출애굽기 15:29의 주석

אז ישיר משה THEN SANG MOSES — with regard to the usage of the future ישיר, the meaning is: THEN — i. e. when he saw the miracle it entered his mind that HE WOULD SING a song. Similar is, (Joshua 10:12) “Then Joshua would speak (אז ידבר)”; and similar, (1 Kings 7:8) “and a house he would make (יעשה) for Pharaoh’s daughter”, which signifies “he purposed in his heart that he would make it for her”. So, also, ישיר here signifies: his heart told him that he should sing, and thus did he actually do, as it states, “and they (Moses and Israel) spake as follows, ‘I will sing unto the Lord’”. And in the same way, in the case of Joshua, it means: then (או) — when he saw the miracle mentioned in that narrative — his heart told him (prompted him) to speak, and thus did he actually do, as it is stated, “and he spake before the eyes of all Israel”. The same applies to the Song of the Well (Numbers 21:17) which begins with the words: אז ישיר ישראל, “then would Israel sing”; it expresses the intention quite plainly in the following words, “Come up, O Well — sing ye unto it” (i. e. these words are a call to the people to sing to it after Israel had expressed their intention so to do and are not part of the song itself which begins with the words that follow). With regard to (1 Kings 11:7) אז יבנה שלמה במה our Rabbis explained that He proposed to build a high place for Chemosh but actually did not build it (Sanhedrin 91b). This, too, teaches us that the י as a prefix of the imperfect is used in reference to intention to do a thing. This explanation serves to settle the literal meaning of the text. But so far as its Midrashic explanation is concerned our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: from here (i. e. from the fact that the future tense is used) we may derive an intimation that the tenet of the Resurrection of the Dead is from the Torah (is alluded to, although only by inference, in the Torah) (Sanhedrin 91b). And thus, also, do they explain in the case of all them (all of the examples quoted) except in the case of that referring to Solomon which they explained in the sense that he purposed to build a high place but did not build it. — One cannot say that this can be appropriately explained in the same way as one explains other passages which are written in the future tense, but which really refer to an immediate action (i. e. to a then present time); for example, (Job. 1:5) “Thus was Job doing (יעשה)”; (Numbers 9:18) “At the command of the Lord were they encamping (יחנו)”; (Numbers 9:20) “And there were occasions when the cloud was (יהיה) upon the tabernacle”, because these were each of them something that was continuously happening, and there is proper to it either the future tense or the past tense (cf. Rashi on Genesis 29:3). But this (אז ישיר and other passages quoted) which happened only at the particular moment mentioned (once and once only), one cannot fittingly explain in this sense (i. e. of continuous action).

