Divine Merit of the Righteous

במד' בשביל אדם יחידי עשיתי יבשה בשביל עדה קדושה על אחת כו"כ כו'.

“In the Midrash: For the sake of a single individual I made dry land; how much more so for a holy congregation.”

The Sefat Emet cites the Midrash teaching that God performed the miracle of splitting the sea even for one worthy individual, implying all the more so for an entire sanctified nation.

הגם דגם עדה זו יצחו מאדם.

“Even though this congregation also originated from a single human being.”

He notes that even this holy people ultimately descended from the same original human source.

אבל הפי' הוא שבאדם הי' נכלל כל האומות ואעפ"כ לא עיכב הפסולת.

“But the explanation is that in Adam all the nations were included, yet the impurity did not prevent the miracle.”

Adam contained within him the root of all nations, including elements not yet refined, yet this mixed nature did not obstruct God’s actions.

ובעבור הצדיקים מבנ"י שעתידין לצאת עשה יבשה.

“And for the sake of the righteous of Israel who were destined to emerge, He made dry land.”

The future potential of the righteous among Israel justified the miracle even before they physically existed.

מכש"כ לבנ"י שכבר נתבררו אף שהי' קיטרוג ע"י חטאים שנמצא עוד אח"כ בבנ"י מ"מ לא יוכלו לעכב רוב הקדושה שנמצא ביניהם.

“How much more so for Israel, who had already been clarified, for although there was accusation due to sins found later among them, they could not override the great holiness within them.”

Once the people had undergone a process of spiritual refinement, even later failures could not outweigh their essential holiness.

כי בשביל הצדיקים לא הי' ספק בדבר שהרי גם ליחידי הגולה נבקעו הימים רק ע"י שבכלל הי' נמצא עוד חטאים ועל זה בא הקו"ח מאדם כנ"ל:

“For regarding the righteous there was no doubt, for even for individuals in exile the sea split; only because within the whole there were still sins did the argument arise—and this is the Kal VaChomer drawn from Adam.”

Even isolated righteous individuals in exile merited miracles. The only hesitation arises from the presence of unrefined elements within the collective—hence the comparison to Adam, who contained both purity and impurity.

Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that God performs miracles even for a single worthy soul, and certainly for Israel, whose essential holiness persists despite flaws. The comparison to Adam shows that mixed spiritual states do not block divine redemption.