The River That Parted Three Times
On his way to redeem captives, Rav Pinchas commanded the river Ginai to part, and it opened not only for him but for two fellow travelers as well.
It is told that Rebbi Pinchas ben Yair once set out to redeem Jewish captives. Along the way his road was blocked by the river Ginai, running deep and fast.
Rav Pinchas spoke to the river. Ginai, he said, divide your waters and let me pass through you. The river answered him: You are going to do the will of your Maker, and I am going to do the will of my Maker. Whether you will succeed in your mission is uncertain, but I am sure to succeed in mine. Rav Pinchas replied that if it did not divide, he would decree that no water would ever flow through it again. The waters parted, and he crossed.
Nearby stood a man carrying wheat to bake matzos for Pesach. Rav Pinchas turned to the river once more and asked it to part for this man too, since he was busy with a mitzvah. Again the waters opened. Traveling with them was an Arab who had kept them company on the road. Rav Pinchas asked the river to part for him as well, so that no one could say that this is how a Jew treats someone who has accompanied him. The river parted a third time, and the stranger crossed safely.
Generations later the Amora Rav Yosef marvelled at the scene. The sea split once for Moshe Rabbeinu and the six hundred thousand who left Mitzrayim, he said, and here a river split three times. The sages concluded that in this moment Rav Pinchas was as great as Moshe and all of Israel together.
Source: Talmud Bavli, Chullin 7a (another version of the crossing appears in Talmud Yerushalmi, Demai 1:3)
Rav Pinchas could have crossed and walked on. Instead he stopped twice for people who simply happened to be on the road with him, including a stranger. This week, when something good comes your way, such as a lift, a shortcut, an invitation or an opening at work, look at the person standing next to you and ask how they can share in it. Hold the door, offer the seat, add one more name to the list. Let no one who walks beside you be left on the other bank.