The Twelve Tunnels

It is axiomatic in Judaism that a community is considerably more than the sum total of its components. There is a special holiness that is introduced into a community that is infinitely greater than the any of its parts. For example, a minyan, is much more than just a collection of ten people in one room. It is a completely new entity with its own identity that provides us with the opportunity to recite special prayers such as the Kadish. BESHALLACH BESHALLACH

Was it a Necessary Miracle?

When the Jewish people crossed the Reed Sea, our Sages inform us the sea split into twelve different channels; one for each of the twelve tribes.

One is entitled to ask, why?

Why did G-d perform this incredible, but apparently unnecessary miracle? There is a well-known principle that G-d does not perform useless miracles. Every miracle that occurred at the time of the Exodus was necessary to either save the Jewish people or to teach then and the Egyptians valuable lessons. But what lesson can we derive from the fact that each tribe had its own tunnel?

Furthermore, the Torah always seeks to emphasize the ideal of Jewish unity. The need to express this unity appeared to have been even greater at this juncture, considering the fact that the Egyptians exhibited unprecedented unity in their pursuit of the Jewish people, as is indicated by the BESHALLACH singular usage of the words “and Egypt traveled (no’say’a) after them, “ instead of the plural “and Egypt traveled (nos’im) after them.” To counter the single minded hostility for the Israelites should G-d not have removed the barriers between tribes, not cement them?

Upon deeper reflection, however, we will realize that the differences between tribes was crucial, particularly at that time that marked the genesis of the Jewish nation. What occurred then set the tone for the future of the Jewish people.

Three Formulas for a Nation

There are three possible formulas for a nation, or for any collective body. One can focus on the collective nature of the community, ignoring and even denying the role and interests of the individual components of the group.

The second formula is to be concerned only with the individual, hardly recognizing the role of the community.

Both of these systems are obviously deficient. In the first case, the weakness lies in its failure to recognize that the strength of a community lies in each and every individual. To neglect the individual and his/her unique contribution is to undermine the very foundation of the community.

BESHALLACH

Similarly, the second formula that denies the collective and communal dimension is also flawed. It is axiomatic in Judaism that a community is considerably more than the sum total of its components. There is a special holiness that is introduced into a community that is infinitely greater than the any of its parts. For example, a minyan, is much more than just a collection of ten people in one room. It is a completely new entity with its own identity that provides us with the opportunity to recite special prayers such as the Kadish.

Vive La Difference!

And this is precisely what G-d wanted to demonstrate to the Jewish people as they were leaving Egypt to form a new nation.

On the one hand, great emphasis was placed on the notion of Jewish nationhood. But, simultaneously they were instructed to not abandon their distinctions and the qualities they possessed as individuals, otherwise the entire nation will suffer. But even as they were reveling in their own distinctive identities, it was also crucial that they share it with their fellow tribes.

This might explain why the tunnels that separated the twelve tribes were transparent, suggesting that each BESHALLACH individual tribe had to be able to see and appreciate the qualities of the other tribes and integrate these parochial interests into their own lives.

This dual emphasis on community and individuality as they are fused into one philosophy of life, served as a prerequisite to the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And this focus on the combination of collectiveness and individuality is the approach we must take in our contemporary crossing of the sea on the road to the ultimate redemption through our righteous Moshiach.

BESHALLACH

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Beshalach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.