{"id":41096,"date":"2018-09-27T09:55:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T06:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=41096"},"modified":"2022-05-03T16:42:21","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T13:42:21","slug":"walls-of-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/walls-of-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Walls of Water"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":50634,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[601,363,435],"acf":{"old_id":"41096","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38047,"related_cahpter":"64","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Before the jubilation could begin, ordinary \u200epeople slogged through the mud in the dark, \u200esupporting each other","content":"<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What did an ordinary Israelite feel when \u200ecrossing the sea on dry land, while walking \u200ethrough the night towards freedom?\u200e We cannot know for sure but these verses supply a \u200ehint: \u201cThe Eternal drove back the sea with a \u200estrong east wind all that night, and \u200eturned the sea into dry ground. The \u200ewaters were split, and the Israelites went \u200einto the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.\u201d\u200e (Exodus 14:21-22).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A wind from God sweeps over the \u200ewater, divides waters, and gathers \u200ethem so dry land can appear.\u200e Does that sound familiar? We have \u200ereturned to Genesis. The ten plagues \u200eundid creation in Egypt. Splitting the sea was \u200ea moment of re-creation.\u200e<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exposing dry land was an essential \u200ecomponent of creation just as it was essential for the Israelites\u2019 walk to \u200efreedom. In the moment, however, the average Israelite might well have \u200efocused on those walls of water.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Egypt and the ancient Near \u200eEast, masses of water symbolized primordial forces \u200eof chaos, sometimes \u200econcretized as Leviathan or the goddess \u200eTiamat.\u200e The Bible generally suppresses this \u200emythology but a few references \u200esurvive, especially in Psalms (for example, Psalm 74:12-15).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Facing the desert, with Pharaoh and his \u200earmy pursuing them, the Israelites \u200emarched through the darkness between \u200ewalls of primordial chaos.\u200e What did they feel?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fear and terror.\u200e<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite it all, the newly-freed slaves put one \u200efoot in front of the other, and walked \u200etogether until they reached the other side.\u200e Someone with a poetic bent might have written:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Night<br \/>\nPharaoh\u2019s army in pursuit<br \/>\nWalls of water<br \/>\nChaos quivering on either side<br \/>\nBaby on my back<br \/>\nTerrified, holding hands<br \/>\nSeeing only a glimmer from the distant<br \/>\nPillar of fire<br \/>\nResolutely one foot in front of another<br \/>\nThrough the muck and mud<br \/>\nTowards the great unknown<br \/>\nHoping that beyond the wilderness<br \/>\nIs a Promised Land<br \/>\nIn the meantime<br \/>\nHanging on to each other|<br \/>\nSeeking a glimpse of that light.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before the jubilation could begin, ordinary \u200epeople slogged through the mud in the dark, \u200esupporting each other. These are elements in the story of redemption no \u200eless than the joy that follows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cover illustration by Bracha Lavee, courtesy of the artist<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":41725,"id":41725,"title":"Ex14-BLavee","filename":"Ex14-BLavee.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Ex14-BLavee.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/walls-of-water\/ex14-blavee\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ex14-blavee","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":41096,"date":"2018-10-09 10:48:07","modified":"2022-05-03 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