וישובו ויחנו פי החירות, “they turned around and encamped at Pi Hachirot. G’d ordered the Israelites to turn around facing Egypt at Pithom renamed Pi Hachirot, seeing that this was the place where they had become free (from slave labour) according to Rashi. The Torah added the words “in front of Baal Tzefon,” as a further means of identification because that idol had survived destruction. All of these details were important to help Pharaoh persuade himself that the Israelites were worth pursuing. When the Torah reports that G’d said to Moses: “I will strengthen the heart of Pharaoh so that he will pursue them” (verse 4), He referred to three causes which would determine Pharaoh’s course of action. 1) Their non-stop day and night travel which would persuade Pharaoh that they were in fact escaping, not following his instructions. 2) Their turnabout convinced Pharaoh that the people were completely lost in the desert. 3) that they should make camp near Baal Tzefon which would give Pharaoh the impression that this deity had impeded the Israelites’ ability to journey forward. The term ”בעל something or other,“ is usually associated with a deity such as בעל זבוב, אלוהי עקרן, בעל פעור, and others. G’d allowed this deity to survive in order to mislead Pharaoh. This is an illustration of Job 12,23: “He causes nations to deceive themselves resulting in their destruction.” The additional words (verse 3) נכחו תחנו על הים, ”opposite it you are to make camp,” was to give Pharaoh the impression that this deity had used the desert to encircle the Israelites, to make them prisoner. This verse contains an allusion to what the Israelites would observe later at the sea.

ויעשו כן, “they did so.” The Torah compliments the Israelites for obeying what seemed an irrational command, i.e. making camp facing their erstwhile enemies and masters. They could have questioned such an order but did not do so. (Rashi).

ויגד למלך מצרים, “The king of Egypt had been informed, etc.” Seeing that the end of the three days which was the period of time Moses had said they would be gone had passed and they had not returned, Pharaoh was told that obviously they had fled. Pharaoh had sent along spies. When, after non-stop marches, the Israelites made camp on the eve of the 17th-18th of Nissan, these spies returned to the capital and reported to Pharaoh on the Israelites’ movements. The Egyptians organised their pursuit, mobilising their forces on the 19th and the 20th, catching up with the Israelites at Pi Hachirot by nightfall on the twentieth. The night of the 20th-21st there was a stand off, i.e. the two camps did not come closer together (verse 20). A Midrashic approach: The words “Pharaoh was told” mean that the prophecy (decree) made to Avraham in Genesis 15,13 that his descendants would be slaves in a country where they were strangers for 400 years had not been fulfilled as only 210 years had elapsed since the time the Israelites had come to Egypt. It therefore became clear to him that the people had fled.

ויקח שש מאות רכב, “He took six hundred chariots, etc.” Rashi queries where these chariots, or better their horses came from seeing that the Torah had told us in 9,3-6 that all the domestic beasts of Egypt died during the plague of pestilence. Moreover, the Israelites had said that they would take all their livestock with them (10,26) so that Pharaoh could not have requisitioned animals belonging to the Israelites. Rashi, i.e. Mechilta, concludes that these animals must have belonged to the people described in 9,20 as having feared the word of G’d, i.e. the warning preceding the plague, and who had therefore taken their livestock indoors. This would demonstrate that G’d-fearing Egyptians could become a source of trouble for the Jews. It teaches the truth of what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is quoted as saying in Massechet Sofrim chapter 15 that the best of the Egyptians were killed at the Sea and that the best of the snakes ought still to have their heads smashed. The statement is traced to our verse here. The meaning of the statement is that only in time of war is it permissible to kill such Egyptians seeing that by making war against you they have revealed their true attitude. Under such conditions we may apply the advice or instruction of Sanhedrin 72 that when someone signals that he is going to kill us we may take preemptive action and kill him first. During times of peace, however, it is not permissible to kill such people. We know this because even the seven Canaanite nations concerning whom the Torah demanded that we exterminate males, females and children (Deut. 20,16) unless they vacate the land of Canaan, were given an offer to emigrate before the Jewish people went to war against them. On the other hand, when the hostility of such nations or individuals is directed against G’d Himself, such as the hostility of the Egyptians, it is permitted to kill such people even in times of peace (with the Jewish people) as this is considered a holy war, a war on behalf of G’d. Once the Egyptians had observed the killing of the firstborn, a punishment performed by G’d personally, not by agents of His who operate within nature all the time, their intent in pursuing the Jewish people was clearly directed against G’d. This is what prompted G’d to say to Moses (14,14): “G’d will fight on your behalf, you just remain silent.” G’d had become obligated to drown those people.

ושלישים על כלו, “with captains on all of them.” As per Onkelos, i.e. skilled warriors on each chariot. An alternative meaning could be that Pharaoh divided his army into three groups; this would account for the fact that we read about three separate parts of Pharaoh’s army drowning. The Torah mentions separately: “all the army of Pharaoh who had entered the Sea behind the Israelites” (14,28); in 15,4 the Torah speaks of the chariots being drowned in the Sea; in 15,19 the Torah adds that Pharaoh’s horse and its riders with its chariots had entered the Sea, etc.

ופרעה הקריב, “and Pharaoh had approached.” The unusual, transitive form of the verb instead of the intransitive קרב, tells us that Pharaoh had “sacrificed himself” (compare Rashi). A Midrashic approach (Mechilta Beshalach 2) The word הקריב means that he became the architect of his own destruction because he offered a sacrifice to Baal Tzefon when he saw the Israelites encamped in front of that idol and he believed that the idol’s power had prevented the Israelites from continuing their flight. An alternative explanation: the intransitive form הקריב, “brought close,” means that Pharaoh’s conduct brought Israel closer to G’d, i.e. made them repent so that they would be worthy of being saved. This is in line with what the Talmud Sanhedrin 97 said about Haman, i.e. that G’d orchestrated the threat of an anti-Semite such as Haman in order to cause the Jews of his time to return to Him in penitence. This latter comment explains why the Torah continues with

