As Difficult as Splitting the Sea

A Roman matron asked Rabbi Yosi ben Halafta what G-d has been doing since the creation of the world. He responded that G-d sits on the Heavenly Throne and makes matches. She replied that she could do that, too. She had many slaves and in no time, she could match them all up. R’ Yosi answered, "Though this may seem easy for you to do, for G-d, it is as difficult as splitting the Red Sea."

That night, the Matron paired up a thousand couples. The next day, one slave had his head bashed, another had lost an eye, while a third hobbled because of a broken leg. When asked what happened, they each told her that they didn’t like their partner. Immediately, she summoned R’ Yosi and she said: "There is no G-d like your G-d, and your Torah is true, pleasing, and praiseworthy. You spoke wisely."

The biggest miracle in the Torah is the splitting of the Red Sea, discussed in this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach. Whenever the Talmud seeks to describe something that is extremely difficult for G‑d, it mentions this miracle. Two examples are arranging marriages and the task of providing a person’s food.

Obviously, no miracle is difficult for G‑d. How can we say that something is hard for G-d?

When the Jews were standing at the Red Sea, they divided themselves into four camps. One group wanted to kill each other, another thought of fighting the Egyptians, the third group prayed to G-d and the last group decided to surrender.

All four groups missed the point. G-d took them out of Egypt with a mission: They are to journey towards the land of Israel! They just need to do what they were told to do; to ignore any obstacles and let G-d do His part.

We see the same thing when two people get married. We worry if it’ll work out and how we can commit for life. Yet, G-d already chose your partner before you were even born. There’s no need to second guess the process.

The same is true for our livelihood. G-d already decided how much money you will earn. Don’t allow your judgment to get in the way.

All three things are hard for G-d. Not because the task is difficult, but because we get in His way. We just need a little more trust.

Shabbat Shalom!

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