AZ YASHIR MOSHEH'(THEN MOSES WILL SING).⁹¹It is of course translated as a past tense: “Then Moses sang.” Rashi and Ramban will discuss why the future tense is used here by the Torah. Rashi comments: “[Then], when Moses saw the miracle, the thought came to his heart that he would sing a song,⁹²According to Rashi, this explains why the future tense — yashir (he will sing) — is used here by the Torah, since the expression denotes Moses’ thought that he should sing. Rashi thus interprets yashir to be a pure future. Ramban will differ with this interpretation. and thus he actually did, [as it is said], and they spoke, saying. Similarly, az yedabeir Yehoshua⁹³Joshua 10:12. Literally: “Then Joshua will speak.” means that when he saw the miracle [mentioned there], his heart prompted him to speak, and thus he actually did, [as it is said], and he said in the sight of Israel.⁹⁴Ibid. The same interpretation applies to the Song of the Well, which begins with the words, az yashir Yisrael,⁹⁵Numbers 21:17. Literally: “Then Israel will sing.” and Scripture explains after that, Spring up, O well, sing ye unto it.⁹⁶Ibid. This part of the verse shows that the preceding expression, az yashir Yisrael, denotes intent of heart to sing, thus: “Then, when they saw the miracle, their hearts told them that they should sing,” and so they did, as is indicated by the expression sing ye unto it, which is the call to the people to sing. Likewise: az yivneh Shlomoh,⁹⁷I Kings 11:7. Literally: “Then Solomon will build [a high place].” which the Sages of Israel explained it as meaning⁹⁸Sanhedrin 91b. that he proposed to build but did not build it.⁹⁹“Thus we learn that the yod as a prefix of the imperfect verb, [i.e., the future tense of a verb], indicates an intent to do a thing” (Rashi). This explanation serves to clarify the literal meaning of the text.”
But what will the Rabbi [Rashi] say concerning these verses: ‘Ya’asu’ [literally: “They will make”] a calf in Horeb;¹⁰⁰Psalms 106:19. How oft ‘yamruhu’ [literally: “will they rebel”] against Him in the wilderness, and ‘ya’atzivuhu’ [literally: “they will grieve Him”] in the desert!¹⁰¹Ibid., 78:40. The entire psalm is so written [in the future tense]: yaharog [literally: “He will destroy”] their vines with hail;¹⁰²Ibid., Verse 47. y’shalach [literally: “He will send”] among them swarms of flies¹⁰³Ibid., Verse 45. — [when all of these verbs refer to past events]! Similarly: And from whence ‘yavo’u’ [literally: “shall they come”] unto thee?¹⁰⁴II Kings 20:14. Of the wounds which the Arameans ‘yakuhu’ [literally: “shall smite him”].¹⁰⁵Ibid., 8:29. Likewise, Now Moses ‘yikach’ [literally: “will take”] the tent¹⁰⁶Further, 33:7. does not denote a continuous event,¹⁰⁷At this point, Ramban’s intent is directed to another statement in Rashi’s explanation, namely, that where an action is continuously happening, it is proper to use either the future tense or the past tense. Where the action is mentioned once and once only, the future cannot be used. However, Ramban points out, in the verse, Now Moses ‘yikach’ the tent, where the future tense “shall take” is used, the action is not one of continuous happening and still the future tense is used! since he took it only once.¹⁰⁸See Rashi further, 33:11, towards the end (“The Midrash explains, etc.”), that Moses’ removing his tent to pitch it outside the camp happened only once. Instead, [we must conclude that] it is the way of Scripture to use the future tense in place of the past form, and in many places the reverse is quite usual. The reason for this is that it is a distinctive way of language for a narrator of an event to place himself at a certain point of time which he desires, and he then alludes to the event. At times, he places himself at the moment of the action, and he speaks of it in the present tense as if he is watching it from its very beginning. He would say, “Israel is singing,” as if they were singing right before him, and so also in other cases. However, at times the narrator places himself after the event and says, “This has already been done.” It is all a matter of conveying an event realistically. It is for this reason that this interchangeable use of the tenses occurs in matters of prophecy.

אז ישיר, he agreed to sing this song.

"They sang." [The letter] Yud songs. There are ten songs. The Sea .the Well. Moses. Joshua. Deborah. Hanna. David. Solomon. Hezekiah. And the song of the future.

אז ישיר משה, Then Moses began to sing, etc. It would have sufficed for the Torah to write וישר משה, "Moses sang," without the introduction אז, "then." However, the Torah wanted to tell us of the preparation which resulted in that song of jubilation. After Israel acquired the fear of G'd's Majesty, which in turn resulted in a profound measure of faith both in G'd and in Moses, they were divinely inspired to sing this song of thanksgiving.

גאה גאה, victory in war is called גאות on several occasions. For instance, Moses says in Psalms 94,2 השב גמול על גאים, “give the victors their just deserts.” We find the expression בית גרים יסח ה' in Proverbs 15,25 where it means: “G’d will tear down the house of the victors.” [The author quotes a few more such examples, but I have not been able to find proof in this that the verses speak of “victors in war,” rather than arrogant people in whatever vocation. Ed.]

אז ישיר, “Then Moses sang, etc.” According to Bereshit Rabbah the Torah introduced the subject of man committing idolatry (Enosh) with the word אז (Genesis 4,26) and according to tradition G’d reacted with flooding one third of the surface of the earth. Moses, as an act of restoring G’d’s glory therefore commenced his song with the word אז, seeing this time the drowning of part of mankind had worked for the benefit of the Jewish people. Another reason why he may have commenced his song with the word אז is because he himself had challenged G’d’s masterminding the history of His people by claiming thatמאז באתי אל פרעה, “ever since I came to Pharaoh (in Your name to lighten the burden of the Jewish people) he has made their burden harsher, etc”. (Exodus 5,23) It was Moses’ way of apologizing for having been too rash in criticizing G’d’s ways.

