Parshas Beshalach Erev Shabbos Shabbos Day Mincha 6:50pm Shacharis 9:00am Plag Hamincha 7:14pm Latest time for Shema 9:52am Latest Candle lighting 8:26pm Shabbos Mincha 4:30 / 8:15pm Shkiya 8:44pm Shabbos Ends 9:32pm Reminder – please register for Shabbos Kiddush This weeks Kiddush has been sponsored in honor of Binny Klein In appreciation of all he has contributed to our Kehillah over the years We wish him and his family much hatzlocha as they depart this week for America Short Vort on the Parsha The splitting of the sea was arguably the most overt miracle in all of world history. Nevertheless, just before this miraculous event, Hashem caused a strong wind to shift the sea's waters all night long to veil the greatness of the miracle. Certainly, the wind did not cause the sea to split and the waters to stand straight like walls. So, what was the purpose behind the façade of the hurricane-like winds? Rav Wolbe cites the Sefer HaChinuch who writes (Mitzvah 132) that Hashem really endeavors to conceal all miracles. Hashem packages the miracle in the wrapping paper of nature so that the miracle arrives in this world b'tznius - in an inconspicuous manner. Hashem runs the world in a way that we must find Him hiding behind the veil of nature. Therefore, every miracle must leave us with a choice: Either to recognize that Hashem was behind the wondrous occurrence or to ignore the writing on the wall and claim that it was all a quirk of nature. Hence, Hashem made the wind blow all night so those who don't believe in miracles would be able to attribute the event to a tsunami. Miracles happen all the time. Not just small ones - but even really big ones. The Chovos HaLevovos says that the greatness of the miracle of the survival of the Jewish People throughout the ages rivals the miracles that occurred during the exodus from Mitzrayim! We simply have to pull away the curtain to reveal Hashem and stop attributing the miracles to a million and one remote possibilities.