This week’s parsha tells us the episode of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds. The Mishna in Pirke Avos (Ethics of our Fathers) mentions ten miracles happened at the Splitting of the Sea. Rav Ovadia M’Bartenura lists what these ten miracles were. On that list, two of them seem like they were not needed. These two are: G-d made the stones on the side of the river look like steps leading into the split sea and G-d made the waters act as a canopy over the Jew’s heads. These two miracles do not seem like they were really needed – they played no part in helping the Jews cross safely nor drowning the Egyptians. Tosafos Yom Tov (a commentator on the Mishna) also asks why these two miracles needed to happen. He answers that they were there for aesthetic reasons only. They were there to enhance the presentation of the miracle for the Jews.

Last week, I was on vacation with my family to Walt Disney World. I was thinking: Walt Disney World is the most popular amusement park in the world. What makes this theme park so much more special than any other theme park? I think last week I finally found the answer: it is all of the details that go into making the park. Most amusement parks have rides, attractions, food stands, and shows, but there is no theme to the park. Disney is different though. Disney adds an extra step to their parks. Disney has all of these things, but they add small details to make you feel like you are actually surrounded by the attraction. For example, if a person looks down at the walkways, they see that Disney builds them to match the area they are in. In Hollywood Studios, the “New York City backlot” had a street with cracks and manholes in it. I really thought I was walking in the street until I remembered I was at Disney. Tomorrowland has palm trees made of metal. Another example is the clothing the Disney employees wear. In most theme parks, the employees all wear the same uniform. Not in Disney. Each uniform is designed for the specific attraction they are working at or near. On Buzz Lightyear’s ride, the employees wear futuristic colors, while in Frontierland, they were Western clothing. All of the attractions have different uniforms. One more example (although there are many more) is the hotels and resorts. We stayed at the Pop Century resort and there were huge bowling pins and Rubix Cubes that were the stairwells. There were also statues of famous Disney characters that were four stories high. The swimming pools even had interesting shapes to correspond to the theme of the hotel.

If a person thinks about these additional things Disney does, they realize that they are really not necessary. The rides and attractions will work no matter what the scenery is or the employees dress up in. Hotels are for sleeping and can provide that without huge statues. All of these additions, though, make the park more exciting. They make you really feel like you are in a “Fantasyland”. My family and I spent over an hour walking around our hotel taking pictures in front of the different icons that were built in our hotel. My children loved running around and looking at the scenery. It made the stay so much nicer. Although it is not needed, it makes the vacation so much nicer.

The lesson for us is that this is the way we should behave when we perform mitzvos. We can perform a mitzvah in the normal fashion and get credit for it. Or we can go above and beyond the normal and make it a little more special. When we do a chesed for someone else, we can put a huge smile on our face. When someone knocks on our door asking for a donation, we can also offer them a drink of water. When we come to the Shabbos table, we can add something extra – either an extra special dish or prepare a special D’var Torah or story. There are so many possibilities of little details we can add to make our mitzvos more special. Use your Imagination and I’m sure you can think of many little extra details you can come up with.

G-d did not have to make the extra miracles occur when the Sea split, but did it to make it look nicer. Disney did not have to add little details to their parks, but did it to make them more enjoyable. We do not have to add extra things to our mitzvos, but if we want to make our mitzvos even better, then add something small to them. It was worth it for Disney because they now are the most popular park in this world, how much more is it worth it for us, who will see a great reward in the World to Come!

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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