## Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural

###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 1
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/1)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**II. The Divided Sea: Natural or Supernatural**
***THE CORE IDEA***
The splitting of the Sea of Reeds is engraved in Jewish memory. We mention it twice every day during the morning service. It was the ultimate miracle of the Exodus. But in what sense? If we listen carefully to the way the Torah describes it, we can distinguish two ways of looking at it.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 2
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/2)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
This first is the supernatural dimension of what happened. “The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left…. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen – the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left” (Shemot 14:22, 28–29). Water, which normally flows, stood upright. The sea parted to expose dry land. The laws of nature were suspended. Something happened for which there can be no scientific explanation.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 3
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/3)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
However, if we listen carefully, we can also hear a different note: “Then Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land” (Shemot 14:21). Here there is not a sudden change in the behaviour of water, with no apparent cause. God brings a wind that, in the course of several hours, drives the waters back.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 4
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/4)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Viewed from this perspective, the events that took place could be described as follows: The Israelites had arrived at the Sea of Reeds at a point at which it was shallow. Possibly, there was a ridge in the seabed, normally covered by water, but occasionally exposed – for example, when a fierce east wind blows.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 5
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/5)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
We have here two ways of seeing the same events: one natural, the other supernatural. The supernatural explanation – that the waters stood upright – is immensely powerful, and so it entered Jewish memory. But the natural explanation is no less compelling. To put it another way: a miracle is not necessarily something that suspends natural law. It is, rather, an event for which there may be a natural explanation, but which – happening when, where, and how it did – evokes wonder, such that even the most hardened sceptic senses that God has intervened in history. The weak are saved; those in danger, delivered.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 6
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/6)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**QUESTIONS TO PONDER**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 7
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/7)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*1. Which do you find more plausible: the natural explanation for the splitting of the Sea of Reeds or the supernatural explanation?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 8
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/8)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*2. If the splitting of the Sea of Reeds was caused by a fierce east wind, does this make it any less miraculous?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 9
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/9)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*3. In our age, where there are no perceptible supernatural miracles, do you still believe God intervenes in history and acts through nature? Can you give any examples?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 10
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/10)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***IT ONCE HAPPENED…***
*During Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 a famous miracle occurred in the Arizal’s synagogue in the holy city of Tzefat. The synagogue was full of people while the battle for the city was going on around them outside. During the tefilla, a bomb exploded just outside the synagogue, spraying debris everywhere, including into the synagogue. Miraculously, just as the worshippers by the* bima*bowed their heads for the blessing of Modim, a piece of metal flew directly above their heads, and lodged itself in the* bima*. Bowing their heads saved their lives. The hole it made can still be seen today, reminding visitors of this miracle, and the need to thank God.*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 11
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/11)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**QUESTIONS TO PONDER**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 12
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/12)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*1. This story describes this event as a miracle. Do you agree that it was miraculous? What aspect of it was a miracle?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 13
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/13)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*2. Can you think of any other stories from Israel’s history that you would consider a miracle?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 14
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/14)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***THINKING MORE DEEPLY***
There is an extra dimension to the second perspective to the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. “During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. The Egyptians said, ‘Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt’” (Shemot 14:24–25). The emphasis here is less on miracle than on irony. The great military assets of the Egyptians – making them almost invulnerable in their day – were their horses and chariots. These were Egypt’s speciality.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 15
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/15)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
In our second reading of these events, the wind that exposed the ridge in the bed of the sea led to dramatic events. Suddenly, the Israelites, travelling on foot, had an immense advantage over the Egyptian chariots that were pursuing them. Their wheels became stuck in the mud. The charioteers made ferocious efforts to free them, only to find that they quickly became mired again. The Egyptian army could neither advance nor retreat. So intent were they on the trapped wheels, and so reluctant were they to abandon their prized war machines, the chariots, that they failed to notice that the wind had dropped and the water was returning. By the time they realised what was happening, they were trapped. The ridge was now covered with sea water in either direction, and the island of dry land in the middle was shrinking by the minute. The mightiest army of the ancient world was defeated, and its warriors drowned, not by a superior army, not by human opposition at all, but by their own folly in being so focused on capturing the Israelites that they ignored the fact that they were driving into mud where their chariots could not go.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 16
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/16)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
The Egyptians’ strength proved to be their weakness. The weakness of the Israelites became their strength. On this reading, what was significant was less the supernatural than the moral dimension of what happened. God visits the sins on the sinners. He mocks those who mock Him. He showed the Egyptian army, which revelled in its might, that the weak were stronger than they. More significant than the miraculous or natural nature of these events is the moral message such an event conveys: that hubris is punished by nemesis; that the proud are humbled and the humble given pride; that there is justice in history, often hidden but sometimes gloriously revealed.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 17
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/17)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
This idea can be taken further. Emil Fackenheim has spoken of “epoch-making events” that transform the course of history. It is as if all normal perception fades away and we know that we are in the presence of something momentous, to which we sense we must remain faithful for the rest of our lives. It is through transformative events that we feel ourselves addressed, summoned, by something beyond history, breaking through into history. In this sense, the division of the Sea of Reeds was something other and deeper than a suspension of the laws of nature. It was the transformative moment at which the people “believed in the Lord and in Moshe His servant” (14:31) and called themselves “the people You acquired” (15:16).