Then, when Moshe saw. . . Rashi is answering the question: Why did it not say אז שר (present tense)? ישיר is future tense, while אז is present tense, conveying: “then he sings.” Rashi answers: “Then, when Moshe saw the miracle, it entered his mind. . .” In other words, ישיר refers to his [present] thought to sing.

Then Moshe … sang (literally, “will” or “would sing”). When the righteous are filled with rejoicing, song wells up within them spontaneously. Thus the future tense is used to indicate that as soon as they felt the joy of the miracle it occurred to them to sing, so that they did not sing out of a mere sense of obligation.

Kap. 15. V. 1. Die Eigentümlichkeit, daß אז häufig mit dem Futurum verbunden wird, wo es eine vom Standpunkt des Erzählenden vergangene Begebenheit einleitet, dürfte sich aus der Bedeutung dieser Partikel begreifen lassen. אזי ,אז, von אזה, verwandt mit חזה, dem geistigen Schauen des Unsichtbaren, Fernen, versetzt den Gedanken in die Nichtgegenwart, um das, was in einem nichtgegenwärtigen Momente der Vergangenheit oder Zukunft vorgegangen ist, im Vorgange erblicken zu lassen. Es wird daher dabei nicht die Zeitform gewählt, die dem Vorgange in seiner Zeitbeziehung zum Augenblick der Erzählung, sondern die dem Augenblick des Vorganges gemäß ist. In dem Augenblick war der Vorgang noch erst im Werden begriffen, somit zukünftig. אז שר würde heißen: damals hatte gesungen. אז ישיר: damals begann zu singen. Wo אז mit einem Präteritum verbunden ist und nicht die Bedeutung des Plusquamperfektum hat, somit das אז in den Moment des Vorganges versetzt, das Verbum aber aus dem Momente der Erzählung gesprochen ist, dürfte der Vorgang als bekannt vorausgesetzt und nur die Absicht sein, mitzuteilen, wann er vorgegangen. So אז הוחל לקרא וגו׳: dass die Berufung im Namen Gottes einmal einen Anfang genommen, ist vorausgesetzt, dass sie im Zeitalter Enosch begonnen, wird berichtet. Ebenso, wo אז das Fortschreiten in der Erzählung bezeichnet, nicht: damals, sondern: darauf bedeutet, wie: אז אמרה חתן וגו׳ (oben Kap. 4, V. 26) אז אמר שלמה (Kön. I. 8, 12), steht das Präteritum. Es bedarf dies jedoch noch eingehender Untersuchung. (Siehe V. 15.) —

אז ישיר משה, “this is when Moses broke out with a song, etc.;” Moses now apologised for when in frustration he had said to G–d, also using the word מאז, “from then,” that since he had assumed his position the fortunes of the Jewish people had worsened (Exodus 5,23). He therefore used the same word when now singing G–d’s praises. An alternate interpretation: the numerical value of the word אז is 8. He hinted that the Jewish people had merited this miraculous salvation on account of the circumcision which is performed on the eighth day of the infant’s life. The verse לגוזר ים סוף לגזרים, “Who splits apart the Sea of reeds into separate sections,” (Psalms 136,13) is used as a Scriptural reference to this. The Hebrew word וימל, “he circumcised,” describing Avraham performing circumcision in Genesis 17,23, is translated by the Targum as וגזר.

ויאמרו לאמור, literally: “they said to say;” a somewhat unusual construction, meaning that the Israelites singing this song meant for future generations to learn it by heart and to recite it on appropriate occasions. [As we still do in our daily morning prayers. Ed.]

כי גאה גאה FOR HE IS GLORIOUSLY SUBLIME — render this as the Targum does: for He is exalted above all exalted beings and real exaltation (supremity) is His alone. [Another explanation: the repetition of the word is intended to state that He has done something which it is impossible for a human being (lit., flesh and blood) to do. When he (the latter) fights against another and vanquishes him he throws him off the horse, but here — horse and its rider together hath He hurled into the sea. The usage is, that in the case of everything which cannot possibly be done by anyone except Him the appropriate expression to use is a form of the root גאה, as in (Isaiah 12:5), “for He hath done גאות” — gloriously. In the same way you will find that throughout the whole Song the words are repeated: (v. 2) “The strength and vengeance of the Lord have become my help”; (v. 4). “The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name” (cf. Rashi’s explanation of this), and this is the case in all the verses]. Another explanation of כי גאה גאה: I will sing unto the Lord although (כי) He is exalted high above all songs and however much I may praise Him there will still remain something additional in Him to be praised (עוד יש בו תוספת — I can never exhaust his praises), and not as is the practice in respect to a human king whom one praises, attributing to him certain virtues whilst these are really not in him (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:1:6).