וישאו בני ישראל את עיניהם...ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ה', “the Children of Israel raised their eyes....and they cried out to Hashem.” The Torah tells us that they fell back on a tried remedy, i.e. prayer, which had helped their forefathers in times of distress. We know that Avraham prayed from Genesis 19,27 where the Torah describes him as rising early in the morning “to the place, etc.” The words “to the place” are a euphemism for someone directing his prayer to G’d. We find similarly that Yitzchak was praying in Genesis 24,43 where the Torah describes him as coming from a שיחה, i.e. a prayer-session. We find that the Torah describes Yaakov as having prayed at the place where he had the dream of the ladder (Genesis 8,11). The reason the Jewish people have been compared to a worm (Isaiah 41,14 “do not fear worm Yaakov, etc.”) is that just as a worm has no strength of its own other than that of its mouth with which it is able to defeat the mighty cedars, so the strength of the Jewish people is their mouth, i.e. the power of their prayers. Prayer is something soft which has the power to break something hard. The Gentiles have been compared to cedars as we know from Ezekiel 31,3: “here Assyria used to be a cedar in Lebanon,” etc., etc. In verse 12 the prophet describes how this magnificent tree was cut down.” Psalms 29,8 also describes the forests being stripped bare (by the worms). Israel’s victories are due to prayer and Torah. We base this on Deut. 4,29: “when you will seek out the Lord your G’d from there (your state of distress) you will find Him.” We have a similar message in Psalms 20,8: “they (call) on chariots, they (call) on horses, but we call on the name of the Lord our G’d.”

והנה מצרים נוסע אחריהם, “and behold Egypt was traveling behind them.” According to the rules of grammar we would have expected a plural form here, i.e. נוסעים. According to the plain meaning the use by the Torah of the singular נוסע is meant to describe that all the Egyptians were united in this hostile pursuit of the Israelites.

According to a Midrashic approach the use of the word נוסע indicates that the Israelites became aware of the guardian angel of Egypt pursuing them from his celestial domain and that he was about to assist the terrestrial Egyptians. The name of this celestial representative of Egypt was עזא. I have found this name in a Midrash called VaYosha: “Azza is the name of the guardian angel of Egypt.”

המבלי אין קברים במצרים , “are there perhaps not sufficient graves in Egypt?” Nachmanides wonders aloud how it is possible that people who raise their hands and voices in prayer to G’d for help could at one and the same time become guilty of such sarcastic comments as the ones attributed to them here by the Torah? Moreover, how could they say at the same time: “it is better for us to have to serve the Egyptians in Egypt than to die in the desert?” In view of his formidable question our sages’ statement (Mechilta section 2) that at that time there were four groups of Israelites each of whom responded differently to their dilemma is proven correct. Group number one engaged in prayer. This group is referred to in our text as בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel cried out in prayer to Hashem.” These were the elite of the people. They had been described as “raising their eyes...and crying out to G’d.” The second group denied that Moses was indeed G’d’s prophet and did not choose to pray for salvation. Concerning this group the psalmist wrote (Psalms 106,7) “they rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds.”

A different wording of this event is presented by the same section of the Mechilta on the words (verse 13 התיצבו, “stand firm”). There were four groups. The first group preferred death to captivity or death at the hands of the Egyptians. They wanted to drown themselves in the sea. This was the group to whom Moses said: “stand firm! Behold the salvation which will emanate from Hashem!” This was the group about which the psalmist had said that they rebelled. The second group wanted to return to Egypt. Concerning this group the Torah (Moses) gave the assurance that the Israelites would never again see the Egyptians pose a threat to them as they did at that moment (verse 13). The third group wanted to join battle with the Egyptians. Moses told them not to bother, that “Hashem will fight on your behalf.” The fourth group were those who relied on praying to G’d as we read: “The Children of Israel cried out (prayed) to Hashem.” Moses told them to be silent (verse 14). Onkelos translates the word ויצעקו as וזעיקו, that their outcry was one of accusation. [We find in Mechilta that these people complained that not only did they already mourn the 80% of their brethren who had died during the plague of darkness, but now even they were threatened; this is why they said it would have been better for them to have remained in Egypt in the first place. Ed]. We have the expression זעקה in that sense in Samuel II 13,19 when Tamar yelled after having been raped by her half-brother Amnon. The expression ויזעק also occurs in Judges 4,10 when it describes Barak as issuing a call for mobilisation of several tribes. We also find the expression in Nechemyah 9,9 “You heard their outcry at the Sea of Reeds.” Our sages understood it as an expression of prayer as I explained already.

ה' ילחם לכם, “Hashem will fight on your behalf!” It is known in kabbalistic circles that the attribute of Justice fights wars and dries out the sea. Why then did Moses mention the attribute Hashem in this verse? It was to teach that even in the execution of this great miracle the attribute of Hashem was also involved. At first glance it appears as if the attribute of Justice was stretched out over the Egyptians from one end of the sky to the other (figuratively speaking) and was bent on their total destruction as we know from verse 28 that “not one of them survived.” Nonetheless we find an involvement of the attribute of Mercy such as the fact that these people were interred (compare 15,12 תבלעמו ארץ), i.e. that the earth covered their remains. They did not simply disintegrate as did the people who died during the deluge.” Whenever the Torah speaks of G’d’s “right hand,” such as in Exodus 15,6 this is a reference to the attribute of Mercy. What was true in the past will also hold true in the future after the final war of Gog and Magog of which we are told that “G’d goes out and battles all these nations assembled against the Jewish people” (compare Zecharyah 14,3). No doubt that verse speaks of the attribute of Justice. In spite of this, we find even there an involvement of the attribute of Mercy as the prophet describes in detail the interment of the remains of the fallen Gentiles in that war (Ezekiel 39,11). “It will be on that day that I (Hashem) shall assign to Gog a burial, etc. etc.”

