A Thought on Parshas Beshalach

"...va'ya'aminu ba'HaShem u'v'Moshe avdo..." "...and they believed in HaShem and in His servant Moshe..." (14:31) Our verse is a familiar one. We recite it daily near the close of our pesukei d'zimrah as we prepare to chant the Az Yashir itself. The idea of the Jewish people believing now in HaShem is an important one. Some of the commentaries address how it is that the Torah tells us this now, in that we would assume that the nation had believed in HaShem long before this moment, too. The second clause of our verse, however, is the more puzzling one. We can understand that the Jewish people, upon seeing the miracles at the Sea and the manner in which our enemies were vanquished, now had a vivid "confirmation" that Moshe had been right all along with his prophetic assurances that all would turn out well for them. His word had come true, so we can understand that they now "believed" in Moshe. What is puzzling nonetheless is the coupling of the two clauses. It is one thing to believe in HaShem. It is a separate thing to "believe" in a human being. These are different levels, different forms, of trust and belief. What is the message here? I might have written "the people's trust in Moshe was now strengthened. The people's belief in HaShem's miraculous dominion was now reinforced." By putting them into one verse as a single thought, it does seem that we are mixing confidence in Moshe's word with faith in HaShem's power to fulfill that word. What is the intended meaning of the verse, and the true link between the two clauses? The Gan offers an original perspective. He writes that the belief in HaShem is clearly and simply belief in HaShem alone. The "belief in Moshe" which follows means that they now believed that Moshe was HaShem's faithful servant. They now were secure in their understanding that all that Moshe did and all that Moshe had been telling the people was done in the service of HaShem, and that Moshe had all along been faithfully following exactly what HaShem had commanded him to say and to do. The verse does not say "va'ya'aminu ba'HaShem u'v'Moshe." It says that they believed in HaShem and in "Moshe avdo." It is meant to be understood as saying "and they believed in G-d and believed now that Moshe was HaShem's servant and messenger." As every thing fell into place at the shore of the Sea, they then recognized that everything that Moshe had heralded and promised had materialized, signifying that their leader Moshe was indeed a malach acting and speaking on behalf of HaShem Who had sent Him. Good Shabbos. D Fox