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 18
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/18)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
The genius of the biblical narrative of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds is that it does not resolve the issue one way or another. It gives us both perspectives. To some, the miracle was the suspension of the laws of nature. To others, the fact that there was a naturalistic explanation did not make the event any less miraculous. That the Israelites should arrive at the sea precisely where the waters were unexpectedly shallow, that a strong east wind should blow when and how it did, and that the Egyptians’ greatest military asset should have proved their undoing – all these things were wonders, and we have never forgotten them.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 19
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/19)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***FROM THE THOUGHT OF RABBI SACKS***
The creation of the State of Israel was fraught with difficulty…. Yet it has achieved wondrous things.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 20
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/20)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Through it, Hebrew, the language of the Bible, was reborn as a living tongue. Jewish communities under threat have been rescued, including those like the Jews of Ethiopia who had little contact with other Jews for centuries. Jews have come to Israel from over a hundred countries, representing the entire lexicon of cultural diversity. A desolate landscape has bloomed again. Jerusalem has been rebuilt. The world of Torah scholarship, devastated by the Holocaust, has been revived and the sound of learning echoes throughout the land. Economically, politically, socially, and culturally, Israel’s achievements are unmatched by any country of its age and size. The Sages said that, at the crossing of the Red Sea, the simplest Jew saw miracles that the greatest of later prophets were not destined to see. That, surely, was the privilege of those who witnessed Israel’s rebirth and youth. The Messiah has not come. Israel is not yet at peace. The *Beit HaMikdash* has not been rebuilt. Our time is not yet redemption. Yet many, if not all, of the prayers of two thousand years have been answered.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 21
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/21)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***The Jonathan Sacks Haggada,* Pesaḥ and the Rebirth of Israel, page 67**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 22
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 22](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/22)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**QUESTIONS TO PONDER**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 23
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 23](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/23)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*1. Do you think the history of the State of Israel is miraculous?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 24
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 24](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/24)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*2. Do you find modern Jewish history strengthens or challenges your faith in God?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 25
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 25](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/25)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE***
Why do you think the Torah leaves room for understanding this miracle both supernaturally and naturally?


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 26
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 26](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/26)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Have you ever experienced a miracle in your life? What was it?


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 27
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 27](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/27)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Why do you think Rabbi Sacks describes the splitting of the Sea of Reeds as a “transformative moment” in history? What lessons could be learned from this event?


