27 Jan BESHALACH: COMPLAINING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE MIRACLE

I would like to share
a Medrash in Shemos
Rabbah that does not
refer directly to a
verse in Parshas
B’Shalach, but rather
refers to a pasuk in
Psalms regarding an incident in Parshas
B’Shalach: “Our fathers in Egypt did not
contemplate Your wonders, they were not
mindful of Your abundant kindnesses, and
they rebelled by the sea at Yam Suf.”
(vaYamru al yam b’yam suf) [Tehillim 106:7]
The Medrash is troubled by the expression
“vaYamru al yam b’yam suf”. This appears to
be saying something more than the fact that
they rebelled at Yam Suf. The redundant
mention of the term “sea” (yam) seems to
indicate that there were two rebellions at Yam
Suf. The first rebellion was marked by the
fact that no one wanted to descend into the
Reed Sea. It was not until the leader of the
tribe of Yehudah led his tribe into the water,
triggering the miraculous splitting of the sea,
that the other tribes followed into the Yam
Suf. The Medrash notes the special role of the
tribe of Yehudah at this time in the words of
the later psalm “When Israel left Egypt…
Yehuda became His sanctified one…”
[Tehillim 114:1-2]

This first rebellion is alluded to by the initial
words “vaYamru al yam”. What do the extra
words “b’yam suf” add? The Medrash states
that the second rebellion involved
complaining about the muddy ground which
they had to walk through after the Yam Suf
split open.
Of course it was muddy! Anyone who has
ever walked along the beach when the tide is
going out knows that the sand where the
water has recently been is muddy. The Jews
complained that their shoes were getting full
of mud. In the words of the Medrash,
“Reuvain said to Shimeon ‘In Egypt we were
immersed in mortar and at the Reed Sea we
are immersed in mortar. In Egypt we had the
mortar that accompanied the bricks and here
at Yam Suf we have the mud caused by the
splitting waters.’”
This Medrash is amazing. Actually, it is not
the Medrash that is amazing. It is the reaction
of the people quoted by the Medrash that is
amazing. Let us put ourselves in their shoes
– literally and figuratively. The Egyptians are
behind us; the Yam Suf is in front of us. There
is nowhere to go. We cry out to Heaven –
“What is going to be?” The Divine Word
comes back: “Speak to the Children of Israel
and let them go forward.” One of the greatest

miracles in the history of mankind
occurs – the splitting of the Reed
Sea. What is our response? “Our
shoes are getting dirty from the
mud.”
How can any person, given these
circumstances, complain about mud?
The answer is that people can
complain about anything. Negative
people can be negative about
anything and everything – even Krias
Yam Suf. It is all a matter of attitude.
This was the “Dor De-ah”
[Generation of Knowledge]. We
should not abuse the people of the
generation of the Exodus, but apparently this
was a character shortcoming that plagued this
particular generation. They were never
happy.
The Jews in this week’s parsha complain
about the mann. This is repeated in Parshas
BeHaloscha. “Mann for breakfast, mann for
lunch, mann for supper, nothing but Mann!
Oh for the good old days of Egypt!” In the
middle of the description of the section of
mann in BeHaloscha, the pasuk says “And
the mann was like coriander seed and its
color was like the color of b’dolach”
[Bamidbar 11:7]. Rashi mentions that this
pasuk is an editorial interjection. The
pasukim before and after this interlude
describe what the Jewish people were
saying. Suddenly, in the middle of the
discussion, the Torah comments: “And the
mann was like coriander seed…”
Rashi explains: Come and let the world
see what my children are complaining
about. The mann is so special and so
beautiful and yet they even complain about
the mann. Mann was both a physical and a
spiritual food. It tasted however the person
wanted it to taste. It was a food that did not
produce body waste. There was absolutely
nothing wrong with it. It came at no cost;
there was no effort in preparing meals. No
mess, no fuss, low cholesterol, high fiber,
non-fattening – anything one wanted! And
nevertheless they complained about the
mann.
These are the same people who could
complain that they had mud on their shoes
from the bottom of the Reed Sea. It is the
same psychological phenomenon. Such
people will never be happy. There are such
people in the world.
The Kotzker Rebbe has a very sharp
comment that we have quoted in the past
but is worth repeating. The pasuk in this
week’s parsha states: “They came to
Marah, but they could not drink the waters
of Marah because they were bitter (ki
marim hem). Therefore they named it
Marah” [Shemos 15:23]. The simple
meaning of the expression ‘ki marim hem’
is ‘because the waters were bitter’. The
Kotzker, however, interprets the pronoun

‘hem’ [they] to refer to the people. The people
were bitter and they complained about the
water, just as they complained about the
mann and just as they complained about the
miracle of the splitting of the sea. Nothing
was good in their eyes.
It is tragic to have such a personality.
Unfortunately, we all know people like that
and unfortunately, we all act like this to a
certain extent.
A Chassidic tale is told of a Chassid who
was suffering from many misfortunes, and he
consulted his Rebbe to ask him for help in
coping with his lot in life. The Rebbe advised
him “I cannot answer you about your
suffering, but Reb Zushia can. Go to Reb
Zushia.”
When the Chassid came to Reb Zushia’s
town, he was shocked to arrive at a depressing
and dilapidated shack with leaks, a dirt floor,
no heat and no furniture. Reb Zushia came to
the door. He was severely stricken with boils
all over his skin. He was wearing rags. The
image of Reb Zushia and his impoverished
hut made the visiting Chassid’s heart sink
lower than it already was from his own
suffering and troubles.
Reb Zushia asked kindly and calmly what
he could do for the visitor. The visitor
explained that he was referred by his own
Rebbe to ask how one can handle suffering
and develop a “Gam Zu L’Tova” [this too is
for the best] attitude.
Reb Zushia replied, “Me, explain
suffering?” He gently shrugged his shoulders
in wonder and said, “How would I know? I
have never had any suffering. One cannot
learn a ‘Gam Zu L’Tova’ attitude from a
person who has everything. I have
everything!”
There are two types of people in the world
— those who see the glass as half empty and
those who see the glass as half full. Some see
a thorny rose bush and admire the beautiful
roses, and some see it and complain about the
fact that the roses have thorns.
We all have to decide what our attitude will
be. But we must remember that if everything
is bad in our lives, it may very well be ‘ki
marim hem’ — because we ourselves are
bitter.