The verse in Exodus 14:22 tells us, "The children of Israel came into the midst of the sea upon dry ground; and the waters were a wall for them to their right, and to their left.” But the Rabbis of the Midrash—ancient Jewish interpretations of the Bible—weren't always content with the simple reading. As we find in Shemot Rabbah 21, they asked a pointed question: if they were in the midst of the sea, why does it say they were on dry ground? And if it was dry ground, why were they in the midst of the sea? A good question, right?
The answer, according to this Midrash, is pretty powerful. The sea didn't split until they were really committed. Until they were in up to their noses! Only then, at the very last moment, did it become dry land for them. Talk about faith!
But the story gets even more vivid. Rabbi Nehorai paints a beautiful picture. He says that an Israelite woman, walking through the parted sea, might have had a crying baby in her arms. And what did she do? She simply reached out and plucked an apple or a pomegranate right from the wall of water to give to her child! Think about that for a moment. The miraculous nature of the event provided them with everything they needed, right there in the moment.
It reminds us of another verse, this one from Psalms 106:9: “He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.” The connection here is key. Just as in the wilderness, where God provided manna and water, in the depths of the sea, they lacked nothing. Moses himself says in Deuteronomy 2:7, “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.”
The Midrash takes this idea even further. Rabbi Shimon suggests that it wasn’t even necessary to ask for something. If someone merely thought of something in their heart, it would be provided! As Psalms 78:18 says, “They tried God in their hearts, asking food for their craving.” It's an incredible image of divine generosity and responsiveness.
But here's where it gets really interesting. The Midrash offers an alternative interpretation of "you have lacked nothing." It says that no davar was lacking in the world. Now, davar in Hebrew means "thing," but it can also mean "word." So, what was lacking? Repentance, or teshuvah. As it says in Hosea 14:3, “Take words [davar] with you and return to the Lord.”
So, while the Israelites may have lacked no material thing during their miraculous journey, they were perhaps missing something deeper: the willingness to turn back to God with sincere repentance. Even in the midst of miracles, the need for spiritual growth remains.
It makes you think, doesn't it? What are we lacking, even when we seem to have everything? And what walls need to part in our own lives for us to truly move forward?