Commentaire sur L’Exode 14:31

את היד הגדלה denotes THE GREAT power which the HAND of the Holy One, blessed be He, had exercised. There are many meanings that are appropriate to the expression יד, hand, but all of them really signify the actual hand, and he who is explaining it must adapt the language according to the meaning of the passage.

AND ISRAEL SAW THE GREAT HAND. “I.e., the great power which the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, had exercised. There are many meanings that are appropriate for the word yad (hand), but all of them signify the actual hand, and the interpreter must adapt the meaning according to the theme of the subject discussed.” Thus the language of Rashi. But Onkelos did not explain the great hand as referring to power, for he translated: “the might of the great hand.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that it means “the great blow.” And so it also says, Behold, the hand of the Eternal is upon the cattle,⁸⁵Above, 9:3. [which means that a great plague will overtake them]; The hand of G-d was very heavy there,⁸⁶I Samuel 5:11. [which means that a great calamity befell the Philistines].
By way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse is stating that the great hand, which is the attribute of justice that G-d exercised upon the Egyptians, became revealed to them, since it was there inflicting punishment upon the Egyptians. This is like the verse, And upon earth He made thee to see His great fire.⁸⁷Deuteronomy 4:36. This is the right hand which dashes in pieces the enemy,⁸⁸See further, 15:6. and it is the arm of the Eternal, concerning which Scripture says, Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Eternal;⁸⁹Isaiah 51:9. Art thou not it that dried up the sea?⁹⁰Ibid., Verse 10.

היד הגדולה אשר עשה ה' במצרים; a reference to the מדוי מצרים in Deuteronomy 7,15 which described afflictions suffered by the Egyptians while at the Sea of Reeds.

וייראו העם את ה׳… ואת משה עבדו The people feared the Lord …and they believed in His servant Moses. This was not fear of punishment but awe of the Majesty of G'd. The fear of punishment they had possessed already prior to the Exodus. According to what we explained on 12,43 that the Israelites did not accept the commandment of the King (G'd), they did not even fear to be punished by G'd otherwise they would not have remained uncircumcised until that time. At any rate the fear described in this verse is that they stood in awe at G'd's Majesty. When the Torah describes the Israelites as "believing," this was the reward for their fear of G'd's Majesty.

'ויאמינו בה, they believed that they would also not die from starvation in the desert.

את היד הגדולה, “the great hand, etc.” Ibn Ezra understands the words as meaning “the great plague,” and refers us to Exodus 9,3 where the plague of pestilence is introduced as being יד ה'.

ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו. Belief consists of 4 different parts.
There is belief in the Lord, as we know from Chronicles II 20,20 האמינו בה' אלוקיכם ותאמנו, “believe absolutely in the Lord your G’d and you will be able to stand firm!” This is the kind of belief that our verse speaks of when it reports the Israelites as ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו, they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant.”
The second type of belief is the belief in the authenticity of His prophets which implies the duty to accept the prophet’s instructions. We find a direct reference to this in Isaiah 53,1 מי האמין לשמועתנו? “Who does believe in our assurances?”
The prophet speaks about the promise of there being an hereafter, demanding that we must believe in this as well as the fact that the reward for performing good deeds in this life will be forthcoming in this afterlife. This is also what David spoke of when he said in Psalms 27,13: לולא האמנתי לראות בטוב ה' בארץ חיים, “Had I not the assurance that I would enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, etc.”
There is the obligation to believe in the eventual arrival of a redeemer. This is a cornerstone of Judaism. This is also what is meant by Isaiah 28,16 הנני יסד בציון אבן, אבן בוחן פנת יקרת מוסד מוסד המאמין לא יחיש, “Behold I will found in Zion, stone by stone, a tower of precious cornerstones, exceedingly firm; he who believes need not fear.” All those who believe in this assurance will acquire numerous merits.
We know that G’d Himself cited Avraham’s belief in the promises He made to him for the far distant future as an act of righteousness as documented in Genesis 15,6והאמין בה' ויחשביה לו צדקה, “He believed G’d’s promise, and He accounted it for him as an act of righteousness.”
People believing in this promise of a rosy future will also wind up in Gan Eden as we know from Isaiah 26,2 פתחו שערים ויבא גוי צדיק שומר אמונים. “Open the gates, and let a righteous nation enter, a nation that keeps faith.” Such a person will experience the life in the world to come as we know from Chabakuk 2,4 וצדיק באמונתו יחיה, “and the Just will live (eternally) due to his faith.”
Anyone who does not believe in these precepts of Judaism falls into the category of people of whom we read in Job 15,22: לא יאמין שוב מני חושך וצפוי הוא אלי חרב, “he is never sure he will come back from the dark; a sword stares him in the face.” He will not participate in the redemption when it comes. We know this from the prophet Ezekiel 20,38אברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים בי, “I will remove from you those who rebel and transgress against Me.“ It is also written in Psalms 31,24: אמונים נוצר ה' ומשלם על יתר עושה גאוה, “the Lord guards and requites the loyal, and more than requites him who acts arrogantly.” The meaning of the verse is clear: G’d rewards the ones who have displayed faith in Him, whereas the ones who have failed to believe in Him He will punish for having acted so arrogantly. They will not be granted life in the future. This is implied by the first part of the verse from Chabakuk 2,4 we quoted already in which the prophet states הנה עופלה לא ישרה נפשו בו,; “Lo his spirit is puffed up within him not upright; but the righteous man is rewarded with life for his fidelity.”

V. 31. יראה und אמונה, das sind die beiden Grundzüge, welche für immer im jüdischen Gemüte Gott gegenüber lebendig und wach sein sollen. Es gibt nur Einen, den wir zu gleicher Zeit fürchten und ihm vertrauen sollen, und das ist Gott, der Eine Einzige, der so liebevoll als gerecht, so gerecht als liebevoll, und ebenso unbeschränkt allmächtig in Übung seiner Liebe wie seiner Gerechtigkeit ist, und alle drei: seine stets zu fürchtende Gerechtigkeit, seine stets mit Vertrauen zu erwartende Liebe, sowie seine beides in einem Momente übende, über alles frei gebietende Macht, zu offenbaren und zu lehren, das ist die ewige Bedeutung dieses in seiner Größe einzigen Rettungsmomentes, der den ägyptischen Riesenleib dem für immer freigewordenen Sklavenvolke als Leiche zu Füßen legte. Wie aber für die mit unbeschränkter Macht ihre Liebe und ihre Gerechtigkeit übende Gotteshand, so auch für die Wahrhaftigkeit Mosche, ihres Dieners, ward dieser Moment die ewige Dokumentierung. Mosche Hand war über das Meer gehoben und durch sie führte Gott Ägypten zum Tode und Israel die Bahn zu Freiheit und Leben.

ובמשה עבדו, “and in His servant Moses.” The Israelites now were full of respect for the quality of Moses’ prophetic powers.

וייראו העם, describing a feeling of immediate fear as in Deuteronomy 28,60 אשר יגורת מפניהם, “of which you were very much afraid.”