THE MASTER PAINTER & the IDF

Beit Midrash

Shabbat and Holidays
Passover - Pesach
The Seventh Day of Pesach

קטגוריה משנית

Female Lesson Parashat Hashavua Series'Library Piskei Din (Hebrew)Test Yourself

The master of parables, the Dubna Maggid tells: There was once a world-renowned artist who was commissioned to paint a landscape for a great king. The artist spent years perfecting his craft, using his incredible talent to paint a scene of a lush forest, a rushing river, and a distant mountain range.
The painting was so breathtakingly realistic—the shading of the leaves, the reflection on the water, the texture of the rocks—that it transcended art. When it was finally unveiled in the royal gallery, the viewers were stunned. However, a strange thing happened:
Instead of praising the artist for his skill, the people began to walk right past him. They pointed at the painting and said, "Look at that beautiful forest! Look at how clear that water is!" Because the painting was TOO PERFECT, the people forgot it was a painting at all. They MISTOOK IT FOR A WINDOW. They believed they were looking at reality, and thus, they saw no need to credit the artist.
The artist, seeing that his genius was being overlooked because of its very perfection, walked up to the canvas. In front of the gasping crowd, he took a knife and SLASHED THE CANVAS right down the middle.
Only when the "sky" tore and the "mountains" parted did the people realize: "This wasn't nature. This was the work of a master creator."
The Moral: Why the Sea Split
The Dubno Maggid explains that this is how God runs the world.
• The Painting: The "Natural World" is God's masterpiece. It is so consistent, so beautiful, and so perfectly functional that humans often mistake it for a self-sustaining system. We see the sun rise and the tides turn, and we call it "Nature," forgetting the Artist behind it.
• The Tear: On the seventh day of Passover, the Jewish people were trapped at the sea. To remind the world (and the Jewish people) that "Nature" is merely a canvas, God "slashed" the sea.
• The Lesson: When the water—which naturally flows—stood up like a wall, the "canvas" of nature was torn. In that moment, everyone realized that the water only flows because the Artist wills it to flow.
As the Midrash says, even a handmaid at the sea saw a level of prophecy greater than the prophet Ezekiel. By "tearing" the world, God forced everyone to look past the scenery and see the Creator.
This is why we read the Shira (Song of the Sea) and the Haftarah of David on the 7th day of Pesach. Both are songs of recognition. After the "tearing of the canvas," the people finally had the clarity to sing, "This is my God, and I will glorify Him." [cited by my friend and relative R. Paysach Krohn, may this bring merit to his speedy refuah shleima among the rest of the wounded and sick of Israel].
Similarly, we've gotten so used to Hashem's salvation via the IDF in our present war with Iran, we can mistakenly take it all for granted! Often the only time one thinks of the wash-machine manufacturer is when it breaks down! Let's learn from Moshe & David HaMelech, that the wars of Israel are also run by G-d, as Rav Kook points out: "בעל מלחמות... מצמיח ישועות" (Orot HaMilchama, 2) or in the words of chazal, "מלחמות נמי אתחלתא דגאולה היא", "wars are also the beginning of redemption" (Megilla 17b, incidentally, the only time the term "atchalta d'ge'ula" is found in the Talmud, is regarding the wars of Israel which not only shouldn't get us down, but are actually part of the process, as seen in Yechezkel 38-39, and Zecharia 14!). Chag Same'ach, appreciating Hashem's miracles בימים ההם ובזמן הזה ! Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

The Seventh Day of Pesach