The Midrashic approach on the words: “G’d will fight on your behalf, you be silent,” is: seeing that although G’d personally killed all the Egyptians’ firstborn they still pursue you, it is clear that they mean to attack Me, not you. Hence I will fight them, not you. It is not your battle at all. ואתם תחרישו, and you must remain silent so that the attribute of Justice will not unload itself upon you, seeing you have been just as sinful as they, having worshipped idols, etc.

מה תצעק אלי, “why are you crying out to Me?” According to the plain meaning of these words the word אלי means that the matter does not depend on G’d at all but on Israel. דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, “speak firmly to the Children of Israel and they will march forward.” G’d hinted that as soon as the Israelites would move forward the sea would part for them to let them through. They only needed to demonstrate a little faith by moving forward.

A kabbalistic approach: The word אלי in this verse is equivalent to the word לי which we find in connection with Terumah, the gift intended for G’d, i.e. the donations for the Tabernacle. We read in the ספר הבהיר of Rabbi Nechunyah ben Hakanah (item 103 edition of Margulies) that the words ויקחו לי תרומה should be understood as ויקחו ל-י תרומה, “they are to take a gift intended for the י.” The idea is that every prayer must be addressed exclusively to the י, to Hashem. It is in this sense that G’d said to Moses: ”speak to the Children of Israel ויסעו they are to journey from below to above and the sea will part as a result.” They were to call on their reserves of faith and elevate themselves to the level י. Whereas the address for their attention was G’d in His capacity as the attribute of Mercy, the attribute they wanted Him to activate was His attribute of Justice. Moses did as G’d said and informed them of the great miracle which was about to occur whereupon the Israelites started marching forward. In Sotah 37 we are told that the tribe of Yehudah sanctified the name of the Lord by being the first one to enter the sea. Midrash Tehillim 114 on the words היתה יהודה לקדשו, “Yehudah became His holy one,” deduces this from these words of the psalmist. This is also what is meant by the words: “the sea saw and fled” (Psalms 114,3). What did the sea see? It observed Nachshon ben Aminadav, the prince of the tribe of Yehudah, enter it, followed by the other tribes who drew encouragement from Nachshon’s behaviour. In fact, they now each wanted to be first to wade through the bed of the sea. According to Psalms 68,28: “there is little Binyamin who rules them.” The word רדם in this verse which means “rules them,” should be read as two words, i.e. רד ים, “descended into the sea.” According to that tradition the brother tribes Yehudah, Naftali, and Zevulun stoned the Binyaminites for having arrogated to themselves the right to be the first ones to enter the sea. This is based on Psalms 68,28 where the Midrash understands the word רגמתם, as “they stoned them.” The Midrash claims that the reason that the prince of Yehudah was called נחשון, was in recognition of his pre-empting the other Israelites in descending into the sea, i.e. he was a נחשול, “a gale smiting the sea.”

ואתה הרם את מטך ונטה את ידך, “as for you, raise your staff and incline your hand.” We must not understand this verse as an instruction to Moses to raise his staff above the sea. After all, the Torah does not report Moses as raising his staff over the sea. He only raised his hand over the sea (verse 21). The meaning of the words “raise your staff” is that Moses was to divest himself of the staff. You find confirmation of this in Shemot Rabbah 21,9 where the Midrash quotes the Egyptians as saying that Moses’ entire strength lay in his staff, that he was unable to do anything without it. There were also some Israelites who did not believe that Moses would be able to perform such a miracle without the aid of his staff. G’d therefore told him to get rid of the staff and to perform the miracle with his hand. This is why we read subsequently that the people had faith in G’d and His servant Moses, seeing that he had been able to perform such a miracle merely with his hand (verse 31). Whereas previously the Torah had stated that the people did have faith in Moses (4,31), this faith had been shaken in the interval. It was therefore necessary for the Torah to write in connection with the splitting of the Sea that their faith in Moses had been completely restored.

ולא קרב זה אל זה כל הלילה, “and one did not come close to the other all night long.” The Israelites had begun their descent into the sea during the night. When the Torah (verse 19) had reported that the angel of G’d had moved from before the people to behind the people, this was at the beginning of the night. The meaning of all this is that the attribute of Justice described there as מלאך האלו-הים as well as in some other instances in the Bible, is not described as מלאך אלו-הים, but as מלאך האלו-הים. Nachmanides says that it is possible that the word מלאך in this case is not a possessive but an explanation. In other words, the Torah explains that the agent (angel) mentioned now moved to the rear of the Jewish people in a pillar of fire so that in addition to the pillar of fire now at their rear the pillar of cloud which used to be in front during the day also moved to the rear at this time so that two pillars separated the Egyptians from the Israelites. When the morning watch commenced the Egyptians became victims of G’d’s judgment. The word אשמורת הבוקר is an allusion to this. Onkelos translates this word as והוה במטרת צפרא, an allusion to the agent Mattatron who has been entrusted by G’d to run the universe along the lines of natural laws.

The order of the various forces was as follows: 1) The camp of Israel was in front; 2) behind it and close to them the pillar of fire. 3) behind the pillar of fire was the pillar of cloud. 4) behind the pillar of cloud came the camp of the Egyptians. This means that two separate columns divided the Israelites from the Egyptians. The words ויהי הענן והחשך mean that the Israelites had light as the pillar of fire which was positioned immediately behind them provided light for them, i.e. ויאר את הלילה, it lit up the night; the Egyptians did not benefit from this light as the pillar of cloud was positioned between them and the pillar of fire. The words “they did not approach one another” mean that they could not approach one another due to the two columns (pillars) separating the two camps from one another.

Nonetheless, the Egyptians could see the Israelites as they saw the pillar of fire through the pillar of cloud. When one sits in the dark one can see light even if the light is distant. Israel, however, could not see the Egyptians as people bathed in light cannot see those who sit surrounded by darkness. It was therefore most important for the pillar of fire which normally had traveled in front of the Israelites to have taken up a position behind them. Had it continued to be in front of them and to light up the way for them like on the preceding nights the Israelites would have been invisible to the Egyptians and they therefore would not have followed them.

