Parshah Musings
Solid Water

And the sea solidified for them (Exodus 14:22)

The Talmud points out that for a Jew to find himself in a position of danger and to be miraculously saved through Divine intervention is not wholly unusual. The wonder of crossing the Red Sea was that the sea--the threat itself--was converted into the means of their deliverance.

The Talmud further asserts that the Jews were unworthy of such miracles and in fact G-d only saved them in the merit of their children. Little children who had been born into slavery; unfamiliar with any other reality than the oppression of Egypt, nonetheless had been imbued with sufficient faith in G-d to be the first to recognize G-dliness and proclaim with trust and devotion, "This is my G-d and I will glorify Him" (Song of the Sea, Exodus 15:2)

When a Jewish child is raised in such a way that his or her very demeanor proclaims a sense of dedication and purpose for religion, when he or she lives and breathes Judaism; not out of a sense of obligation or imitation but because they instinctively cherish and identify with G-d and His Torah, then nothing can interfere with them or block them from their chosen path through life. Indeed any temporary barriers or turbulent waters blocking their path to the Promised Land are quickly transformed into the medium of deliverance.