Those who pray every day recall the Splitting of the Sea every single day in the morning prayers. Why is this important to remember on a daily basis, and not just on Passover or perhaps only on Shabbos? Here are two reasons:
A) Before the Sea split, the Jews felt stuck. They felt trapped between the sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s advancing troops behind them. There were no good options, they saw no way out. No one imagined in their wildest dreams that the sea would split open for them to cross. Many times in our lives today, people may feel stuck. People might feel trapped in a lousy job, in a bad marriage, in a sticky or tough life situation with no good solutions. Every day when we recall the Splitting of the Sea during the Exodus, we remember this message. Don’t feel trapped, don’t feel stuck. When neither Option A nor Option B look like good choices, do not give up. Option C (pun intended) may open up when you least expect it.
B) Chabad Chassidic thought takes a deeper view of the whole Splitting of the Sea experience. It was not merely an escape route or a way to physically shake off the Egyptians. Splitting of the Sea allowed us to see beneath the surface, to plumb the depths, to see an entire (spiritual) world usually invisible to the naked, unaided eye.
So that’s two very valuable daily life messages to internalize each morning as we pray. Don’t feel stuck or trapped. And always look beneath the surface.
One more point. Reason B above can be very helpful with Reason A, because very often the way out of feeling trapped or stuck in a challenging life situation is to dig deeper, to look further within, to seek deeper meaning and insight.