A Midrashic view of the words: “they did not approach each other all night long,” i.e. “the celestial beings did not engage in song.” In chapter 42 of Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer we find the comment: “do not read as if it said ולא קרא זה אל זה but ולא קרב זה אל זה כל הלילה, a play on words such as וקרא זה אל זה ואמר קדוש, “each one called to the other saying: “holy, holy holy.”

ויבקעו המים, “the waters were split.” The meaning is “the waters remained split after separating.” The splitting of the waters occurred first, followed by the strong easterly wind which was designed to get rid of the wetness of the bed of the sea enabling it to become dry land, חרבה. This process was parallel to the one described in 16,20: “it became worm-eaten and stank.” The meaning there is also that after it (the manna) had begun to stink, worms began to eat from the foul-smelling mass.

A Midrashic approach based on Mechilta: the words “the waters split” (instead of the sea split) mean that the waters throughout the universe split at that time. The reason we must understand the words in that way is because had it been a local phenomenon only the Torah should have written ויבקעו מימיו, “its waters split.” There is another dimension to the splitting of the sea which will make you understand that it was essential that all the water in the world be split at that time and that a total change in the behaviour of natural law occur at that time. Our sages (Avot 5,3) have accepted as axiomatic that at the time when this miracle occurred there occurred altogether ten miracles simultaneously. All of these miracles may be derived from the wording of this paragraph.

1. The first one is that the waters were split (into a number of fissures, separate paths) as is evident from the simple reading of the text.
2. after the waters were split they became like a “hat,” like the shape of a roof stretched out from the top, with normal water to the left and to the right. The path was in the center. This is the meaning of the words והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם, “and the waters were a wall for them to their right and to their left.”
3. the ground under the sea did not remain like the river bed of rivers which run dry in the summer, etc. i.e. muddy, but turned into solid dry ground. This is why the Torah wrote: “they walked on dry land” (verse 29).
4. the path traveled by the Egyptians had remained wet, like mud, loam. This is what is meant by “they were mired in the Sea of Reeds” (15,4). The word טביעה is always a reference to someone sinking into mud. We have another example of this in Psalms 69,3: טבעתי ביון מצולה ואין מעמד, “I am sinking in the slimy deep and find no foothold.” Jeremiah 38,6 means the same thing. This disaster which struck the Egyptians was a great miracle and this is why it is considered one of the ten miracles which were performed for the Israelites at the sea. Chabakuk 3,15 describes graphically how G’d performed this miracle saying: “You will make Your steeds tread the sea, stirring the mighty waters.”
5. the fifth miracle was the fact that all these waters froze (solidified). This is the meaning of the words “the deep froze (congealed)” (15,8). The word is taken from Job 10,10 וכגבינה תקפיאני, “You congealed me like cheese.” The water became hard as stone. This is spelled out in 15,5: “they went down into the depths like a stone. The Torah means that just as the depths are hard as stones so the waters became hard as stone. This causes one to break one’s head on impact as mentioned by David in Psalms 74,13: “who smashed the head of the monsters in the water.” Unless the water had become hard as stone this is hard to understand.
6. the waters did not solidify into one giant chunk such as an iceberg, but into many smaller blocks. This is the meaning of the wordsנצבו כמו נד , “they stood arranged like a wall” (15,8). The waters were arranged like blocks of stone one upon the other forming a wall. David explained the term in greater detail when he said (Psalms 74,13) “it was You who smashed into pieces the sea with Your might.”
7. the sea parted into 12 parts to provide 12 lanes, one each for the tribes. This is based on the word זה in זה אל-י ואנוהו “this is my Lord and I wish to exalt Him.” The numerical value of the word זה=12 (15,2). David also speaks of G’d having divided the sea into numerous sections (Psalms 136,10).
8. “the waters even when congealed remained transparent like glass,” so that the “bricks” we just mentioned were like clear bricks so that members of one tribe could see the members of the next tribe in the adjoining lane. This is the meaning of the words קפאו תהומות בלב ים, “the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea” (15,8). The word appears also in Zecharyah 14,6 where it appears to mean “freezing time,” neither cold nor sunshine, a suspension of normal changes from night to day. [The author understands it also there as relating to the transparency of ice. Ed.]
9. G’d extracted sweet waters for drinking by the Israelites from the salty sea water. This is the meaning of the word נוזלים, (15,8) where Moses describes this sweet water as dripping forth from the blocks of frozen sea-water. The expression נוזלים occurs in Song of Songs 4,15 as an attribute of מים חיים, pure spring-water gushing forth from the mountains of Lebanon.
10. This sweet water froze again as soon as the Israelites had made use of it for their needs. This explains the peculiar sequence in 15,8: “straight as a wall stood the running water, the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.” The verse tells us that something which had been dripping, running, subsequently froze in the middle of the sea. This concludes the list of the ten miracles G’d performed at the Sea.

You should realize that the three verses (14,19-21) each consist of 72 letters amounting to a total of 216 letters. Each of these verses therefore is an allusion to the great 72-lettered name of G’d. The 72-lettered name of G’d represents the fourth attribute (emanation) of חסד, “loving kindness.”

When you arrange the three verses instead of sequentially, above one another, the second one in reverse order, each vertical column will give you a three-lettered name of G’d. Examples: when you place the word ויסע (verse 19) above the word הלילה in the second verse but above the word ויט in verse 21, then the vertical reading from the top down of the first letter will be והו. The second name would be ילי. The 37th such acrostic spells אני (compare Rashi on Sukkah 45A). Each unit of three letters is a name of G’d. The middle row, i.e. verse 20 which would be arranged backwards instead of forwards, represents the attribute (emanation) גבורה, whereas verse 21 which is arranged from right to left again represents the attribute (emanation) תפארת. Each unit of three letters which is a name of G’d, together forms the 72-lettered name of G’d when you put them end to end in the order I just described. The number three, which appears in 72 such names of G’d, is representative of the three “celestial patriarchs,” a concept parallel to the three terrestrial patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov.

