Commentaire sur L’Exode 15:7

וברב גאנך AND THROUGH THE GREATNESS OF THINE EXCELLENCY: if the hand alone crushes the spirit of the enemy, then when He raises it aloft IN THE GREATNESS OF HIS EXCELLENCY surely then HE WILL OVERTHROW THEM THAT RISE UP AGAINST HIM; and if through the greatness of His excellency alone His enemies are overthrown, how much more sure is it that when HE SENDETH FORTH THE FIERCENESS OF HIS WRATH against them IT WILL CONSUME THEM].

וברב גאונך תהרוס קמיך, "And in the greatness of Your glory You destroy those who rise up against You." The verse tells us that G'd performs miracles to underline that it is He who destroys His opponents. In order that we should not think that G'd has to extend Himself in order to accomplish this, the Israelites added: "even when You merely send forth Your wrath they already turn to straw."

תהרס קמיך, the word תהרס describes the “removal,” הסרה of something, lowering or moving something sideways from where it used to be. One example of the use of the word in this sense is found in Exodus 19,21 פן יהרסו אל ה', “so that they should not move closer to Hashem, etc.” In that instance, the purpose would have been to draw close in order to see better. Psalms 52,7 also employs the word in this sense.

וברוב גאונך, “and in Your abundant grandeur, etc.” a grandeur superior to anything known on earth, You are able to destroy anyone and anything that might want to offer opposition to You.”

תהרוס קמיך, “You destroy Your opponents.” The reason Moses employed the word הריסה, a word applicable to the destruction of buildings, may have been to demonstrate that whereas the Egyptians had forced the Israelites to build, G’d now tore down the very people for whom these buildings had been constructed. This would be another illustration of “measure for measure.” This is precisely what impressed Yitro when he said (Exodus 18,11) “by the very matter with which they had sinned.” Gentiles were impressed by how G’d made the punishment fit the crime. Moses said קמיך instead of קמינו, “those who oppose You,” instead of “those who oppose us.” Moses thereby equated people who attack Israel with an attack against G’d Himself i.e. the Shechinah which protects Israel. David followed in Moses’ footsteps when he said (Psalms 83,3) “for Your enemies rage, Your foes assert themselves.” People who attack G’d’s people by definition attack G’d .

V. 7. גאון steht dem קמים gegenüber. Diejenigen, die sich in ihrer ganzen vermeintlichen Größe gegen dich aufrichten, überragst du in dem Übermaß deiner Hoheit. גאה heißt nicht, sich an einem Orte befinden, sondern selbst in die Höhe ragen. Deine in so außerordentlicher Macht gezeigte helfende Rechte schreckt jeden zurück, sich feindselig an deiner Menschheit zu vergreifen, und die es dennoch wagen werden, mit dir den Kampf aufzunehmen, deren zusammengebaute Größe zerstörest du. הרס ist ganz eigentlich das Zertrümmern einer künstlich geschaffenen Größe, einer Mauer, eines Turmes etc. etc. — תשלח חרונך, sie haben auch nur augenblicklichen Bestand, weil du deinen Zorn zurückhältst. Würdest du ihn frei lassen, er würde sie wie Stroh vernichten.

תהרוס קמיך, “You break Your opponents.” This verb describes some kind of motion, stampeding, as in Exodus 19,21: פן יהרסו אל ה' לראות “lest they come stampeding in order to get a glimpse of G-d.” Compare also Isaiah 22,19: ויהרסו ממצבך, “and He will destroy you by crushing you.”

תהרס means, Thou always overthrowest קמיך i. e. those that rise up against thee. And who are those who rise up against Him? They are those who rise up against Israel; and similarly it says, (Psalms 83:3, 4) “For, lo, thine enemies are in an uproar!” And what is this uproar? “against thy people they take crafty counsel”, and on this account — because they are Israel's enemies — it calls them the enemies of the Omnipresent (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:7:1).