וַיּ֨וֹשַׁע ה׳ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֛וּא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מִיַּ֣ד מִצְרָ֑יִם Why do we need the words בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֛וּא in that pasuk? They obviously do not come l'afukei other days or times, as Hashem has saved us on many occassions and continues to do so. Ohr haChaim answers that until this point Bn"Y were not secure in their salvation. There had been a yetzi'as Mitzrayim, but they recognized that they were not out of the woods yet. It was only בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֛וּא at the splitting of the sea that they could breathe a sigh of relief. R' Levi Yitzchak mi'Berdichiv offers a different explanation. There are certain points in time where Hashem reveals his love for the Jewish people and showers them with his goodness. The days most mesugal for this are the days of Pesach. וַיּ֨וֹשַׁע ה׳ happened davka because it was בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֛וּא, *the* auspicious time for yeshu'a. These last two days of Pesach are that special time, a mesugal time, so make the most of them.
We find the term בּנים used over and over in connection with the splitting of Yam Suf, e.g. מעביר בּניו בּין גזרי ים סוף, and וראו בּניו גבורתו שׁבּחו והודו לשׁמו. Bn"Y could have just escaped Egypt and there did not have to be a splitting of Yam Suf and final destruction of Egypt. That was just icing on the cake, an extra bonus. Did we really even deserve it? When a parent deals with his children, that is not a question that comes up. We give our children plenty, and it's not because we think they are the greatest and deserve it -- often they don't. It's because they are our children, full stop. We want to give, whether they deserve it or not. Yam Suf happened because we are Hashem's children. Saving slaves from persecution is the morally correct thing to do. That's doesn't prove G-d has a special relationship with the Jewish people. Yam Suf is the icing on the cake, the bonus, the part that was not required. It's because we are בּנים (see Sefas Emes 5638).
Do you know what the biggest miracle that occurred at Yam Suf was? Was it really the splitting of the Yam Suf? The Yam split other times. The Yam even split for individuals, as the gemara in Chulin relates regarding R' Pinchas ben Yair. There was something else that happened that was an amazing miracle that people don't even think about. You go into any shul, sit somewhere in the back, in the talking section, and you will have 2 Jews and 3 opinions about everything. Everyone is qualified to be Prime Minister of Israel, chief of the Army, head of the Federal Reserve, Rabbi and President of the shul, etc. So much latent talent is in those back rows just waiting to be discovered! And no one is bashful about giving their opinion and revealing their talents -- you don't even have to ask. The same thing went on at Yam Suf. Some people insisted they should return to Egypt, the frummies started davening, others wanted to fight. Moshe's response demanded something entirely different from them: הִֽתְיַצְּב֗וּ וּרְאוּ֙ אֶת־יְשׁוּעַ֣ת ה׳. That's what you have to do. ה׳ יִלָּחֵ֣ם לָכֶ֑ם וְאַתֶּ֖ם תַּחֲרִשֽׁוּן. Stop with the advice. Stop with the speeches. Stop with the 2 Jews and 3 opinions. Now is not the time for that -- it's a time to be quiet. You have a bunch of opinionated Jews gathered together and you want them to be quiet? Now that's a miracle!
Kidding aside, the Sefas Emes (5632) explains that הִֽתְיַצְּב֗וּ וּרְאוּ֙ אֶת־יְשׁוּעַ֣ת ה׳ is not just a promise -- it's an avodah. We all like to be back seat drivers and we all have good advice not just for our fellow coreligionists, but for Hashem as well. We would like Him to being an end to the hostage situation in a certain way, to bring geulah in the certain way (some people will tell you it must be through the State, other [misguided] people will say the State is an obstacle), to give us specific brachos and yeshu'os. We have our agenda. The Torah is telling us to put the agenda aside -- וְאַתֶּ֖ם תַּחֲרִשֽׁוּן. Our job sometimes is to talk about what we want, but to ask just for kavod shamayim in this world, to want to just see הִֽתְיַצְּב֗וּ וּרְאוּ֙ אֶת־יְשׁוּעַ֣ת ה׳ in whatever form it takes, however He decided to bring it about.
We read in the shirah that the nation of the world tremebled in their boots after what happened at Yam Suf. שָֽׁמְע֥וּ עַמִּ֖ים יִרְגָּז֑וּן חִ֣יל אָחַ֔ז יֹשְׁבֵ֖י פְּלָֽשֶׁת and אָ֤ז נִבְהֲלוּ֙ אַלּוּפֵ֣י אֱד֔וֹם אֵילֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹ רָ֑עַד נָמֹ֕גוּ כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י כְנָֽעַן. We would love for a miracle like this in our times. We would love for Iran to be trembling, for the terrorists to be trembling. But how did Bn"Y know what the nations in Canaan were thinking? How did they know they had heard about the miracle and were afraid?
The fight we are in is not just a geopolitical fight or a military fight. The world opposes our ideology, our principles, our philosophy. When you sit down to daven and can't focus, that's the outside world winning the battle against us. When you feel Hashem close and your avodah soars, your Jewish pride soars, that's another victory. Bn"Y didn't need to read the Canaan Times to find out what was going on with the nations. They knew because they felt it within them. They felt themselves on a high, and therefore knew that if that's the case, the enemy has no power over them. Iran would be trembling, as would every single nation in the UN, if we understood fully what it means to be בּניו שׁל מקום and acted as such, if we put our bickering aside and in its place וְאַתֶּ֖ם תַּחֲרִשֽׁוּן, and if we stopped the backseat driving and focussed on the one task of הִֽתְיַצְּב֗וּ וּרְאוּ֙ אֶת־יְשׁוּעַ֣ת ה׳.
If we want to see it, and pray to see it, we will see it.
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