Although the Torah does not spell out either in the command or in the report of the crossing that the sea which the Israelites crossed was the Sea of Reeds, it is clear from Moses’ song of thanksgiving (15,,4) that if the Egyptians drowned in that sea this must have been the sea that the Israelites crossed. Furthermore, we read immediately afterwards that Moses made the Israelites journey from the “Sea of Reeds” (15,22). This sea is called ים האחרון by G’d when He showed Moses the territory of the land of Israel in Deut. 34,2. The reason it is so called [i.e. the word סוף which also means “end”, i.e. אחרון= “last, final” Ed.] is that it is the furthest boundary of the land of Israel. David also refers to it by the name ים סוף in Psalms 106,9: “He sent His blast against ים סוף, it became dry.” However, there is also an attribute of G’d which is known as ים, as David mentions elsewhere in verse 7 of that Psalm. It appears that he meant that this attribute called ים was invoked by G’d in order to make the Israelites able to cross the ים. When we understand the word ים as having two meanings, then we can also understand Psalms 106 7 וימרו על-ים בים-סוף, as “they rebelled against the attribute of G’d called ים at the Sea of Reeds.” [According to the Zohar, the word סוף ים is a name for the “highest, the most distant sea,” a spiritual concept.] (The author does not mention the word Zohar, as it was not at his disposal. Ed.)

ויבאו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה, ”the Children of Israel came into the sea when it was dry land.” The plain meaning of these words is that the place which had previously been sea was now dry land.

A Midrashic view: (Shemot Rabbah 21,10) “if they came into the sea, why does the Torah write: “they came unto dry land?” If they came unto dry land why does the Torah call it “sea?” The verse teaches that the sea was not split for them until they had set foot in it while it was still sea up to the level of the nostrils (to demonstrate their faith). Immediately after they had done this the sea was converted to dry land. Rabbi Nehorai said: “a Jewish mother holding her son by her hand would wade into the sea while her son was crying. His mother took an apple or pomegranate out of the sea and gave it to her son to stop him crying. He based himself on Psalms 106,9: “He led them through the deep as through a wilderness.” The reason the psalmist draws this comparison with the desert is to tell you that just as the Israelites were not short of anything while G’d led them through the desert, they were not short of anything when He led them through the sea. This is confirmed by Deut. 2,7: “for forty years your G’d was with you; you did not lack a thing.” Just as they lacked nothing there, they lacked nothing in the depths of the sea.

והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם, “and the waters were a wall for them to their right and to their left.” This proves that the path was in the centre seeing there was water on both sides as well as above them

A Midrash understands the word והמים as a reference to Torah which has also been compared to water. The meaning would be that because of the Torah which the Israelites were about to receive and which they would be eager to receive, this Torah now acted as a shield for them to their right and to their left. At the same time, this Torah would be an instrument of destruction for the Egyptians. This is the reason the word חומה, “wall,” is spelled defective, i.e. without the letter ו is so that it can be read חמה, “anger.” What proved a protective wall for the Israelites represented a few hours later G’d’s anger and the death of the Egyptians. The words מימינם ומשמאלם may also be understood as references to the merit of Torah and phylacteries respectively. The Torah is described as “the right side of G’d,” i.e. מימינו אש דת למו, (Deut. 33, 2). The phylacteries which are worn on our left arm provide the merit thanks to which the waters formed a wall on the left of the Israelites.

ויסר את אופן מרכבותיו, “He (G’d) removed the wheels of their chariots.” According to the plain meaning of the text, seeing that G’d looked down upon the Egyptians through the pillar of fire, the heat of that fire burned every wooden part of the Egyptians’ chariots. As a result they lost all their effectiveness.

A scientific approach: “the word אופן is the same as גלגל, “wheel.” We find in Ezekiel 10,13 that the אופנים are equated with גלגלים. In that context neither אופן or גלגל is a physical wheel; it is a reference to celestial forces which cause the orbits of planets, etc., i.e. “the wheels which make the universe go round.” G’d removed one of such “wheels” [hence the singular, Ed] so that the Egyptians were stymied. Targum Yonathan ben Uziel on Ezekiel 1,15 translates the word אופן in והנה אופן אחד בארץ, as “גלגלא,” wheel. The author quotes additional verses on the word אופן. The point that he makes is it that just as we have a rule (Shemot Rabbah 21,5) that G’d does not punish a nation here on earth until He has first dealt with its celestial representative, so here too, the physical chariots did not disintegrate until after G’d had dealt a blow to their celestial counterparts. Hence the Torah used the word אופן to describe His interference with the Egyptians’ celestial assistants. Immediately afterwards the wheels of their chariots on the terrestrial plane moved only “with extreme sluggishness.“ According to the Midrash the specific planet, i.e. its orbit, was the planet Mars under whose auspices wars are fought. The word אופן is spelled defective with the letter ו missing so that we have the word אפן. The numerical value of the three letters of אפן equals 131, i.e. the same as סמא'ל, Satan, the angel of death. In other words, removal of the letter ו from the Egyptians’ chariots spelled death for them. You will observe that the forces represented by the chariots, both terrestrial and celestial, are already alluded to in their respective names. This is important so that we should not confuse the issue by thinking that the Egyptians’ mazzal, horoscope, had decreed this death upon them at that time. The Egyptians mazzal, i.e. the name of the celestial representative of Egypt is עזא as we have explained on a previous occasion (end of verse 10) when we discussed who was journeying in the lead behind the Israelites. There is a play on words there as the guardian angel or “celestial representative” of a nation is named similarly to the nation it represents as we know from Genesis 12,6 “והכנעני אז בארץ;” compare what we wrote there.

לפנות בוקר לאיתנו, “towards morning, to its original state.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word לאיתנו, means “to its original power.” The word appears in a similar sense in Numbers 24,21 where it means “a strong dwelling.”

A Midrashic approach (Mechilta): the word לאיתנו means the same as לתנאו, “to its (contractual) condition.” Genesis 1,9 where the Torah writes ותראה היבשה, “so that the dry land shall become visible,” hints at the same thing, i.e. the dry land shall become visible in the water. [It would appear that when the universe was described prior to the earth becoming visible as והארץ היתה תהו ובהו at the very beginning of Genesis, this was a temporary condition which was reversed on the third day. Ed.]

