Kommentar zu Schemot 15:6

ימינך ... ימינך THY RIGHT HAND — twice! — When Israel performs the will of the Omnipresent the left hand (intended for punishment) becomes a right hand (bestowing reward, so that God has two right hands as it were) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:5).

THY RIGHT HAND, O ETERNAL, GLORIOUS IN POWER, THY RIGHT HAND, O ETERNAL, DASHETH IN PIECES THE ENEMY. Rashi commented: “The literal sense of the text is as follows: ‘Thy right hand that is glorious in power — what does it do? Thy right hand, O Eternal, dasheth in pieces the enemy.’ There are many Scriptural verses that follow this form. For lo Thine enemies, O Eternal, for lo Thine enemies shall perish;¹³⁶Ibid., 92:10. The meaning then would be: “For lo Thine enemies, O Eternal, what shall happen to them? For lo Thine enemies shall perish.” Eternal, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?¹³⁷Ibid., 94:3. The floods have lifted up, O Eternal, the floods have lifted up their voice.”¹³⁸Ibid., 93:3. In my opinion, however, this is not correct. Verses repeat words in order to indicate that such will always be the case, without identifying what they refer to until they mention it the second time. Had Scripture said here, “Thy right hand, thy right hand, dasheth in pieces the enemy” it would have been exactly like the other verses Rashi mentions. [But instead it says here, Thy right hand, O Eternal, ‘glorious in power,’ Thy right hand, O Eternal, dasheth… and consequently it is unlike the other verses mentioned.] Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the verse means: “Thy right hand, O Eternal, Thou Who art glorious in power, may Thy right hand dash in pieces the enemy.” In that case, the verse here is similar in form to the verses mentioned [by Rashi].
A more correct interpretation would be to explain it thus: “Thy right hand, O Eternal, is glorious in power to humble all proud and lofty; Thy right hand, O Eternal, dashes in pieces the enemy with great power.” It mentions the right hand both in the masculine and feminine forms,¹³⁹“Thy right hand… ‘ne’edari’ (glorious)” is in the masculine gender; “Thy right hand… ‘tir’atz’ (dasheth)” is in the feminine. just as in the verse, Behold, a hand was put forth unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein,¹⁴⁰Ezekiel 2:9. Sh’luchah (put forth) is a feminine form; bo (therein) is a masculine. and is repeated as is customary in prophecies.
The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand the way of the Truth in this verse from the first verses¹⁴¹See above, 14:31. I have explained. And so did the Rabbis say it:¹⁴²Shemoth Rabbah 24:1. “With the very same hand with which He sank the Egyptians, He delivered Israel,”¹⁴³See my Hebrew commentary, p. 355, that it is so interpreted by Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher. for it is “the power” that saves, as it is said, And now, I pray Thee, let the power of the Eternal be great.¹⁴⁴Numbers 14:17.

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח, Moses emphasises that it is not the mighty military machine of Pharaoh which glorifies in power but the right hand of the Lord; (this was already the second “war” against the Egyptians G’d conducted, i.e. a separate war against part of the power of Egypt). The first time Moses mentioned G’d’s ימין this is a grateful acknowledgment of G’d’s war against Pharaoh; the repetition of the words

ימינך ה׳ נאדרי בכח, "Your right hand O Lord is glorious in power," The Israelites marvelled at the power displayed by G'd even when operating as the attribute of Mercy. Even that attribute "dashed the enemy to pieces." Alternatively, one may read this verse "backwards." "When is Your right hand visibly powerful? When it dashes the enemy to pieces." Then the fear of You overcomes people as described in verse 16.

ימינך ה', Your “right” which is glorious with might, was the one that shattered the enemy.

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח, “Your right hand Hashem is glorified with strength.” According to Rashi [who offers three explanations of this phrase, the one he calls the plain meaning, Ed.] is that the same right hand that is exalted by beautiful strength, is also the very hand which smashes the enemy when the need arises.

ימינך ה', Your right hand O Lord, etc.” It is an accepted rule that every one of G’d’s attributes contains within it an element of its opposing attribute. As a result the attribute of Justice is “clothed” in the attribute of Mercy. This idea appears to be expressed by the words נאדרי בכח “is glorified by strength.” The word is derived from אדרת, “mantle, cover,” the power of the mercy contained in that mantle over the attribute of Justice was responsible for the Israelites escaping the fate of the Egyptians. The latter were drowned by the essence of the attribute of Justice whereas the Israelites were saved by its periphery, the mantle of Mercy. Some Midrashim (Tehillim 18) phrased it thus: The word “Your right hand smashed the enemy,” suggests that G’d’s other hand saved the Israelites.

It is constantly crushing. . . I.e., we should not understand that תרעץ is in the future tense. Rashi similarly explains תהרוס (v. 7).

