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Right after the Torah's description of the splitting of the Red Sea, but before the Jewish people joined together to sing a song of praise to G-d for their salvation from Pharaoh and his army, there is an interesting verse. It says (14:21), "The nation saw G-d and they believed in
G-d and in Moshe His servant." Isn't it a bit strange that they went through all the wonders in Egypt but only now with the splitting of the sea, did they believe in G-d and in Moshe?

R. Uri of Strelisk says there are two types of people, the weaker ones come to believe in G-d and his righteous ones from seeing all kinds of miracles around them. Then there are the more sophisticated who know that a miracle does not really prove anything, as the Rambam says (Yesodi Hatorah 8/10), believing in a prophet should come from experiencing his holiness and righteousness. The nation that survived the Egyptian exile was a generation of incredible knowledge and sophistication. Until now they did not let any of the miracles they had seen sway them. What convinced them was the incredible holiness they saw. The Midrash (Mechilta Shmos 17b) says that even the simplest maid servant saw more revelation of the Divine at the splitting of the Red Sea than even the prophet Ezekiel. Eye to eye they saw the Shechina. It was only then that they believed. Faith is not something reserved for those who want to believe. Even the more sophisticated have their moment also.

The R. Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev puts the emphasis on their belief in Moshe. He writes that it was only through them all experiencing the great revelation together that they could truly grasp the truth about Moshe, that a human could actually reach the level of speaking face to face to G-d. And they passed this legacy on to each and every one of us, their descendents.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the verse as connecting the belief in a tzadik to believing in
G-d, as the Mechilta says, Everyone who believes in the 'Shepherd of Israel' is as if they believe in the Creator of the universe. Each and every one of us, the Rebbe says, no matter how much of a realized person they are, full of positive qualities and willingness to serve, still has to attach and tie himself to the "Moshe," the spiritual leader that is found in his generation. Every generation has their Moshe; G-d would not leave his people without a leader. And it is only through connecting to his "Moshe" that one can tie himself to the Creator.

Even more, every aspect of our lives, not just spiritual but physical also, are connected with the generation's leader. We learn this from the Talmud (Baba Basra 116), a person who has someone ill in the house should go to a Torah sage and ask for his blessings for mercy (for the ill person). There is more here than meets the eye. A person who is ill, whether physically in his body or spiritually in his soul, can not rely on just his family and friends praying to G-d for mercy for him. Rather he requires also the prayers of a sage, a wise man. It is only through this wise man that the Talmud says that he will be healed. Doctors can heal our bodies but only a tzadik can heal our soul.

The hard question is how do you find your "Shepherd of Israel"? The Talmud (Sanhedrin 97b) asks what is the name of Mashiach and each of a group of scholars gave a name. Rashi says that each one gave the name of his own spiritual leader. If you do not have a teacher go find one. Your teacher will help you find your tzadik. Your tzadik will help you find your Shepherd of Israel.

Shabbat Shalom, Shaul

Please also read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.

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For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.

from the Chabad Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for

www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org

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FROM THE SAGES OF KABBALAH ON KabbalaOnline.org

Specifically, for an overview of the recommended articles in the columns:
Holy Zohar, Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary Kabbalists, and more,
click to Beshalach

one sample:

Contemporary Kabbalists
Journey Forth!
From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe; adapted by Moshe Yaakov Wisnefsky

In this week's Torah reading, four factions developed in front of the Sea of Reeds, each with another plan of action. These four factions reflect four erroneous attitudes that we too may adopt in our confrontations with darkness.

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For another taste of recommended Kabbalah articles on a variety of subjects,
click to the our weekly Kabbalah magazine

Here is a smaple from this week's:

KOL Magazine, Vol. 8, No.18

An exciting week. The Shabbat of Parashat Beshalach is also known as the "Shabbat of Song" (see article #5)
Shabbat is Yud Shevat, the yahrzeit of both the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe (the Rayatz -- see article #4) and
Rabbi Shalom Sharabi ("Reshash"), the great Yemenite 18th century Kabbalist, whose "Siddur/prayerbook with Kavanot/mystical intentions" is still influential today.
And in response to two of your most popular quests, articles #2 and #3 are about "The 72 Names of G-d" (which is derived from verses in this week's reading)
while article #1 is some different verses to read (also from this week's reading) to help you secure a good income.

Sample article:

Chassidic Illumination
Offer Yourself
Bosi L'Gani 5710, Ch. 2

From the writings & talks of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch

The chapter explains the parallels between bringing a sacrifice in the Temple and a person's individual service of refinement. It emphasized that coming close to G-d is dependent on the individual himself. It describes the fire from above, i.e. the love of the G-dly soul and how it should be employed to teach the animal soul as well to come to a feeling of love for G-dliness.

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