KI GA’OH GA’AH’ (FOR HE IS HIGHLY EXALTED). “[He is exalted] high above songs, and however much I may praise Him, there still remain additional [splendor and praiseworthiness] in Him to be expressed.” Thus the language of Rashi. [The Rabbi] thus interpreted ga’oh ga’ah as an expression of exaltation and supreme power. Perhaps this is so, such usage [of the word ga’oh] being found in the verses: And here shall thy high (‘big’on’) waves be stayed;¹⁰⁹Job 38:11. For the waters were risen (‘ga’u’);¹¹⁰Ezekiel 47:5. And if it exalt itself (‘v’yigeh’), Thou huntest me as a lion¹¹¹Job 10:16. — all of which are expressions of power and ascendancy.
But the correct interpretation is the opinion of Onkelos, who rendered it literally an expression of pride. The verse is thus stating that He was ennobled above the horse that proudly goes to battle together with its mighty rider, for He threw both of them into the sea. Similarly, the verse, And in the greatness of Thy ‘g’oncha’,¹¹²Further, Verse 7. and all other such cases are all expressions of pride, for he who indulges in a feeling of pride elevates himself in importance.

כי גאה גאה, He alone is entitled to feel this sense of superiority seeing He is the source of all goodness in the universe. This is in contrast to Pharaoh who boasts about having created the Nile as the source of Egypt’s affluence, (Ezekiel 29.3) a totally spurious claim.

רמה בים, another way of saying השליך, “He flung (into the sea).” Psalms 78,9 speaking of רומי קשת, also uses the root רמה as “throwing, flinging.”

כי גאה גאה, “for He is exalted above the arrogant.” He is higher than the horse which deems itself to be above all those around it as well as its rider, who has a feeling of superiority, arrogance.

And he did so: “And they said. . .” I.e., for right afterward it is written, “I will sing.”

The reason the Torah writes ישיר "will sing," instead of שר, sang, something that would be so much more appropriate with the word אז is, that to this day we sing this song daily in our morning prayers. Had the Torah written אז שר משה, we would have assumed that the song was appropriate only for the people who had been present when the sea was split.

שיר (verwandt mit שקר ,שכר ,שגר): die im Innern lebendig gewordenen Gedanken und Empfindungen produzieren, gewöhnlich eine begeisterte Äußerung dessen, was in einem äußern Vorgang dem Innern des Menschen offenbar geworden, was das sinnliche Auge nicht sieht, aber dem Auge des Geistes klar geworden. Daher in erster Linie: das Gott in der Geschichte besingende Wort. (Siehe Bereschit 9, 21.)

סוס ורכבו THE HORSE AND ITS RIDER — both of them attached one to the other; and the waters lifted them up and then they descended into the depths and yet they did not become separated (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:1:6).

סוס ורוכבו רמה בים, a reference to Pharaoh and his horse. Compare Psalms 136,15 ונער פרעה וחילו בים, “He tossed Pharaoh and his armed might into the Sea.”

From here we derive an allusion that the resurrection of the dead. . . Meaning: ישיר implies at a future time.

ויאמרו לאמור, אשירה, they said saying: "I will sing, etc." This means that the Israelites said this to one another. The idea was that they wanted to coordinate their song; they did not want each one to use his own formulation. The fact that they succeeded in this is reflected in the singular "I will sing!"

אשירה לד׳: Gott (Dat.), d. h. zu seiner Verherrlichung, zur Verbreitung seiner Erkenntnis möchte ich singen, wie unendlich hoch Er sich in dem, was wir hier erlebt, gezeigt. סוס ורוכבו, die von uns so gefürchtete Heeresmacht hat Er ins Meer geschleudert, Er, und nur Er hat in diesem ganzen Vorgang gehandelt. אשירָה möchte ich singen, möchte ein Seiner würdiges, meiner innern Erregung entsprechendes Wort finden. Wie ähnlich und doch wie verschieden dieses bescheidene, von Gott volle אשירה und jenes stolze, nur von sich erfüllte: Arma virumque cano, oder Je chante ce héros ete. — רמה kommt als Werfen vom Pfeilwurf רמה קשת vor und scheint daher nur dieses Geschoßwerfen zu bedeuten. (Auch das רמת לחי des Simson dürfte mit Hinblick auf den Umstand gesagt sein, dass er sich des Kinnbackens als Waffe bedient hatte). Verwandt erscheint es mit רמח, dem Wurfspieß. Siehe V.4.