V. 6. נאדרי. Erwägen wir die Bedeutung אדר als Mantel, ferner Stellen wie נאור אתה ,אדיר Ps. 76. 5, אדירים משברי ים (daselbst 93. 4), מלכים אדירים (daselbst 136, 18) אוי לני מי יצילנו מיד האלקי׳ האדירים האלה (Sam. I. 4, 8) und andere Stellen mehr, in welchen überwiegend nicht der Charakter der Anmut, der Schönheit, der Pracht, sondern der einer außerordentlichen Macht durch אדיר seinen Ausdruck findet, erwägen wir ferner die Verwandtschaft mit עדר und חדר, die ein abschließendes Sammeln zu einem Haufen oder in eine Umgrenzung bedeuten: so bezeichnet אַדִיר einen durch weiteres Machtgebiet über alle andere hervorragenden, von allen andern gesonderten und ausgezeichneten Mächtigen. Es ist der Mächtige ohnegleichen, und הֵאָדֵר: als sondergleichen mächtig, in einer Machtfülle sondergleichen offenbar werden. — Es heißt nicht בְכֹח sondernבָכּחַ , heißt auch nicht הָאוֹיֵב, sondern ,אוֹיֵב daher: deine durch diese hier geübte Kraft in einer Machtgröße sondergleichen offenbar gewordene Rechte wird fortan jeden Feind schrecken. כח ist das Vermögen, etwas zu tun. Du hast hier gezeigt, was du vermagst, gezeigt, dass in dir eine Macht vorhanden ist, die selbst die riesigste soziale Gewalt zu fürchten hat, sobald sie dem von dir gewollten Menschenheile feindlich ist. Daher auch ימין die dem Bedrohten helfende Rechte. Die Anschauung, die in ימין in der Rechten Gottes, die helfende, Heil spendende Gottesmacht und in יד, der Linken, die strafende, vernichtende erblickt, quillt tief aus dem jüdischen Gottbewusstsein. Gott zeigt seine eigentliche Macht und Größe schaffend und helfend, Leben und Segen gebend, nicht strafend und vernichtend. Von ihm ausgehende Strafe und Vernichtung ist selbst nur ein Weg zum Heile und zum Segen. Seine Linke steht im Dienste seiner Rechten.

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח, “Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power;” Rashi explains the grammatical inconsistency of using the masculine adjective for the word “Your hand,” which is a feminine noun, and should have been נאדרת, as having a counterpart in Lamentations, 1,1, when the prophet Jeremiah said איכה רבתי עם, instead of the masculine adjective, seeing that the noun עם is masculine. An alternate explanation of the words נאדרי בכח, is that it is linked to the name of the Lord, as for instance in Psalms 123,1: היושבי בשמים, “He Who resides in heaven.”

נאדרי, “glorious;” this adjective refers to G-d, the letter י at the end is superfluous, just as the letter י in Psalms 123,1 is superfluous in the word: היושבי. We therefore understand the whole sentence as if the Torah had written: ימינך ה' הנאדר בכח היא תרעץ אויב, “Your right hand o Lord, is the one that shatters the foe.”

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח THY RIGHT HAND, O LORD, IS GLORIOUS IN POWER to deliver Israel, and thy second right hand dashes the enemy in pieces. But it seems to me that if we have to take it in the sense: Thy right hand is glorious to save, thy right hand dashes in pieces etc. the explanation is that the self-same right hand itself dashes the enemy in pieces, something which it is impossible for a human being — to do two actions with one hand. But the literal sense of the text is: “Thy right hand, that is glorious in power — what does it do?” — “Thy right hand, O Lord, dashes the enemy in pieces”. There are many Scriptural verses exactly in this poetical form, e. g., (Psalms 92:10) “For, behold, thine enemies, O Lord, for behold, thine enemies shall perish” and others similar.

'ימינך ה are a prayer for G’d to manifest this power against evil again at the time of the final redemption, may it come about soon in our days. We find a similar repetition in Devorah’s song of thanksgiving for Barak’s victory against Siserah in Judges 5,31.

The word ימין actually is of the feminine gender, as are all parts of the body which appear in multiples, and moreover the same word appears in the feminine gender in Psalms 118,16 ימין ה' רוממה. Why then does it appear in the masculine gender here? [the implied question is not answered, but it seems clear that when we describe the “power” of G’d as represented by His hand, we cannot at the same time use a grammatical mode applicable to the “weak” gender. In the verse quoted from Psalms, G’d is not described as active at the time. Ed.]

נאדרי The י is redundant as in (Lamentations 1:1) “full of (רבתי) people . . . princess (שרתי) amongst the provinces”; (Genesis 31:39) “stolen (גנבתי) by day”.

Our verse has to be compared to such verses as Psalms 93,3 נשאו נהרות ה' נשאו נהרות קולם, “the mighty river raised their voices; the mighty rivers made thundering sound.” Or look at Psalms 94,3 עד מתי רשעים ה' עד מתי רשעים יעלוזו, “how long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult?” In these various verses (all poetry, of course) the first sentence has not even been completed before the composer begins with the verse following. However, he mentions the subject of whom he speaks in the first half of the verse.

תרעץ אויב means, it always crushes and shatters the enemy; similar in meaning to it is, “And they crushed (וירעצו) and broke the children of Israel”, in the Book of Judges (Judges 10:8). [Another explanation is: Thy right hand that is glorious in power shatters and punishes the enemy, and these words must be connected with the following: