led them by the right hand of Moses, His glorious arm... who split the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name (Isaiah 63:12). When the sea saw the Power standing at Moses' right, it said to the earth, "Make tunnels for me, that I may enter into your hollows, before the Master of all works, blessed be He." When the sea saw it was fleeing before Him, Moses said, "Every day I spoke to you in the holy Name and you would not accept it; I showed you the staff and you would not accept it. Now what ails you, O sea, that you flee?" The sea answered, "Son of Amram, son of Amram, do not credit yourself overmuch. It is not before you that I flee, but before the Master of all works, that His name be sanctified in His world, as it is said, Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob (Psalms 114:7)." "And the LORD drove back the sea by a strong east wind" -- the strongest of the winds is the east wind. And so it says, He removed it with His harsh wind in the day of the east wind (Isaiah 27:8). And it says, The east wind, the wind of the LORD, will come up from the wilderness (Hosea 13:15). And so the Holy One exacts punishment from the wicked only with the east wind, as it is said, With an east wind I will scatter them (Jeremiah 18:17). "And He made the sea dry land." He made it like dry land. "And the waters were split." All the waters in the world were divided. From where do you say that the waters in the well, in the ditch, in the cave, in the pitcher, in the house, in the cup, and in the flask were divided? Because it is not written here "And the sea was split," but "And the waters were split" -- all the waters in the world were divided. Rabbi Nathan says: From where that the upper and lower waters were divided? As it is said, The waters saw You and trembled (Psalms 77:17) -- these are the upper waters; the deeps also quaked -- these are the lower waters. And it says, The deep gave forth its voice, it lifted its hands on high (Habakkuk 3:10). And when the sea returned, all the waters in the world returned. "And the waters were split." The Holy One, blessed be He, first dried the water for them, but the mud He did not dry. Israel began to say, "Water He can dry, but mud He cannot dry?" The Holy One said to them, "I have tested you and you have not stood the test. By rights, just as the Egyptians perished in the sea, so you deserve to perish from the world. But what shall I do? Behold, I will act for the sake of My great name that is called upon you," as it is written, They rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds (Psalms 106:7). At once the Holy One dried the mud for them.