פירוש על שמות 14:15

מה תצעק אלי WHEREFORE CRIEST THOU UNTO ME? — there is no mention that he prayed to God concerning this, but this teaches us that Moses stood in prayer. Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “It is no time now to pray at length, when Israel is placed in trouble”. Another explanation of מה תצעק אלי (taking it in the sense of “Wherefore criest thou? אלי it is to Me — concerns Me”) — upon Me rests this matter and not upon thee. The idea contained in this explanation is similar to what is expressed elsewhere: (Isaiah 45:11) “Concerning My sons and concerning the work of My hands will ye command Me?” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:15:2)

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: WHEREFORE CRIEST THOU UNTO ME? Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented⁴⁹The difficulty is that there is no mention above of Moses’ praying. Rashi therefore comments that this verse itself — Wherefore criest thou unto Me? — teaches by implication that Moses had been praying. Ibn Ezra’s explanation is first in the text, and Ramban’s interpretation follows it. that Moses corresponds in function to all of Israel who were praying to G-d, as Scripture said, And the children of Israel cried out unto the Eternal.⁵⁰Above, Verse 10. In other words, the name Moses is here equivalent to all Israel. But Ramban questions this explanation of Ibn Ezra: “If so, etc.” But if so, why did G-d say, Wherefore criest thou? When it was indeed proper that they should pray! Perhaps [Ibn Ezra] will say that the sense thereof is: “Why do you let them pray? Speak to them so that they will go forward, for I have already told you, And I will be honored through Pharaoh.”⁵¹Above, Verse 4.
And our Rabbis have said⁵²In the Mechilta on the verse before us. that it was Moses who was crying and praying. This is the correct interpretation [and not, as Ibn Ezra said, that the reference here is to all of Israel]. Moses was at a loss concerning what he was to do. Although G-d had told him, And I will be honored through Pharaoh,⁵¹Above, Verse 4. he did not know how to conduct himself at that moment when he was at the edge of the sea and the enemy was pursuing and overtaking [them]. He therefore prayed that G-d should instruct him in the manner that he should choose.⁵³See Psalms 25:12. This then is the meaning of Wherefore criest thou unto Me? meaning: “You should have asked what to do, and there is no need for you to cry, since I have already informed you, And I will be honored through Pharaoh.”⁵¹Above, Verse 4. Now Scripture did not relate that Moses was crying out to G-d, because he is included among Israel, [of whom it was already written above in Verse 10: And the children of Israel cried out unto the Eternal].

מה תצעק אלי?; G’d’s question seems at first glance redundant, seeing that Moses’ outcry could have been perceived as part of the nation’s outcry in verse 10, i.e. ויצעקו בני ישראל וגו'.However, Moses’ outcry had nothing to do with being afraid of the pursuing Egyptians. He had already predicted the downfall and death of Pharaoh and his army as being so decisive that Egypt as a world power would never again pose a serious threat to the Jews. (verse 13-14) He had also told the people that G’d would do the fighting for them and that all they had to do was to remain silent. Moses’ outcry was one of concern with the rebellious attitude of the people who not only were afraid, something that could be forgiven, but who had dared to be sarcastic in their hour of danger, ridiculing Moses’ leadership to the point where he was afraid that they would refuse to enter the sea when told to. G’d told Moses that he had no right to assume such a thing, that in fact he was suspecting innocent people of lack of faith.

מה תצעק אלי, "why are you crying out to Me, etc.?" The word "to Me" is difficult. Who else was Moses supposed to cry out to if not to G'd? We find both in Jonah 2,3 and in Psalms 118,5 that in times of distress one is supposed to cry out to G'd as did both Jonah and David successfully. If G'd meant that Moses indulged in too much prayer that would seem an unjustified criticism as long as Moses' prayer had not yet been answered. Besides, we see from G'd's instructions in verse 16 that Moses was to raise his staff that G'd did answer his prayer. If so, why did G'd ask Moses: "why do you cry out to Me? What is G'd's answer "speak to the children of Israel so that they will move on" supposed to mean? Where were they supposed to move to? The Egyptians were behind them and the sea was in front! If G'd meant that they should move after they would observe the sea split, G'd should first have told Moses to raise his staff and afterwards have given the command that the Israelites were to move into the bed of the sea!

מה תצעק אלי?, “what is the good of your crying out to Me?” Ibn Ezra points out that Moses had not been crying out, seeing G’d had already told him that He would bring severe judgments on Pharaoh and all those with him (verse 4). G’d meant: “what is the point of the Israelites crying out to Me?” Moses, in this instance, is addressed as the representative of the whole people who had been crying out. Nachmanides points out that if Ibn Ezra were correct, the people, not having been given the assurance that Moses had been given, would have been entitled to cry out. Why does G’d then criticize them? Our sages comment that Moses was indeed crying out, i.e. offering an urgent prayer, something that was the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances. He prayed for guidance. As to the meaning of the line: מה תצעק אלי, G’d simply criticized the nature of the prayer Moses had offered. He told Moses that instead of uttering a sort of complaint, he should simply have asked G’d how to act in this new set of circumstances, a situation for which he had not been prepared. Seeing that I had given you an assurance that I would deal with Pharaoh, all you had to do was to ask for guidance how to act in this situation.

