Thoughts on the 7th & Final Day of Pesach

April 24, 2011

The Midrash (Mechilta, Beshalach 4) relates that the sea did not simply split in one place for the Jewish people as they exited Egypt. Rather, there were twelve tunnels and each shevet, tribe, went through their own tunnel. This is perplexing given that the Torah tells us that the Jews left Egypt as one nation. In fact, we are praised for arriving at Mount Sinai as a unified nation! The answer that has always settled best with me is that each tribe entered and left Egypt as both individuals with their own personalities and yet unified brothers as well. In contemporary times, our nation at large struggles to find our Jewish identity. Indeed, aside for who is a Kohen or who is a Levi, a large portion of Jews do not know their individual tribal identity. And so, when we call out to Hashem and pray we daven in the Nusach we have received, and hope that this is sufficient.

Today, Erev Yom Tov, I went to the Western Wall and witnessed that now thousands of years later, while we look, dress, and pray differently, we can come together in unison through our prayer and thanks to Hashem. This point really struck a cord with me not when I saw the throngs of different yarmulkes, hats, or shtremels. Rather, it was when I went to grab a Siddur and saw all of the various prayer books laying there unified in one cause: waiting to be used by Ashkenazim, Chassidim, Sephardim, who will read the holy words and communicate their love, awe, and thanks for allowing us to be FREE!

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