Commentaire de citation sur L’Exode 14:29

But the ten miracles that were performed for our ancestors in Egypt are their salvation from the ten plagues and that each of the ten plagues were specifically on the Egyptians and not on Israel. And these are miracles without a doubt. And the language of the Torah in each and every plague is that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought it [only] on the Egyptians. Except for the plague of lice - as [there] it did not make this clear, but it is known that He did not punish Israel. Rather [the lice] were found with [the Israelites as well], but they did not distress them. And so did the sages elucidate. But with the other plagues, the matter was clarified [in the text]. It stated about the blood (Exodus 7:21), "and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river" - a proof that that the damage reached them alone. And it stated with the frogs (Exodus 7:28), "and they will come into your house and into your bedrooms, etc." And it stated with the mixture of animals (Exodus 8:18), "And I will distinguish on that day the Land of Goshen, etc." And it stated about the pestilence (Exodus 9:6), "but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died." And it sated about the boils (Exodus 9:11), "as the boils were upon the magicians and and upon all of Egypt." And it stated with the hail (Exodus 9:26), "Only in the Land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail." And it stated with the locusts (Exodus 10:14), "And locusts went up upon all the Land of Egypt." And it stated with darkness (Exodus 10:23), "and for all the children of Israel, there was light in their dwellings." But the ten miracles that were at the Sea is a received tradition. The first is the splitting of the water like the simple understanding of the verse, "and the water split" (Exodus 14:21). The second is that after the sea split, it became like a tent until it turned into a type of roof - and not of beams and not slanted - and the path was as if there was a hole in the water and the water was on the right and on the left and on top. It is [like] the statement of Habakuk 3:14, "You have pierced with his rods, the head of his rulers." The third is that its ground became hard and solid, as it states (Exodus 14:29), "walked on dry land" - and there did not remain any clay and mud like in other rivers. The fourth is that the paths of the Egyptians were in quicksand, and that is its stating (Habakuk 3:14), "the clay of great waters." The fifth is that it split into twelve paths like the number of tribes like a curved bow, as per this drawing. And that is its stating (Psalms 136:13), "To tear the Reed Sea into pieces." The sixth is that the water congealed and became as hard as boulders. And about this, it stated (Psalms 74:13), "you broke the head of the 'sea monsters' upon the waters" - meaning to say that the waters hardened to the point that they went back in such a way that heads would break on them. And the seventh is that it did not congeal like the solidifying of other waters that congeal - meaning to say [into] one piece, but rather [into] many pieces, as if they were [building] stones and they were arranged some on top of others. And that is its stating (Psalms 74:13), "You crumbled the sea with Your power." The eighth is that it congealed like glass or onyx - meaning to say, it was clear to the point that some of [the tribes] would see each other in their crossing it. And this is its stating (Psalms 18:12), "the darkness of the waters, the clouds of the sky," which is to say that the gathering of waters was 'like the essence of the sky in purity' - which is clear. The ninth - that sweet water would flow from it and they would drink it. The tenth is that it would congeal at the time that it flowed, after they took what they drank from it - to the point that it would not fall to the ground. And that is its stating (Exodus 15:8), "they stood up like a flowing stack" - meaning to say the thing that was flowing congealed in the heart of the sea. And in the tradition we found that more plagues came upon the Egyptians at the Sea than the plagues that came upon them in Egypt. And the hint to this is in its stating (I Samuel 4:8), "He is the same God who struck the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness" - meaning to say in the Wilderness of the Reed Sea. But the ten trials that our ancestors tested the Omnipresent are all words of Scripture. The first is at the Sea in their saying "Are there no graves in Egypt" (Exodus 14:11). And the second is at Marah - that is its stating (Exodus 15:24), "And they complained about Moshe, saying, 'What will we drink?'" And the third is in the Wilderness of Sin when they asked for the manna. And that is its stating (Exodus 16:3), "And who will give that our death be at the hand of God, etc." And the fourth is their leaving manna over until the morning. And that is its stating (Exodus 16:20), "and men left over from it until the morning." And the fifth is their rebellion in seeking manna on the Shabbat day, as it is stated (Exodus 16:27), "And it was on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather." And the sixth is their rebellion at Refidim, also over water. And the seventh is at Chorev with the story of the [golden] calf. And the eighth is at Taverah when they become doubtful at that place with the speaking of the grumblers. And that is its saying (Numbers 11:1), "And the people were like grumblers." And the ninth is at Kivrot HaTaavah (the graves of desire), when they asked for meat - its saying (Numbers 11:4), "And the mixed multitude that was within them desired a desire." And the tenth is in the Wilderness of Paran with the matter of the spies. And there it stated (Numbers 14:22), "and they have tried Me these ten times and they did not listen to My voice."

And ten [miracles were performed] at the [Reed] Sea: One - "and the water split" (Exodus 14:21); the second - that the sea turned into a type of of tent and Israel went into it, as it is written (Habakuk 3:14), "You have pierced with his rods, the head of his rulers"; the third - that the sea floor became dry without clay and mud, as it is written (Exodus 14:29), "And the children of Israel walked on dry land"; the fourth - that the sea floor, that the Egyptians that chased after Israel trod upon, dampened and became clay and mud, as it is written (Habakuk 3:14), "the clay of great waters"; the fifth - that the water that congealed on the sea floor did not become one piece, but rather [many] small pieces, similar to bricks and building stones arranged one next to the other, as it is written (Psalms 74:13), "You crumbled the sea with Your power," [meaning] that it turned into a type of [surface made up of] crumbs; the sixth - that the water that congealed hardened and became as hard as boulders, as it is written (Psalms 74:13), "you broke the head of the 'sea monsters' upon the waters," and the Egyptians were called sea monsters; the seventh - that the sea was split into twelve pieces so that each and every tribe could cross by itself in [its own] path, and that is [the meaning] of that which is written (Psalms 136:13), "To tear the Reed Sea into pieces"; the eighth - that the waters congealed [with the appearance of] sapphire and onyx and glass, so that the tribes would see each other, since the pillar of fire was giving them light, and this is what is stated (Psalms 18:12), "the darkness of the waters, the clouds of the sky," which is to say that the gathering of waters was like clouds of the sky, 'like the essence of the sky in purity'; the ninth - that sweet water would come out from it, such that they would drink it, and this is what is stated (Exodus 15:8), "flowing"; the tenth - that after they drank what they wanted from it, the remainder would congeal and turn into piles, as it is written (Exodus 15:8), "the waters piled up, they stood up like a flowing stack."

Because the separation... Rashi’s proof is not because it is written, “בתוך the waters” and that בתוך means “in the middle.” For it is written (Shemos 15:19), “Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land בתוך the sea,” and it was not in the middle [of the sea]. Rather, the proof is from what is written: “And let it divide between waters and waters.” Since the canopy is in the midst of the waters, obviously it divides between waters and waters! It must therefore mean that the upper waters are separated from the canopy in the same manner as the lower waters are separated from the canopy. Thus, the canopy is in the middle.