According to another Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 5,4) G’d had made an agreement with the water at the time of creation that it would submit to being split when the Israelites would need to cross it on foot. This tradition is based on Isaiah 45,12: “it was I Who made the earth... My own hands stretched out the heavens and commanded their host. As soon as the heavens had been stretched across the firmament and all their hosts, I commanded the sea to split on account of the Israelites. I commanded sun and moon to obey Joshua’s command (Joshua 10,12) to temporarily arrest their orbits, etc. I commanded heaven and earth to remain silent when Moses would begin his speech in Deut. 32,1 and I commanded the ravens to carry bread and meat to the prophet Elijah (Kings I 17,8). I commanded the fire (heat) not to harm Chanayah, Mishael, and Azaryah (Daniel 3,27). I ordered the lions not to harm Daniel (Daniel 6,23). I ordered the whale to spit out Jonah (Jonah 2,11).” Thus far the Midrash. This Midrash is at pains to prove that all the miracles which interfere with the normal functioning of the universe which have been activated by various prophets or by G’d directly, had been provided for within the framework of the six days of creation during which G’d established the laws of nature. There has never been something which could be termed “a new act of creation” after G’d had completed the universe on the eve of the first Sabbath. This is also the whole point of the Mishnah in Avot 5,6 which tells of the 10 miracles for which G’d laid the basis at dusk on the first Sabbath eve. When the Mishnah speaks about Bileam’s (talking) ass having been created during the last few minutes prior to the commencement of the first Sabbath, this means that at that time G’d had made provision for this miraculous phenomenon to occur when needed. The same applies to the earth swallowing Korach and supporters at Moses’ command (Numbers 16,31). When the sages spoke about the ten miracles having been נבראו, “created” at that time, they meant that the creative power for these phenomena to materialize at one time or another was part of the process of the six days of G’d’s creative activity at that time. in other words: “the miracle itself was part of nature,” though only G’d and His inert creatures involved were aware of it. That which the sages referred to as a תנאי, “a condition” which G’d imposed on such creatures of His as the water, etc., was in fact a condition that such “miracles” would be part of what is טבע, “nature,” according to G’d’s definition of this term. When we speak of something “supernatural” occurring, this is a subjective truth applicable only to the beholder of that phenomenon, not to its Creator. Whenever such miracles occur this does not mean that G’d made a sudden revision in His plans for the world and was forced to adopt measures He had not previously thought of, but that the time had arrived at that moment to activate plans He had made already during the six days of creation.

ומצרים נסים לקראתו, “and the Egyptians were fleeing towards it.” We would have expected the Torah to write that the Egyptians were fleeing מפניו, “on its account,” or “from it.” However, the meaning of the words is that they were fleeing on account of the sea in order to escape it. The water kept coming at them in spite of their attempts to run away from it. This is what the Torah means when it wrote: ”G’d poured the Egyptians into the sea.” Our sages understood this verse as “He poured them into the sea as one pours meat into a pot.”

הבאים אחריהם בים, “who were coming behind them in the sea.” The rule for writing a Sefer Torah stipulates that six words must be written at the beginning of a page. The easy way to remember these six words is by their respective first letters, הי'ה שמ'ו. The words in question are ב-ראשית, י-הודה (אתה יודוך)-באים (אחריהם) ש-מור ושמעת מ-וצא (שפתיך) ו-אעידה (בם) .ה- It is possible that the reason that just these six words need to be written at the beginning of a page is that they contain an allusion to a renewal of the whole process of creation which the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt represented. G’d was “riding in the highest heaven, בערבות.” The two words formed by the acrostic of the six words we mentioned are taken from Psalms 68,5: שירו לאלו-הים זמרו שמו סלו לרוכב בערבות ביה שמו ועלזו לפניו, “Sing to G’d, chant Hymns in His name; extol Him Who rides the clouds.” It is interesting to observe how the allusion in the letter ה of the acrostic בי''ה ties in with what Moses sang in his song עזי וזמרת יה. This is why he repeated the words מי כמוכה ה' twice. The letter ה in the word ביה in Psalms (68,5) and the extra letter ה at the end of the word כמוכ-ה (15,11) allude to the first and last letter ה in the tetragram respectively. The first one is at the same time the last one in the list of the ten emanations, a reference to the attribute of Justice, referred to in מי כמוכה באלם, i.e. a defective spelling of אלהים in 15,11. Moses referred to the מלאך האלו-הים who had taken up position behind the Israelites. We have discussed this in detail on 14,19. He is referred to here also as הבאים אחריהם בים, meaning that G’d’s salvation of the Israelites at the sea occurred by means of that attribute, that angel. According to our sages in Menachot 29 the word ב-הבראם in Genesis 2,4 is equivalent to the Torah having written ב-ה בראם, that G’d created the universe with the letter ה of the tetragrammaton. Another explanation is that the re-arrangement of the word בהבראם results in the word באברהם, meaning that the merit of Avraham (in the future) was responsible for G’d creating the world. [Just as the eventual existence of Yaakov was the reason G’d saved Avraham from Nimrod’s furnace (compare Isaiah 29,22) although Yaakov had not yet been born, so G’d found it worthwhile to create the world in order for a human being of Avraham’s caliber to come into existence. Ed.] You will find that in the previously mentioned six words of the Torah which must always be written at the beginning of a page, the second letter in each of the first five of these words when read as an acrostic forms the name אברהם. The sixth word, i.e. ואעידה is used to symbolize the 6 directions in the universe, i.e. north, south, east, west, up, and down. In other words: these six directions came into existence due to the merit of Avraham. The entire concept is a brilliant illustration of the words of the psalmist (Psalms 89,3) עולם חסד יבנה, that the whole universe was founded on the concept of חסד, i.e. Avraham’s outstanding virtue.

וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה, “Israel saw (experienced) the great hand, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word יד is a euphemism for retribution. We had numerous examples of this, the first one being Exodus 9,3: “here the hand of G’d will be extended against your livestock, etc.”

