Transcending Nature Through Good Deeds
מה שנאמר לבנ"י שישובו כו'.
“That which was said to the Children of Israel, that they should return, etc.”
The Sefat Emet explains that God’s command for Israel to turn back was purposeful and not merely geographical.
כדי לקרוע להם הים ושיאמרו שירה.
“In order to split the sea for them and that they should sing a song.”
The turning back was to set the stage for the miracle of the sea‑splitting and the subsequent song of praise.
כי יצ"מ הי' בהבטחה לאבות.
“For the Exodus from Egypt had been promised to the Patriarchs.”
The redemption itself was predetermined and guaranteed by ancestral covenant.
ולא הי' שייך לומר שירה ע"ז.
“And it was not fitting to recite a song about that.”
Since the Exodus was guaranteed, it did not yet express Israel’s own spiritual achievement, which is what song requires.
והנה עיקר יצ"מ הי' לתקן מעשה בראשית כמ"ש בפרשיות הקודמין נגד עשרה מאמרות כו'.
“And behold, the essence of the Exodus was to rectify Creation, as stated in earlier passages, corresponding to the Ten Utterances, etc.”
The Sefat Emet links the plagues and redemption to the restoration of Creation’s original divine order.
ולכך כ' אנכי ה' כו' הוצאתיך.
“Therefore it is written: ‘I am the Lord… Who brought you out.’”
The opening of the Ten Commandments refers to the Exodus because it represents the renewal of creation.
והקשו אמאי לא כ' אשר בראתיך.
“And they asked: Why does it not say ‘Who created you’?”
The question notes that the fundamental divine act seems to be creation, not redemption.
וגם קושית הרמב"ן ז"ל עמ"ש רש"י הי' צריך להתחיל מהחודש הזה.
“And also the Ramban’s question on Rashi, that the Torah should have begun with ‘This month…’.”
Both classic commentators wonder why the Torah begins with creation instead of the first mitzvah.
ע"ש פ' בראשית שהקשה כי באמונת חידוש עולם מהש"י תלוי הכל.
“See in Parashat Bereishit, where he asks, for everything depends on belief in the world’s creation by God.”
The foundational belief in creation ex nihilo underlies all commandments and covenant.
מכל זה נראה כי ביצ"מ נתברר כי ברית שמים וארץ מהש"י בלבד.
“From all this it appears that through the Exodus it became clear that the bond of Heaven and Earth is from God alone.”
The Exodus re‑revealed that creation’s unity and order originate solely in the Divine.
וקריעת ים סוף הוא בחי' גדולה מזה.
“And the splitting of the Red Sea is a level greater than this.”
The sea‑splitting represents an even higher revelation than the Exodus itself.
לברר כי יכולין בנ"י לפעול במעש"ט שינוי הטבע לגמרי.
“To clarify that the Children of Israel can, through good deeds, effect a complete change in nature.”
The miracle teaches that Israel’s spiritual actions can transform the natural order.
להיות הנהגתו עמהם למעלה מהטבע.
“So that God’s conduct with them may be above nature.”
Their spiritual standing invites a mode of divine guidance that transcends natural law.
[כמ"ש מהר"ל ז"ל שיש סדר מיוחד להטבע וסדר מיוחד לנסים].
“As the Maharal wrote: there is a distinct order for nature and a distinct order for miracles.”
Miracles follow their own divine logic, separate from physical causation.
וז"ש וישובו לשורש העליון שלמעלה מהטבע.
“And this is what is meant by ‘they shall return,’ to the supernal root above nature.”
The command to turn back was spiritually a return to their divine root beyond natural constraint.
וזה פי החירות.
“And this is Pi Ha‑Chirot.”
The place‑name alludes to true freedom.
כי אין חירות רק בשורש שלמעלה מן הטבע.
“For there is no freedom except in the root that is above nature.”
Ultimate liberation is found only in transcending the deterministic realm of nature.
The Sefat Emet teaches that the Exodus restored creation’s divine order, while the splitting of the sea revealed Israel’s ability to transcend nature itself, achieving true spiritual freedom.