Jewish Recovery Thought - B'Shalach

B’shalach (Exodus 6:2-9:35)

“…And G-d caused the sea to go back with a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land and the waters split.”
Exodus 14:21

This week’s portion describes what is perhaps the most famous miracle in the Bible – the splitting of the Sea, a wonder which has come to be regarded as almost the quintessential supernatural act. But the wonder of the splitting of the sea, explain the Hasidic masters, despite its spectacular imagery, is not nearly as astounding as the regular existence of the world at this moment. This is not meant as poetry but as a logical imperative.

In order to make the sea split and its waters stand upright, G-d blew a massive east wind which pushed the waters back all night. The natural state of the sea is to settle into the seabed, but when the mighty wind held the waters back from their regular flow, they were forced to stand upright. This is indeed wondrous but, as stated above, nowhere near as wondrous as the fact that the world exists at this moment. To split the sea, G-d had to override the natural state of the sea through the imposition of a constant force – in this case, the wind. But to make the world something out of absolute nothing, G-d overrides the fundamental nature of nothingness, compelling it to be its antithesis – something. This is not just an imposition which countermands a single property of nothingness, but a total reassignment of its very essence.

Now, if in order for the waters of the sea to stand upright and not return to their natural condition there needed to be a constant exertion of force, then all the more so must the creative power which brings about the radical transformation of nothing into something be absolutely continuous and incessant, lest the world revert to its essence of nothingness.

When one something is turned into another state of something-ness, its transformation does not need to be continuously imposed. Thus, a craftsman may construct a vessel and it is in no danger of reverting to its previous un-crafted form when he removes his hands from it. But changing nothing into a something is a change which defies the very essence of nothing. Without constant exertion of force, that which seems to exist would revert into its true state of non-existence.

We understand from this that creation is not something that happened at the beginning of time and whose effect merely lingers but an act that must go on at every instant. Each and every second, G-d is compelling the world into being, forcing nothing to be a something and as such, G-d’s involvement in every detail of creation is constant and on-going.

The understanding that the world comes into being as an expression of G-d’s complete and unceasing control is important for us emotionally. Lest we begin to put credence in people, places and things as autonomous entities and incorrectly believe ourselves to be at the mercy of their independent will, we must know that G-d is in control at every second.

Believing in a Higher Power is one thing. But believing in a Higher Power to whom you can absolutely surrender is quite another. For those in recovery, this knowledge of G-d’s constant control – that the world as it exists at this millisecond is an expression of G-d’s will – is the key maintaining the acceptance and serenity we need to stay sober. Knowing that there are no accidents, that at every moment, everything is running exactly according to G-d’s plan allows us to make peace with our lives and to find the G-dliness that is constantly present in everything.