תהלים, פרק קי״ד, פסוק ג׳

The journey of the Israelites through the desert is framed by two monumental endpoints: the departure from Egypt and the arrival in the Land of Israel. Both of these defining moments are marked by extraordinary miracles where massive bodies of water split apart.

The events unfold through a striking metaphor, told entirely from the perspective of the water itself [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The waters are portrayed as being gripped by sudden terror, fleeing in panic from those passing through them [רד״ק, מאירי]. A question naturally arises regarding what exactly the sea witnessed that caused it to run away. One perspective suggests that the sea was overwhelmed by the sight of God's glory [ביאור שטיינזלץ, אלשיך], while another approach explains that the sea reacted to the sight of the Israelites stepping into its depths [מצודת דוד]. In response to this sight, the sea fled from its place, splitting wide open to become dry land [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, מאירי].

A similar phenomenon occurred at the Jordan River during the days of Joshua [מצודת דוד, מאירי]. Just like the sea, the river witnessed the glory of God [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Instead of continuing its natural flow, the river turned around and went backward [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון]. The flowing waters suddenly stopped, standing upright together as a single wall [אבן עזרא]. Expanding the scale of the miracle, another perspective suggests that at the exact moment the waters split for the Israelites, all the primal waters of creation across the entire world split as well [רש״י].