811. One EXPLANATION is that all the actions of the Holy One, blessed be He, are according to Justice and Truth, and the entire world is supported on Justice and Truth. Every day and all the time, He judges the righteous, the wicked and all the inhabitants of the world with Justice, as it is written, "For Hashem is righteous, He loves righteousness" (Tehilim 11:7). When He judges the people and sees how many are wicked and how many are sinners before Him, it is difficult for Him to give them food constantly, because He has to feed the wicked and those that sin.
812. Yet He deals with them mercifully, and feeds and sustains them according to the supernal Chesed that is drawn and flows over all the inhabitants of the world. With it, He feeds and sustains all the righteous and pious and the wicked and all the people of the world and all the beasts and animals of the field and the birds of the heavens, from the horns of the buffalo to the eggs of lice. There is nothing left in the world that is not fed, but He sustains everything, even though it is difficult for Him due to the actions of the people of the world, as is the splitting of the Red Sea.
813. HE QUESTIONS, Was the splitting of the Red Sea difficult for Him? Is it not written, "He rebukes the sea and makes it dry" (Nachum 1:4)? "He calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth" (Amos 5:8) and, as soon as the desire arises before Him, everything is as nothing before Him, and you say that splitting the Red Sea is difficult to perform before Him?
814. HE ANSWERS, When the children of Yisrael approached the sea and the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to split the Red Sea for them, Rahav, the minister of Egypt, came and requested Justice from the Holy One, blessed be He. Rahav said before Him, Master of the Universe, Why do You want to punish Egypt and split the sea for Yisrael? Are they not all wicked before You? Your ways are with Justice and Truth, but these worship idols and these worship idols, and these sin with incest and these sin with incest. These spill blood and these spill blood.
815. At that moment, it was difficult for Him to disregard Justice. Here the children of Yisrael were driving toward the sea, as it is written, "And Hashem said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Yisrael, that they go forward'" (Shemot 14:15). But it was difficult for Him disregard Judgment and split the Red Sea for them. Had not the Holy One, blessed be He, looked to the Merit of Abraham, who preceded in the early morning to fulfill the commandment of his Master and His desire, as it is written, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning" (Beresheet 22:3), they would all have been lost in the sea, because the Holy One, blessed be He, was judging Yisrael all that night.
816. We have learned that it is written, "... So that one came not near the other all the night" (Shemot 14:20), which teaches that the Archangels came to praise before the Holy One, blessed be He, that night. He said to them, 'The works of my hands are drowning in the sea and you sing praises before Me?' Immediately, "one came not near the other all the night" BECAUSE "ONE TO ANOTHER" IS SAID ABOUT THE ANGELS WHO PRAISE THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "AND ONE CRIED TO ANOTHER, AND SAID, 'HOLY... '" It is written, "And it was come to pass, that in the morning watch" (Shemot 14:24), the Holy One, blessed be He, observed the merit of Abraham, who rose up early in the morning to do the will of his Master, as it written, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning." Then the sea turned back and the water fled from before the children of Yisrael.
817. It is also written, "And the sea returned to its strength (Heb. leeitano) when the morning appeared" (Ibid. 27). We learned that "leeitano" MEANS litnao (Eng. 'to its conditioning'), to that condition that the Holy One, blessed be He, made with it when He created the world. FOR HE HAD MADE A CONDITION THAT IT SHOULD SPLIT FOR YISRAEL, BECAUSE EITANO (ENG. 'ITS STRENGTH') IS SPELLED WITH THE SAME LETTERS AS TNAI (ENG. 'CONDITION'). BUT WE SHOULD ADD that it is written here, 'leeitano,' while there it is written, "Maskil of Eitan the Ezrachite" (Tehilim 89:1), WHO IS ABRAHAM. HERE ALSO EITANO ALLUDES TO ABRAHAM. THEREFORE, THE TORAH SAYS, "when the morning appeared." At that same time, Abraham got up early in the morning to do the will of his Master, then the sea was split. Therefore, the splitting of the sea was difficult for Him.