According to the Midrash (Mechilta Beshalach 6) the words את היד הגדולה are the source for the sages claiming that while G’d performed 10 plagues in Egypt, He performed 50 plagues by the Sea of Reeds (opinion of Rabbi Yossi Haglili mentioned in Haggadah shel Pessach). Seeing that in connection with the ten plagues we find that the sorcerers acknowledged the “finger” of G’d at work, it stands to reason that when G’d’s hand is mentioned as having become manifest that five times as many plagues must have occurred.

A kabbalistic approach to the words את היד הגדולה: this is a reference to the second letter ה in the tetragram. It is the “weak” attribute of Justice which operates on earth and is best known as the emanation מלכות. It orchestrated the splitting of the sea and this is the reason why we recite in our prayers: מלכותך ראו בניך בוקע ים לפני משה זה אלי ענו הודו והמליכו, “Your emanation מלכות Your Children have seen at work as it split the sea in front of Moses; this is my G’d; answer, give thanks and enthrone Him!” This line in our prayers is an allusion to the verse זה א-לי ואנוהו. We are aware that after the Israelites had crossed the sea they sang a song of thanksgiving. The meaning of the additional adjective הגדולה, “the great one,” when the Torah described G’d’s hand, is that in its capacity of being “great,” i.e. enlarged, it (the attribute of Justice) draws also on the attribute חסד, i.e. loving kindness, Mercy. This is also the reason that in the context of the שירה, this hand is described as ימינך, “Your right hand.”

It is important to understand the translation of Onkelos who renders את היד הגדולה, as ית גבורתא ידא רבתא, seeing that he adds the word גבורתא to his translation. He wanted to illustrate that the attribute of Justice which is part of the hand was what administered the punishment, whereas the attribute of Mercy which was co-opted was not in order to soften the Egyptians’ punishment but in order to save the Israelites. Nachmanides writes as follows in his commentary on this verse: According to דרך האמת we have to conclude that what is known as היד הגדולה was revealed to the Israelites while they were at the sea. This is a reference to the manifestation of G’d’s attribute of Justice at work against Egypt. The expression is not dissimilar to Deut. 4,36: “and on earth He has shown you His great fire.” This is a reference to His right hand which smashed the enemy (15,15,6). At that point this fire was described as G’d’s “arm” of which the prophet wrote (Isaiah 51,9) עורי עורי לבשי עוז זרוע ה’, ”Awake, awake! Put on the strength of Your arm O Lord;” “are not You the One who dried out the sea. Nothing is concealed from You” (verse 10). We have explained the words לבשי עז in our commentary on Genesis 49,24 מידי אביר יעקב.

וייראו העם ויאמינו, “The people were afraid and they believed.” Fear and Faith are the cornerstones of the entire Torah. Rabbeinu Chananel writes in this connection that faith may be divided into four parts. 1) Faith in the Lord; this is meant when we read in Chronicles II 20,20 (King Yehoshaphat speaking) “Trust firmly in the Lord your G’d and you will stand firm.” 2) Faith in the prophets. This is what is meant when the Torah wrote here “they believed in G’d and in His servant Moses.” In order to demonstrate this faith in G’d’s prophets we are obligated to obey the prophets’ instructions. 3) one must have faith in the existence of life after death on earth. This is part of the belief in reward and punishment for performance of the commandments of the Torah. David referred to this when he said (Psalms 27,13) “Had I not had the assurance that I would enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, etc.” 4) The belief in the coming of the Messiah. This too is an important cornerstone of Torah philosophy. This is confirmed in Isaiah 28,16: “Assuredly, thus said the Lord G’d; ‘Behold I will found in Zion, stone by stone, a tower of precious cornerstones exceedingly firm; he who trusts need not fear.” Everybody who has faith will will be credited with many merits. We know this already from Avraham who was the source of all the faithful. G’d credited him for his trust when the Torah wrote (Genesis 15,6) “he had faith in G’d and He (G’d) considered this as an act of righteousness on his part.” Amongst other advantages accruing to the faithful is the promise that they will experience a return to Gan Eden as we have been told by Isaiah 26,2: “open the gates, and let a righteous nation enter; a nation that keps faith.” This is a reference to life in the hereafter. We have a further verse in Chabakuk 2,4: “the just will live by his faith.” Anyone who does not have faith in these cornerstones of Judaism belongs to the group of people of whom Eliphaz said in Job 15,22: “he is never sure he will come back from the dark; a sword stares him in the face.” Such people will not share in the life in the hereafter nor will they take part in the redemption. We base this on Ezekiel 20,38: “I will remove from you those that rebel and transgress against Me.” It is also written in Psalms 31,24: “the Lord guards the faithful but more than requites him who acts arrogantly.” The meaning is that whereas G’d protects those that have faith, He will punish the faithless because the root of their lack of faith is their arrogance. They will not participate in the life of the future as it is written (Chabakuk 2,4) “the haughtiness is blown up, not upright; but the righteous will live by his faith.” Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel

Seeing that faith is the foundation of the whole Torah, our sages have decreed the response אמן on numerous occasions within the prayer service in order for the participants to express their faith in what the reader proclaims. The word אמן is rooted in the expression אמונה, “faith, loyalty.” The word also means that he who says it acknowledges and agrees with the statements concerning which he says אמן. Our sages laid so much stress on this verbal response that we find a statement in Nazir 15 that “he who answers with the word אמן is greater than he who uttered the words to which אמן is the response.”