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 28
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 28](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/28)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**EDUCATIONAL COMPANION TO THE QUESTIONS**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 29
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 29](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/29)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***THE CORE IDEA***
Sometimes natural explanations for a phenomenon can be just as fantastical as supernatural explanations. The miraculous aspect in the natural explanation for this event is the timing and the impact that it had on history (namely on the Egyptians and the ramifications for the Israelites). Each in its way is inspiring and can lead to a strengthening of faith in God and His role in history.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 30
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 30](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/30)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Because of the impact the event had on the course of history, including the remarkable timing of the natural phenomenon to bring that effect, this event can be described as miraculous. Describing an event as a miracle is testifying to its divine orchestration, whether through supernatural or natural means.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 31
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 31](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/31)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
While this question asks for the reader to share their personal faith, the following quote from Rabbi Sacks’s book *A Letter in the Scroll* (p. ??), gives us a sense of his approach to this: “If we search for revelation in history, we will find it, more compellingly than anywhere else, in the history of that unusual people, our ancestors.” See also *From the Thought of Rabbi Sacks* for suggestions from modern Jewish history.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 32
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 32](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/32)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***IT ONCE HAPPENED…***
Those with strong faith will see the hand of God in all events. In this case, the timing of the event is key – that the explosion happened at the exact time the congregation was saying the *Modim* prayer and therefore bowing, so the shrapnel missed them and injury or death was avoided.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 33
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 33](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/33)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
So much of Israel’s history can be described as miraculous – whether that be because we believe it was the hand of God orchestrating events, or because much of Israel’s history seems not to be governed by the laws of rational logic. In the words of David Ben-Gurion: “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.”


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 34
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 34](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/34)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***FROM THE THOUGHT OF RABBI SACKS***
Rabbi Sacks describes the history of the State of Israel as miraculous, as seen in this text. When we say *Hallel* on Yom HaAtzma’ut to commemorate and celebrate Israel’s independence, we are testifying to our belief that the creation of the State of Israel is due to the hand of God. So much of modern Israeli history defies the laws of logic and rational explanation, but even if this were not true, one who believes that God acts in history will see God’s hand in history, and be comfortable explaining events from history as miraculous (even if not supernatural). For another thinker who directly sees the hand of God in modern Jewish history, see Rabbi J. D. Soloveitchik’s seminal essay “*Kol Dodi Dofek*.”


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 35
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 35](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/35)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
While this question asks for the reader to share their personal approach to history and faith, the following quote from Rabbi Sacks’s book *Radical Then, Radical Now* sums up his approach to this: “If we search for revelation in history, we will find it, more compellingly than anywhere else, in the history of that unusual people, our ancestors.” While there is clearly much in Jewish history that can challenge the faith that God is orchestrating Jewish history (because there have been so many dark periods in our history, including the Holocaust which is still in our recent national collective memory), Rabbi Sacks still finds Jewish history as a whole an inspiration for his faith in God and His role in history.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 36
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 36](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/36)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE***
Different people find inspiration from different places and in different ways. Perhaps this quintessential miracle is described in the Torah leaving room for both approaches to ensure it has maximum impact for its readers.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 37
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 37](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/37)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
There are three main dictionary definitions of the word “miracle”:


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 38
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 38](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/38)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause;


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 39
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 39](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/39)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God;


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 40
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 40](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/40)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
a wonder; marvel.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 41
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 41](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/41)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Only the first of these definitions involves a supernatural act. The second and third definitions allow us to use the word “miracle” to explain any event in history we believe is an act of God, even if through nature (and in fact the third definition even allows the use of the word “miracle” without any reference to God whatsoever). Encourage your children/students to consider this question in its broadest sense using all three definitions of the word “miracle” (there may be an inclination to only relate to supernatural miracles), and to consider events in their personal history as well as national and world history to answer this question.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 42
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Beshalach, II; The Divided Sea; Natural or Supernatural 42](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Beshalach,_II%3B%20The%20Divided%20Sea%3B%20Natural%20or%20Supernatural/r/42)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
It was a transformative event where the world finally understood God’s role and presence in history. The world understood that God will protect the weak and defeat those who have more faith in their own physical and military might than in a just God. He will defeat those who build their power on the back of the oppressed and weak. These are the messages of the Exodus story as a whole.