An alternate explanation: Why do you cry out? אלי — This thing depends on Me. . .” Explanation: The tropp under תצעק is a tipchah, showing that תצעק is not connected to אלי . This conveys that אלי means, “This thing depends on Me.” (Maharshal)

V.15. In dem Worte התיצבו V. 13 offenbart sich, in welcher Meinung Mosche hinsichtlich der zu erwartenden Rettung befangen war. Er glaubte — wie später einmal bei dem Heere Sanheribs — es werde Gott Pharao und sein Heer vernichten, ohne dass er und das Volk dabei irgend tätig zu sein haben werde. Indem er daher das Volk beruhigte, rief sein Gemüt zu Gott auf, Er möge die verheißene Hilfe bewirken. Darauf ward ihm die Erwiderung: מה תצעק אלי — דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו d. h. allerdings hängt die Rettung noch erst vom Volke ab, der erste Schritt muss erst vom Volk geschehen, es muss erst die Rettung verdienen: durch Betätigung eines mutvollen, furchtlos munteren Vertrauens in Gott. Lass sie erst aufbrechen und unbekümmert ins Meer hineinziehen, dann wird Gott schon die Rettungsbahn brechen.

?מה תצעק אלי, Why do you cry out to Me?” According to the plain meaning of the text Moses was quite sure that the Israelites would be helped and saved. Had G-d not told him: “I will deal very severely with Pharaoh? (verse 4) The question was addressed to the Israelites through Moses. The Torah is full of examples when G-d speaks to Moses, as representative of the whole Jewish nation. He is taking issue with the fact that the Israelites were complaining instead of displaying a little bit of faith by wading into the sea. G-d tells Moses to command them to get moving. He had already told them that He would fight on their behalf. (verse 14) They should therefore have been certain that G-d would not let the Egyptians defeat them.

דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT THEY JOURNEY ONWARDS — There is nothing for them to do but to journey on, for the sea will not stand in their way: their ancestors’ merits and their own, and the faith that they placed in Me so that they left Egypt will suffice to divide the sea for them (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:15:1; Shemot Rabbah 21:8).

דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, G’d is challenging Moses to issue the order to move forward, assuring him that he will see immediately that the people will respond positively.

Because the sea will not stand in their way. . . Explanation: If B’nei Yisrael moves on, you can make the sea split by raising your staff. But if they do not move on, the sea will not split, although you raise your staff over it. This is because [raising your staff does not split the sea. Rather,] “The merit of their ancestors. . . is effective to split the sea for them.” Accordingly, “Why do you cry to Me” means as follows: Do not think you can accomplish the splitting of the sea through your prayers. Rather, “Let them move on” [and this will effect it]. (Nachalas Yaakov; see there.)

We have to refer to Shemot Rabbah 21,7 where Samael is described as opposing the impending miracle claiming that until very recently the Israelites had worshiped idols with the same fervor as the Egyptians. In other words, the Israelites were subject to the attribute of Justice. G'd (i.e. the attribute of Mercy) told Moses that the Israelites (or he) were addressing themselves to the wrong attribute in their prayers for help. We have a tradition based on Deut. 32,18 צור ילדך תשי, "you have weakened the Rock which begot you," that G'd's respective attributes are "strengthened" or "weakened" in accordance with the deeds we perform or do not perform here on earth. While it was true that the attribute of Mercy was anxious to perform a life-saving miracle on behalf of the Israelites, they had not yet qualified for such a miracle by their deeds. G'd advised Moses "speak to the children of Israel to perform an act of faith such as entering the sea so that I can activate My attribute of Mercy and perform the miracle that I have in mind." Following such a demonstration of faith Moses was to raise his staff to enable G'd to perform the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. When G'd said to Moses: "why do you cry out to Me?," He meant: "the matter is altogether not in My hands." If and when Moses had spoken to the children of Israel and they had demonstrated the necessary mesasure of faith, only then: "raise your staff, etc., and divide the sea!" This is precisely what happened after Nachshon ben Aminadav of the tribe of Yehudah walked into the sea up to his neck before the sea had split. Sotah 69 reports concerning him that the waters of the sea were about to drown him. In view of the foregoing none of the verses present a problem, neither as to content nor as to their sequence. The principal reason the Israelites had been handed over to the attribute of Justice was that they had said they were better off serving Egypt than dying in the desert. This is why G'd (the attribute of Mercy) had declared that their appeal to Him at that stage was useless.