Shvi’I Shel Pesach/Nachum Stone

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּאֶחָד שֶׁמֵּתָה אִשְׁתּוֹ וְהִנִּיחָה בֵּן לִינַק וְלֹא הָיָה לוֹ שְׂכַר מְנִיקָה לִיתֵּן, וְנַעֲשָׂה לוֹ נֵס וְנִפְתְּחוּ לוֹ דַּדִּין כִּשְׁנֵי דַּדֵּי אִשָּׁה וְהֵנִיק אֶת בְּנוֹ. אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: בֹּא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה גָּדוֹל אָדָם זֶה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה לוֹ נֵס כָּזֶה! אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: אַדְּרַבָּה כַּמָּה גָּרוּעַ אָדָם זֶה שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּנּוּ לוֹ סִדְרֵי בְרֵאשִׁית.

Masechet Shabbat, Page 53B, tells of a man whose wife died while she was still nursing their child and he could not afford to pay for a wet nurse. A miracle occurred and he grew two breasts so that he could nurse his son. Rav Yosef said “see what a great man he was that such a miracle happened to him”. To which Abaye replied: “see what an evil man he was that the order of creation was changed for him”.

Rav Yosef and Abaye disagree on the question if this miracle was to praise this man or not.

To Rav Yosef it was clear that he had earned great merits. On the other hand, Abaye claimed that the fact that he needed an obvious miracle, is a big disadvantage. If he had been a righteous person, his salvation would have come through a natural process, as a hidden miracle.

At the end of Pesach, Chag Hamatzot, we come to the special event of the splitting of the sea and Shirat Hayam. The splitting of the sea was the greatest (and possibly the only) obvious miracle in human history [Rambam, Moreh Nevochim, B29, Masechet Avot, 5:5, Asara Devarim, Radak, Bereshit 2:1].

I believe that we should not be discussing if this miracle was in Bnei Yisrael’s merit or not, just as Rav Yosef and Abaye discussed in the Gemara. It seems that the miracle of Yam Suf, and the revelation of the Shechina, with Bnei Yisrael walking through dry land and the Egyptians drowning in the returning waters, all were for the purpose of ויאמינו בה’ ובמשה עבדו – and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe his servant. They believed that only Hashem had taken them out of Egypt and that Moshe was his faithful servant, who only acted in Hashem’s service (the same can be said about Har Sinai, which states ובך יאמינו לעולם – and they will believe in You forever).

These miracles were performed for us, but not for our good. We have been given the opportunity on Pesach to take ourselves back to those days and to feel the reality of ויאמינו בהי ובמשה עבדו (Shemot, 14:31).

וַיַּ֨רְא יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַיָּ֣ד הַגְּדֹלָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֤ה ה’ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וַיִּֽירְא֥וּ הָעָ֖ם אֶת־ה’ וַיַּֽאֲמִ֙ינוּ֙ בַּֽה’ וּבְמֹשֶׁ֖ה עַבְדּֽוֹ׃

And Israel saw the great hand, which the Lord had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses, His servant

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יה’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י בָּ֣א אֵלֶיךָ֮ בְּעַ֣ב הֶֽעָנָן֒ בַּעֲב֞וּר יִשְׁמַ֤ע הָעָם֙ בְּדַבְּרִ֣י עִמָּ֔ךְ וְגַם־בְּךָ֖ יַאֲמִ֣ינוּ לְעוֹלָ֑ם וַיַּגֵּ֥ד מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם אֶל־ה’׃

And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of the cloud, in order that the people hear when I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever.” And Moses relayed the words of the people to the Lord