רמה means HE HATH CAST. Similar is (Daniel 3:21) “and they were cast (ורמיו) into the midst of the fiery furnace”. And an Agadic explanation is: One verse says רמה, which involves the idea of raising (רום), and another verse (v. 4) says, ירה which implies casting from a height (cf. Rashi on ירה יירה 19:13)! This teaches us that they first went up on high and then went down into the depths (i. e. they were tossed up and down). The meaning of ירה here is the same as in (Job. 38:6) “Who laid (ירה) the corner-stone thereof?” — implying laying from above to below (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:1:6).

כי גאה גאה, for He has triumphed gloriously, etc. As a rule songs of praise should commence with mention of the collapse of G'd's enemies similar to what Solomon said in Proverbs 11,10: ובאבוד רשעים רנה "when the wicked perish there is jubilation." Accordingly, we understand the words גאה גאה as referring to Pharaoh who was so boastful that his very name was "the boastful one." Normally, boastful people consider themselves superior to their peers. Inasmuch as their peers do not amount to much, neither does their own pride. Pharaoh was more presumptious than the average braggart, however, as he thought himself superior even to G'd. This is why Moses wrote גאה גאה, the braggart of all braggarts.

“Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD…” (Shemot 15:1) There are ten songs. The first was said in Egypt, as it says “For you, there shall be singing As on a night when a festival is hallowed…” (Isaiah 30:29) The second was ‘Then Moses sang…’ Third was on the well “Then Israel sang this song…” (Bamidbar 21:17) The fourth was the song ‘Listen now…’ (Devarim 32:1) The fifth was “Joshua addressed the LORD…” (Yehoshua 10:12) The sixth “On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang…” (Shoftim 5:1) The seventh “David addressed the words of this song to the LORD…” (Shmuel II 22:1) The eight was “A song for the dedication of the House.” (Psalms 30:1) The ninth was Yehoshefat, as it is written “he stationed singers to the LORD extolling the One majestic in holiness as they went forth ahead of the vanguard, saying, “Praise the LORD, for His steadfast love is eternal.”” (Chronicles II 20:21) The tenth is in the time to come, as it says “Sing to the LORD a new song…” (Isaiah 42:10) This song is different, as it is named in the masculine form (shir chadash and not shirah chadasha). All the other songs are named in the feminine form because just as a female gives birth so all of these salvations had after them another subjugation; but in the time to come will be a salvation which is not followed by any subjugation, as it says “But Israel has won through the LORD Triumph everlasting…” (Isaiah 45:17) Thus it is written ‘a new song’ in the masculine (shir chadash), just as a male does not give birth. So it says “Ask and see: Surely males do not bear young!” (Jeremiah 30:6)

We may also understand the expression as analogous to Psalms 93,1 "The Lord is king, He is robed in splendour." As long as G'd had not disposed of Pharaoh He was known simply as גאה, glorious; after G'd disposed of the braggart Pharaoh He assumed an additional dimension of glory, hence גאה גאה. The repetition of the expression גאה may also reflect that G'd is glorious both in the celestial and in the terrestrial spheres. This would explain why no additional subject is appended after the word ורכבו. We may also understand the verse as follows: "I will sing to the Lord because He has proven so glorious; the words כי גאה גאה may also be read together with the rest of the verse, i.e. "He has flung into the sea both the horse and its boastful rider."

סוס ורוכבו רמה בים, “He flung horse and its rider into the sea.” The Torah describes them all in the singular as in G’d’s eyes they were no more of a challenge to Him than a single horse and rider. We find this thought repeated in Deut. 20,1 where the Torah speaks about Israel going to war against its enemies. The Israelites are not to be afraid of the enemy’s cavalry any more than they would be of a single horse and its rider.