In order to explain this apparently baffling statement, we must remember that he who answers אמן when he heard the benediction read by the Chazzan in fact acknowledges that the real source of the blessing is G’d, not the Chazzan or priest, and that by saying אמן he validates the Chazzan’z statement. It is similar to sealing a document with a signature. Until it was sealed it lacked legal status. Even if we grant that the Chazzan was the first witness to this document, until it had been countersigned by a second witness it was not valid Our sages have written at length about the manner in which the word אמן is to be enunciated. They said that it must not be spoken in clipped tones, not in a hurry, it must not be spoken so that the last letter is not clearly audible but one must take his time over saying that word. They were so concerned with ensuring that we take these rules seriously that they threatened that if someone said the word before having heard the whole benediction (an “orphaned אמן”), that such a person or his children might themselves become orphans. They have similarly threatened heavenly retaliation for other infractions of the rules about the proper enunciation and timing of saying the word אמן. Ben Azzai promised long life to those who make a point of saying the word אמן by taking their time over it (compare Berachot 16 on all this). [The author proceeds to explain some of the defective ways of pronouncing אמן. I decided to omit this. Ed.]

I have so far explained the word אמן in terms of it being rooted in the word אמונה. Apart from the fact that the word symbolises תפארת and כבוד, there is an additional mystical dimension to this word. It contains within itself a “panorama” of the ten emanations including both the tetragrammaton and its substitute (א-ד-נ-י) seeing it commences with the letter א, which symbolizes the highest of these emanations, i.e. כתר. This emanation is the source of all the blessings up until the letter מ which symbolises תשובה, repentance, as well as the fact that G’d is מלך העולם the King of the universe. [A king, by definition is masculine. Ed.] The letter ן which adjoins the letter מ alludes to the fact that G’d combines within Himself both the masculine and feminine attributes. The allusion is found in the fact that the letter נ appears sometimes as כפופה, “bent over”, suggesting something feminine, and sometimes upright, at the end of a word, suggesting something masculine. As soon as the path of the blessings (which emanated at the top of the emanations כתר), had reached the level of the letter ן and what it represents, it expands to the world of disembodied spirits, after which it descends to our terrestrial universe. Seeing the blessing had commenced its descent from the region represented by the letter א and had continued from there much as the waters from a natural spring continue to flow downwards, irrigating all the areas which are in need of irrigation on their way, so the person responding with the word אמן has the gates of Gan Eden opened for him. This is the meaning of Isaiah 26,2: “open the gates and let a righteous nation enter, a nation that keeps faith.” The word is spelled אמונים, and the sages suggest that it be read אמנים instead, without the letter ו, i.e. suggesting that those who respond with the word אמן have demonstrated their faith, אמונה. In other words the reward for faith follows in its footsteps (Isaiah 40,10). The word אמן is an acrostic consisting of the respective first letters of the words אל מלך נאמן, “G’d is a faithful and dependable G’d.”

It is noteworthy that the word נאמן contains both types of the letter נ which we mentioned before, i.e. the “bent” one and the “straight” one (in the words of Rashi on Genesis 21,34 “that the verse did not intend to put the lid on information (conceal it), but on the contrary to reveal information).” The “straight” ן in the word אמן embodies both the masculine and the feminine element seeing that the bent נ represents the feminine element and the upright ן the masculine element, there was room for only one such letter in the acrostic.

You should also remember that the letter א is called אמן (compare Zohar) as the emanation חכמה is also known as אמון. This is the mystical dimension of Proverbs 8,30 ואהיה אצלו אמון, “I was with him keeping faith.” [The reference is to Torah whose wisdom has been used by G’d in creating the universe. Ed.] חכמה and כתר are in fact inseparable, seeing that this is the domain where blessing originates, based on Psalms 134,2 שאו ידיכם קודש וברכו את ה', “lift your hands towards the sanctuary and bless the Lord.” The psalmist addresses the חכמה, as קדש. As a result the statement that he who responds with the word אמן is greater even than the one inviting such a response makes perfect sense. All this is applicable outside the confines of the Holy Temple. In the Temple itself the formula אמן was not used (Berachot 63). The reason was that within the precincts of the Temple the priests would pronounce the tetragrammaton in accordance with its spelling, not as a כנוי, i.e. as א-ד-נ-י, as was the case outside the holy precincts. Seeing that the first two letters of the tetragrammaton, i.e. the letters י-ה symbolized the source from which the blessing emanates there was no point in adding the word אמן which does so only indirectly, i.e. by means of the letter א which symbolized the כנוי. When someone consciously repeats the word אמן he will acquire two worlds as indicated by David at the end of Psalm 72 וברוך שם כבודו לעולם וימלא כבודו את כל הארץ אמן ואמן, “Blessed is His glorious name forever; His glory fills the universe, Amen, Amen.” We find the same theme repeated at the end of Psalm 89 ברוך ה' לעולם אמן ואמן, “Blessed be the Lord forever, Amen and Amen.” Anyone saying אמן in this fashion has truly honoured the Lord. Concerning such people we are told in Samuel I 2,30 (in the name of G’d) “for I honor those who honor Me.” People who are negligent in saying the word אמן properly and with the proper thoughts are guilty of blaspheming the name of the Lord. Concerning such people G’d said: ובוזי יקלו, (end of the verse quoted from Samuel). According to our tradition such people are consigned to the lowest of the seven sections of gehinom, a section from which there is no escape. That part of gehinom is known as ארץ עיפתה in Job 10,22. [We know of seven different names for gehinom; each one describes a different layer. compare Eruvin 19 and Sotah 10. Ed.]. The author identifies ארץ עיפתה with שאול תחתית (Deut. 32,22), i.e. “the lowest depths” from which there is no return. Apparently, the word שאול is one compartment and תחתית is the name of another such compartment. This must be the meaning of Proverbs 15,11: 'שאול ואבדון נגד ה', “hell and destruction are in front of G’d.” Anyone descending to that level will not ascend again. Concerning people who make light of the saying of אמן, Jeremiah 2,13 said: “they have abandoned Me, the source of living waters.” In other words, by failing to say Amen, or worse, they have deprived themselves of the source of life. Wherein consists their penalty? The prophet continues: “they dig for themselves broken cisterns, cisterns which are unable to hold water.” The repetition by the prophet of the word בארות, cisterns, is an allusion to the twofold penalty these people are going to experience. Whatever G’d does is based on the principle of “measure for measure,” whether it pertains to the handing out of reward or to the decreeing of punishment.