Yohanan, Moses Parting the Sea
Moses, according to the story, stretched out his hand over the sea, & the Lord drove the sea back & the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground.
There is however, another interpretation of this event which comes from the ancient rabbis. When Moses lifted his staff, nothing happened. He tried again, & again… nothing. The sea didn’t move. The people renewed their cries of lament and desperation.
Then out of the crowd, comes one, identified by the Midrash as Nachshon ben Aminadav, a prince of the tribe of Judah. To the astonishment of the people gathered on the shores of the Sea, Nachshon jumps into the water.
He understood, as did no one else, not even Moses, why the Sea would not split. He understood that all of redemption to this point had been enacted by God – God had sent Moses to Pharaoh, and God had sent the plagues that shattered the arrogance of Pharaoh, and God had brought His people to the shores of the Sea. But now God waited…. waited to see if one of the Israelites would take into their own hands the task of redeeming the people. God waited to see if any one of the Israelites would be willing to risk themselves to bring freedom to their people.
Nachshon knew this, and so he jumped in, and waded out until the waters reached his waist. He waded out even further and the waters reached even higher. Finally, the water covered his nostrils. Only at that point, with Nachshon’s life in peril, did the Sea opened and the Israelites crossed in safety.
This story isn’t found in the Torah, but in numerous variations of rabbinic midrashim. As much as they loved the Torah’s Exodus story, something was missing. Missing was the human role in the process of redemption. The Rabbis believed that God only creates the conditions for the redemption of the world. If redemption is to come, someone must jump into the water. Someone visionary & brave must be willing to put life on the line & jump into the waters to bring us out of slavery. Only when one is willing to jump in, will redemption be ours.
