The Miracle of the Parting of the Red Sea

The great miracle in which the waters of the Red Sea were split, standing as walls of protection for the people of Israel while they walked on dry land, is described in the Book of Exodus, Parashat Beshalach, Chapter 14.

Pharaoh, king of Egypt, believed that the Israelites were leaving only for three days to celebrate a festival for God in the desert, as Moses had requested according to God’s command. When he realized that the people had no intention of returning to Egypt, God hardened his heart to pursue the Israelites.

Pharaoh gathered his army—600 elite chariots, along with additional chariots and horsemen, and a company of infantry—and chased after the Israelites.
When the Egyptians approached, Moses prayed to God, who instructed him to stretch out his staff over the Red Sea.

After Moses stretched out his staff, a strong east wind blew all night. The wind pushed the waters into two walls, creating a path with dry ground in between.

In this tremendous and awe-inspiring miracle, all creatures witnessed that “The Lord is God!”

The revealed miracles, which occurred during the drowning of the Egyptians and the Israelites’ crossing of the sea, were beyond human comprehension.

Each Egyptian was struck individually in a manner suited to his sins, and they cried out:

“There is a Leader! For the Lord reigns, and He rules over the nations!”
And the Lord became king over all the earth!

For many years, I wanted to paint the Parting of the Red Sea, but I was hesitant—how could one depict such a sublime event with brush and paint?

About seven years ago, I finally decided to try. Before beginning, I studied in depth what had actually happened…
I read Midrashim and deliberated on what to include in the painting.
I wanted to avoid creating an image that resembled a children’s book illustration, and deciding what to paint and what to leave out was not easy.

I wanted a powerful painting that would convey the vastness of the sea—to express the immense challenge of stepping into such tremendous waters, and also to depict the rocks enclosing the path from all directions.

This way, it shows that there was nowhere for the Egyptians to escape, and also illustrates the winding path the Israelites had to take through the sea to return to the same direction.

Additionally, I carefully used colors to create an inspiring and dramatic lighting of the early morning when the miracle occurred.

And here, before you, is the first painting.

Later, God granted me the merit to create many more paintings on this theme, using a variety of colors and different techniques,
in a style similar to my contemporary paintings, which has become modern and minimalist.

I have an interesting and surprising story about two wedding canopy (Chuppah) paintings (out of many) that I created in completely different styles.

In both cases, without me even realizing it, viewers told me that it was very clear from the painting that “a person’s pairing is as difficult as the Parting of the Red Sea.”

In the oval painting, there is the movement of a giant wave that almost encircles the image, suggesting this idea.

In the painting with the blue trees, the path leading to the Chuppah looks like a river, and the trees stand like waves, with fruit trees in the water…

I was truly delighted to hear these fascinating impressions, which added a more powerful dimension to the Chuppah.

Do you feel the same way?