Source for this drasha:
"The Exodus You Almost Passed Over" by Rabbi David Fohrman, Aleph Beta Press, 2016 (Chap 19 pp157-167) with kind permission of https://www.alephbeta.org/
What happened at the splitting of the sea?
(י) וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, אִם בַּיָּם לָמָּה בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, וְאִם בַּיַּבָּשָׁה לָמָּה בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם, אֶלָּא מִכָּאן אַתָּה לָמֵד שֶׁלֹא נִקְרַע לָהֶם הַיָּם עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ לְתוֹכוֹ עַד חוֹטְמָן, וְאַחַר כָּךְ נַעֲשָׂה לָהֶם יַבָּשָׁה. דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי נְהוֹרָאי, הָיְתָה בַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹבֶרֶת בַּיָּם וּבְנָהּ בְּיָדָהּ וּבוֹכֶה, וּפוֹשֶׁטֶת יָדָהּ וְנוֹטֶלֶת תַּפּוּחַ אוֹ רִמּוֹן מִתּוֹךְ הַיָּם וְנוֹתֶנֶת לוֹ....
Rabbi Nahorai explained that a mother was carrying her baby boy who was crying (as they were crossing on dry land, between the walls of water). She then stretched out her hand and picked off an apple or pomegranate from the "midst of the sea" and gave it to him!
What is the significance of telling us this?
the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water
Then Moses held out his arm over the sea and the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split,
(3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it lit up the night, so that the one could not come near the other all through the night.
and there was cloud and darkness to the Egyptians and the pillar of fire illuminated the night for the Israelites, and went before them as was its way to go every night, whilst the darkness of the cloud was turned towards the Egyptians.
(6) God said, “Let there be sky in the middle of the water, that it may separate water from water.” (7) God made the sky, and it divided the water which was below the sky from the water which was above the sky. And it was so.
God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.
and the Israelites went into the sea on dry land, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so.
We have come full circle! What is the connection between the two?
Exodus events were "ratification of G-d's role as creator."
Whereas Bnei Yisrael accepted Gd as the creator and Master of the Universe by taking the Korban Pesach as instructed to demonstrate their dedication to Gd. The Egyptians though, still clung onto their belief system in many gods and despite the 10 plagues which showed them that Gd was in control of nature, they chose to chase the Bnei Yisrael into the sea - despite viewing it being split!
Gd used his powers of creation, just like he had done in the 6 days, to re-demonstrate his mastery over nature and create a miracle that was strongly reminiscent of the creation of the world, albeit on a smaller scale. Those who acknowledged his role as a creator were saved - those who didn't, drowned in the sea.
Miracles happen every day, albeit not as spectacular as the splitting of the sea but if we choose to believe, we will see how incredible his creations are - from the blossoms that reappear each spring and dazzle us with their beauty to the miracle of childbirth.
May we all be blessed with benefiting from these creations. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.