Beshalach (1): Naturally Divine

וישב הים לפנות בוקר לאיתנו

And towards the morning the sea returned to its strength

Once the Egyptians entered the water the sea reverted to its original form. No longer did it stand upright. Chazal explain that the word 'לאיתנו' should be read  as to mean 'לתנאו' 'its original condition'. This is a reference to a deal that G-d cut with the waters of the earth that they would split for the Jews when they arrived at the shore.

An amazing story explains how crucial this point is.

There was a religious man with a broad academic background who arrived at the calculation that the sea was meant to split precisely at that moment. The miracle was no miracle at all, rather it was a nifty meshing of scientific coincidences that happened to save the day. He found it troubling that so much of the exodus story revolved around a scientific anomaly so readily understood. So he traveled to the Ba'al Shem Tov to resolve his unease.

When the Ba'al Shem saw the man approach he went into the Shul to give a public address:

"There are those out there who believe that they can scientifically justify Kriyas Yam Suf. Fools!  The Torah begins 'בראשית ברא אלוקים' - In the beginning G-d created. The word 'אלוקים', which means G-d has the same Gematria (numerical value) as the word 'הטבע' - Nature. The most miraculous wonder of all is that HaKadosh Baruch Hu completely meshed His Divine will with the systems of creation. There is a fusion between Divine and mundane. This union manifests itself in 'explainable' miracles. This is the meaning of re-reading the word 'לאיתנו' to be 'לתנאו'. Hashem originally set up the world so that the waters would split for Am Yisrael. The fact that this event was hard-wired into the fabric of reality is the greatest proof of Divine Providence. Had there been no Jews there would have been no natural way for the sea to do what it did!"

This is the meaning of what Chazal explain the word בראשית to mean בשביל ראשית, for the Jews, who are called Reishis. The laws of nature were predicated on the needs of the Yidden throughout the ages.