The expression סוס ורוכבו, “horse and its rider,” describes the inseparable relationship between the warrior and his steed. Keeping this in mind, Moses said of G’d: רמה בים, “He flung them upwards into the sea,” to portray that their making war had been an act of rebellion against G’d who is high up in heaven. This is also why the Torah says: ירה בים, “He poured out into the sea,” (verse 4) to reflect that “what goes up must come down again,” i.e. that the arrogance of the Egyptians was suitably rewarded. Shemot Rabbah, 23,14 quotes the rider as saying to his horse: “yesterday I dragged you towards the river Nile but you did not follow me; now you are dragging me towards the sea?” The horse answered its rider: רמה בים, i.e. ראה מה בים, “I can see the Supreme One (G’d) in the sea.”

עזי וזמרת יה — Onkelos translated this by “my might and my praise”, taking עָזִּי the same as עֻזִּי, and וְזִמְרָת the same as וְזִמְרָתִי. But I wonder at the wording of the text if this translation is correct, for you will find no similar example of its punctuation (i. e. of עָזִּי) in the Scriptures except in three passages where it is, in each case, followed by וזמרת. In all other passages it is punctuated with שורק (i. e. our Kibbutz); e. g., (Jeremiah 16:19) ה' עֻזִּי ומעזי (Psalms 59:10) עֻזּו אליך אשמרה So, too, every word of two letters that is punctuated with a Melopum (our חולם) when it is lengthened by the addition of a third letter (i. e. when it has a pronominal suffix as in the examples given below), and the second has not a Sheva (חטף), the first is punctuated with a שורק (Kibbuts) — as, for instance, עֹז and עֻזִּי; ‎רֹק and ‎רֻקִי ; ‎חֹק and ‎חֻקִי ; ‎עֹל and עֻלִי as in (Isaiah 14:25) “then shall his yoke (עֻלּוֹ, from עֹל) depart from him”; — כֹּל and כֻּלּוֹ, as in (Exodus 14:7) “and captains over each of them (כֻּלּוֹ) — from כֹּל. But these three examples of עָזִּי וְזִּמְרָת, viz., that occuring here and that in Isaiah (12:2) and that in Psalms (118:14), are punctuated with short Kametz, whereas the translation of Onkelos would require עֻזִּי and not עָזִּי. Then further, in not one of them (these three passages) is it written וזמרתי, as Onkelos translates, but וזמרת and remarkably enough all of them are immediately followed by ויהי לי לישועה. — Therefore I say in explanation of the wording of the text that עָזִּי is not the same as עֻזִּי and וְזִמְרָת is not the same as וְזִמְרָתִי, but עָזִּי is a noun without a suffix of any kind, as we find in (Psalms 123:1) “The one who sits (הַיֹּשְׁבִי) in heaven”; (Obadiah 3:3) “The one who dwells (שֹׁכְנִי) in the cleft of the rock”; (Deuteronomy 33:16) “He that dwelleth (שֹׁכְנִי) in the bush” (where the syllable at the end of the word is part of the noun and is not the pronominal suffix denoting “my”). The praise, therefore, proclaimed in these words is this: The עז and the זִמְרָת of God, this was to me as a help. The word וזמרת is a noun in the construct state to the word which expressess the Divine Name (יָהּ), in the same sense as (Judges 5:23) “to the help of (לעזרַת — const.) the Lord”; (Isaiah 9:18) “through the wrath of (בעברת — constr.) the Lord”; (Ecc. 3:18) “because of (דברַת — const.) the sons of man”. The expression וזמרת has the meaning of the root which we find in (Leviticus 25:4) “thou shalt not prune (תזמר)” and in (Isaiah 25:5) “the cutting down (זמיר) of the terrible ones”, both of which have the meaning “lopping off” and “cutting down”. Thus the verse signifies: “The strength and vengeance of our God has become to us a help”. Do not be puzzled by the expression ויהי — that it does not state היה — for we have other verses also that use this idiom, and the following is an example of such a construction: (1 Kings 6:5) “round about the wall of the house, both of the temple and the most holy place, he made (ויעש) a side structure”, and it should have said (instead of ויעש etc.) עשה לו צלעות סביב. Similarly in Chronicles, (2 10:17) “But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned (וימלך) over them”, where it should have said מלך עליהם. Other examples are: (Numbers 14:16) “Because the Lord was unable etc…. He slaughtered them (וישחטם)”, where it should have said שחטם; (Numbers 14:36, 37) “And the men whom Moses sent … they died (וימתו)”, where it should have said מתו; (Exodus 9:21) “And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left (ויעזב) his cattle, etc.”, where it should have said עזב‎.

