sea has spoken, and the Lord said" "Moses, what does a master do
with an intractable servant?" "He beats him with a rod," said
Moses. "Do thus!" ordered God. "Lift up thy rod, and stretch out
thine hand over the sea and divide it." [30]

Thereupon Moses raised up his rod - the rod that had been created
at the very beginning of the world, on which were graven in plain
letters the great and exalted Name, the names of the ten plagues
inflicted upon the Egyptians, and the names of the three Fathers,
the six Mothers, and the twelve tribes of Jacob. This rod he lifted
up, and stretched it out over the sea. [31]

The sea, however, continued in its perverseness, and Moses
entreated God to give His command direct to it. But God refused,
saying: "Were I to command the sea to divide, it would never again
return to its former estate. Therefore, do thou convey My order to
it, that it be not drained dry forever. But I will let a semblance of
My strength accompany thee, and that will compel its obedience."
When the sea saw the Strength of God at the right hand of Moses,
it spoke to the earth saying, "Make hollow places for me, that I
may hide myself therein before the Lord of all created things,
blessed be He." Noticing the terror of the sea, Moses said to it:
"For a whole day I spoke to thee at the bidding of the Holy One,
who desired thee to divide, but thou didst refuse to pay heed to my
words; even when I showed thee my rod, thou didst remain
obdurate. What hath happened now that thou skippest hence?" The
sea replied, "I am fleeing, not before thee, but before the Lord of
all created things, that His Name be magnified in all the earth."
[32] And the waters of the Red Sea divided, and not they alone,
but all the waters in heaven and on earth, in whatever vessel it