Kommentar zu Schemot 14:29

ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה, all the while the Egyptians experienced all these problems and were drowning, the Israelites had been walking trough the sea as if it were dry land. The areas still being traversed by Israelites were not affected by the sea reverting to its originals state.

ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים, but the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground. The reason the Torah states this fact a second time is merely to tell us that the Egyptians were aware of this fact and also of the fact that the sea had formed a wall for the Israelites, whereas they themselves went down deeper into the earth. This was fulfilment of the prophecy in verse 18 that the Egyptians would become aware of the true nature of G'd. It is worth reading Ibn Ezra's commentary on verse 27 where he lambasts the commentators who tried to explain away the miracle. He debunks the theory that Moses was well informed about the times of low tide and high tide respectively, whereas Pharaoh was ignorant of this and this is why he drowned with his army. The fact that the Israelites marched on dry land as described and did not merely wade through mud which had recently been covered by the sea, plus the fact that the Egyptians observed the waters forming a wall on either side of the Israelites made it clear that all of this had nothing at all to do with high tides and low tides.

ובני ישראל הלכו, all this while the Israelites had already completed crossing the sea while its bed was completely dry.

ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים, “and the Children of Israel walked in the midst of the sea on dry land.” Ibn Ezra writes that the Torah writes this a second time in order to inform us that while some Israelites were still in the dried out sea, at a location quite nearby, Pharaoh was already drowning in that same sea. This is a great miracle in itself, seeing that the easterly wind was still blowing on the part of the sea the Israelites were in the process of walking across on the dried out bed of the sea. At the same time, another wind was blowing melting the frozen waters so that they collapsed on top of the Egyptian army which was struggling, and the waters reversed their course and drowned them. Some of these events are reflected in the song of thanks by Moses and the Israelites in the chapter following.

And the ministering angels were astounded (at Israel's survival), saying: "Idolators walking on the dry land in the midst of the sea!" And whence is it derived that the sea, too, was filled with fury against them? From (Ibid. 14:22) "And the water was to them a wall (chomah), on their right and on their left." Read it not "chomah" but "cheimah" (wrath). What is it that rescued Israel? "on their right and on their left." "on their right" — in the merit of the Torah that they were destined to receive, viz. (Devarim 33:2) "From His right hand, the fire of the Law for them." And "on their left" — (in the merit of) prayer. Variantly: "on their right and on their left": "on their right" — (the mitzvah of) mezuzah that Israel is destined to observe. "and on their left" — tefillin (worn on the left hand). Pappus expounded (Song of Songs 1:9) "to a mare in the chariots of Pharaoh, etc.": Pharaoh rode on a stallion — the Holy One Blessed be He revealed Himself, as it were, on a stallion, viz. (Habakkuk 3:15) "You made Your stallion tread the sea." Pharaoh (also) rode on a mare, which can endure a long stretch better than a stallion — the Holy One Blessed be He revealed Himself on a mare, viz. "To a mare in the chariots of Pharaoh, etc." R. Akiva: "Enough, Pappus!" Pappus: How, then, do you understand "to a mare" ("lesusati")? R. Akiva: Understand it as "lesasti" ("to My joy"), the Holy One Blessed be He saying: "Just as I rejoiced in destroying Egypt, so I would have rejoiced in destroying Israel (for their idolatry). What prevented Me from doing so? "on their right and on their left" (see above). Pappus expounded (Iyyov 23:13) "And He is one, and who can turn Him back? Whatever He desires, He does": He is the sole judge of all who enter the world, and no one can contest His words. R. Akiva: "Enough Pappus!" Pappus: "And how do you understand it?" R. Akiva: The words of Him who brought the world into being are not to be contested, for all of them are in accordance with truth and justice. R. Pappus expounded (Genesis 3:22) ("and the L rd G d said:) Behold, the man has become like one of us" — as one of the ministering angels. R. Akiva: "Enough Pappus!" Pappus: "And how do you understand it?" R. Akiva: The Holy One Blessed be He gave him two options: one of life and one of death, and he chose the one of death. R. Pappus expounded (Psalms 106:20) "And they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that feeds on grass": I might think, for the "ox" on high (i.e., Taurus); it is, therefore, written "that feeds on grass." R. Akiva: "Enough Pappus!" Pappus: "And how do you understand it?" R. Akiva: As referring to the terrestrial ox. I might think, that it refers to the mundane ox; it is, therefore, written "that feeds on grass." There is nothing more revolting and detestable than an ox (in the act of) eating grass.

והמים להם חומה, “and the waters were like a wall for them.” The word חמה, wall, is usually spelled with the letterו after the first letter. Here this letter is missing. The reason is that at first the same waters had been a terrible threat חימה, for them until the angel Gavriel came and made the waters pile up as if frozen solid, forming a wall of ice. The angel informed the waters on their right that the Israelites would shortly accept the Torah. Seeing that the Torah had always been on the right side of the Almighty, as we know from Deuteronomy 33,2: אש דת למו, “the fire of the law at His right hand,” this served as a warning to the waters. The angel then turned to the waters on the left side of the Israelites, warning the waters that the Israelites were going to wear phylacteries on their left arms. He also warned the waters behind the Israelites that these would be draped in garments equipped with fringes. When the waters heard all this they turned into solid walls. They divided themselves into 12 lanes. There were walls of frozen water between the 12 tribes so that one tribe could see members of any other tribe through windows in those walls. This enabled members of one tribe to keep in touch with members of the adjoining tribe. This is based on the line: “the waters became a wall for them.” (Yalkut Shimoni section one 247 and 234) According to this Midrash, it would appear that when putting on one’s Tallit, prayer shawl one should throw the tzitzit, fringes, backwards over one’s shoulder. Our author feels that there is no need to do this. He feels that when enveloping oneself in the tallit, the fringes will be thrown backwards as part of that process. How else could the process be called “enveloping oneself?”

ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה, “meanwhile the Children of Israel had walked on dry land.” This verse is inseparably linked to the previous one, as it contrasts the experiences of the Israelites and those of the Egyptians at one and the same time. If we had to explain this scientifically, we would say that two winds each blowing in opposite directions had been at work during that period. The wind described in Moses’ song in 15,8, served the interests of the Israelites, whereas the words: נשפת ברוחך, “You blew with Your wind,” served to lure the Egyptians to their destruction.