Commento su Esodo 14:30

וירא ישראל את מצרים מת AND ISRAEL SAW THE EGYPTIANS DEAD — because the sea threw them out on its shore in order that the Israelites should not say: “Just as we have come up from out of the sea on this part, so they have come up on another part of this shore, but far away from us, and they will pursue us” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:31:1; Pesachim 118b; Arakhin 15a).

ויושע ה' ביום ההוא את ישראל, by the death of those who had cruelly abused them. Those who had previously been in bondage to the Egyptians were now free. Until the Egyptians died they had been comparable to slaves running away from their masters.

ביום ההוא, on that day, etc. The Torah simply means that the salvation only occurred on that day, not previously; even though the Exodus had occurred, the Israelites had not yet acquired much confidence in themselves vis-a-vis the Egyptians.

וירא ישראל, the ones on the far shore of the Sea of Reeds, את מצרים, dying and drowning על שפת הים, while they themselves were safely on the beaches of the sea. As soon as the last Israelite had climbed out of the bed of the sea, they saw that the sea had turned back to engulf the pursuing Egyptians and that these were drowned in it. This is in line with the plain meaning of the verse, something I already explained in connection with Genesis 3:8 on the expression וישמע את קול ה', that the perception by the Israelites of Egyptians dying was more of an aural kind than a visual kind. [the fact that on occasion the ear can be as powerful and reliable an instrument of perception as the eye, has been proved in Exodus 20,14 where רואים את הקולות means that the noise was as convincing as if a visual image had been seen. Ed.]

ויושע ה' ביום ההוא, “on that day the Lord saved Israel, etc.” until that point in time they had not really been saved, seeing that they were still in awe of Pharaoh.

The sea expelled them onto its shore. . . Otherwise, how could Yisrael see them? They drowned in the sea!

(Exodus 14:30) "and the L rd saved Israel on that day": As a bird held in a man's hand, so that if he pressed its hand but a little he would choke it, as it is written (Psalms 124:6-8) "Our soul (at the splitting of the sea) escaped as from the hunter's snare. The snare broke and we escaped. Our help is in the name of the L rd, Maker of heaven and earth." Or: As a man releasing a fetus from a cow's womb, as it is written (Devarim 4:34) "Or has a G d ever done miracles to come and take for Himself a nation from the midst of a nation, etc."? Why "a nation from the midst of a nation"? __ As a man releasing a fetus from a cow's womb, viz. (Ibid. 20) "and you did the L rd take, and He brought you forth from the iron furnace, etc."

V. 30. Der trennende Akzent auf את מצרים läßt das על שפת הים auf Mizrajim und nicht auf Israel beziehen. Es muss somit das Meer die Leichen an das Ufer geworfen haben.

ויושע ה' ביום ההוא, “on that day the Lord delivered;” this verse testifies to G-d’s having kept His promise of “'התיצבו וראו את ישועת ה, “stand firm and watch the deliverance orchestrated by Hashem!” This day was one of complete deliverance, as from that day on the Israelites did not see any more Egyptians in their lives [that generation. Ed.]) את מצרים מת, the Torah refers to all of them in the singular mode. We find other examples of this construction in the Holy Scriptures, the most recent one being in verse 10 of our chapter: והנה מצרים נוסע אחריהם, “and here Egypt was travelling behind them.”

וירא ישראל את מצרים מת על שפת הים, “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shores of the sea.” The Torah does not speak here of the individual Egyptians whose bodies had not been swept back to shore by the waves of the sea. The word תבלעמו ארץ (15,12) means that the earth beneath the waves had swallowed those Egyptians once and for all. Rather the Torah refers to the Israelites standing on the shore of the sea witnessing the death of the Egyptians by drowning. While this is the plain meaning of the text, it does not conform with the interpretations offered by our sages.

וירא ישראל את מצרים מת, Israel observed Egypt dead, etc. Why did the Torah have to tell us that the Egyptians were dead? How could they be alive after they had drowned? The Mechilta explains this verse by saying that the Israelites observed the death of the Egyptians. Accordingly, the Egyptians did not finally die until they were washed up on the beaches. G'd arranged this in such a way that either party should clearly observe what was happening to their adversaries. The Egyptians' last emotion before they died should be one of shame vis-a-vis the Israelites. We have to read the words מת על שפת הים as belonging together.

על שפת הים, “on the beach of the sea;” it is usual for the sea to disgorge its corpses on the beach; we know this from: Isaiah 57.20: ויגרשו מימיו רפש וטיט, “its waters tossed up mire and mud.”Some commentators understand this verse as being a condensation, the full text should have been: “the Israelites saw that on the beach of the sea Egyptians were dead from having drowned.”