Seventh Day of Passover: Faith, Destiny, and the Miracle of the Splitting of the Sea

About forty years ago, in a well known Chassidic yeshiva, there was a young man named Alter. He had just turned twenty four, and no match seemed to be on the horizon. One day he felt he could not continue any longer and approached the Rosh Yeshiva in tears, asking, “Until when?”

“My parents survived the terrible Holocaust through Heavenly mercy,” Alter cried. “They built a home and were blessed with three children, hoping to see Jewish pride and happiness from us. I am their eldest son, yet I have been stuck for years, holding everyone back. Maybe it is even my name Alter, which in Yiddish means old, that reflects my fate to grow old as a bachelor.”

The Rosh Yeshiva looked at him kindly and replied, “Heaven forbid. Alter also means immediately. You too will soon see salvation, and it will come quickly.”

As Difficult as the Splitting of the Sea

The sages say, “A person’s match is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea.” Many explanations have been given for this phrase. At the Red Sea, the Jewish people stood trapped. The sea was before them, the Egyptians behind them, and the desert surrounded them. Despair filled their hearts. They wondered where help would come from. No one imagined that the sea itself would split and become the path of salvation.

The same is true with finding one’s match. A person thinks salvation will come from one direction or another, yet often it arrives from the most unexpected place.

Alter later shared his own remarkable story. One day a respected visitor came to the yeshiva looking for a certain student. Alter gladly helped, praising his friend’s character and diligence. The visitor was impressed and arranged a meeting between his daughter, who lived in Holland, and Alter’s friend. However, an important detail emerged. The young woman planned to complete a degree that required living abroad for several years. The match fell through.

Two days later, the visitor returned and asked to meet Alter himself. “Before we leave Israel,” he said, “I would like my daughter to meet you. I was deeply impressed by you.” Alter and his parents agreed. Within a week, joyful cries filled the air as the engagement was announced. It later emerged that the two families had known each other generations earlier, before the war.

At the engagement, the Rosh Yeshiva whispered to Alter, “Old or immediate, it all depends on how you look at it.”

The Spiritual Light of the Seventh Day of Passover

On the Seventh Day of Passover, a special Heavenly illumination descends, carrying a powerful spiritual potential, especially connected to the miracle of the splitting of the sea. The Chozeh of Lublin taught that each year, on this night, the spiritual energy of that miracle is renewed. This is hinted at in the words “Then Moshe will sing,” referring to the seventh day of the festival, when the song of redemption is awakened again.

The Torah mentions the word “then” twice. Once when Moshe complained, “Since I came to Pharaoh… things have become worse,” and again in the Song at the Sea, “Then Moshe sang.” The Midrash explains that Moshe said, “With ‘then’ I erred, and with ‘then’ I will sing.” When salvation arrives, a person understands that every hardship was guided by Divine providence and led to redemption.

Singing the Song of the Sea

It is customary to use the sacred night of the Seventh Day of Passover to recite the Song of the Sea together as a family. Many sources describe that on this night, great spiritual influences descend into the world. The righteous of past generations join in song from above, bringing blessings and renewal.

May we merit to experience redemption, comfort, and great salvation, speedily and in our days. Amen.