THE ETERNAL IS MY STRENGTH AND SONG. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the word ozi (my strength) is connected with the following word [v’zimrath — and song], thus rendering its sense: “my strength and the song of my strength is the Eternal.”¹¹³“That is to say, with this Name will I vanquish my enemies, and when I will sing of the victory, my song will be the song of the Eternal, for it is He who is my salvation” (Mishneh l’Ezra in his commentary on Ibn Ezra). This is my G-d ‘v’anveihu': I will make Him a habitation, [from the root naveh (habitation)]. This is my father’s G-d, and I will exalt Him, i.e., by recounting His greatness.
Now this is surely the plain meaning of the verse. But [it should be noted that] Moses does not mention here the full Divine Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton, which consists of four letters], but instead mentions only the first two letters. In the entire Torah, it is the manner of Moses our teacher to mention the entire Great Name which He communicated to him, as it is said, This is My Name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.¹¹⁴Above, 3:15. And the Rabbis have already explained the verse, The hand is upon the throne of Y-ah,¹¹⁵Further, 17:16. Because only the first two letters of the Tetragrammaton are mentioned there, the Rabbis explained: “The Holy One, blessed be He, swore, etc.” The explanation is found in Tanchuma, end of Seder Ki Theitzei, and is quoted by Rashi at the end of this Seder. to mean that “the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that His throne will not be perfect nor will His Name be complete until the seed of Amalek will be entirely blotted out.” [The question then arises: why is the full Divine Name not written here?]
By way of the Truth, [that is, the mystic lore of the Cabala], the whole deliverance at the sea came through the angel of G-d — the one of whom it is written, for My Name is in him¹¹⁶Further, 23:21. — just as it is said, and Israel saw the great hand.¹¹⁷Above, 14:31. The “hand” alludes to the attribute of justice, which is the great hand that executes the vengeance. It is by this attribute that the sea was divided, as the prophet explained, Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Eternal… Art thou not it that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep?¹¹⁸Isaiah 51:9-10. and as I have written above.¹¹⁹Above, 14:31: “The great hand which is the attribute of justice… became revealed to them. It is for this reason that Moses said that his strength and his song are this Name, [i.e., the first two letters of the Tetragrammaton, which allude to the attribute of justice], For in Y-ah the Eternal is an everlasting Rock.¹²⁰Isaiah 26:4. As translated in Singer’s Daily Prayer Book. And so did [the psalmist] explain: What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest?… At the presence of the G-d of Jacob.¹²¹Psalms 114:5-7. The G-d of Jacob alludes here to the attribute of justice. And so the Rabbis have said in the Mechilta:¹²²Mechilta here on the verse before us. “When Israel went into the sea, the Shechinah (Divine presence)¹²³See Vol. I, p. 551. was with them, as it is said, And the angel of G-d journeyed.”¹²⁴Above, 14:19. And in Eileh Shemoth Rabbah, it is said:¹²⁵Shemoth Rabbah 30:1. “The word oz (strength) [or ozi, “my strength,” as is mentioned in this verse], alludes only to judgment, as it is said, ‘v’oz’ (And the strength) of a king is he who loveth justice.”¹²⁶Psalms 99:4.
This is My G-d ‘v’anveihu.’ “I will elevate [the Great Name, i.e., the Tetragrammaton],¹²⁷So clearly interpreted in Abusaula’s commentary on Ramban. See Vol. I, p. XII, Note 21. to the G-d of the most high naveh (abode), this being the G-d of my fathers, to whom He had appeared as E-il Sha-dai.¹²⁸See Ramban above, 6:2, and also Vol. I, pp. 214-216. And now I shall exalt Him by the complete Name, for henceforth the Name will be ish milchamah, [literally, “man of war,” but here alluding to the attribute of justice]. And His Name will be the Eternal, [meaning that the Name comprises justice with mercy],¹²⁹Ramban is thus interpreting Verse 3, The Eternal is a man of war, the Eternal is His Name, to mean that Israel will henceforth exalt Him both in His aspect of justice and of mercy. I have followed Abusaula’s interpretation of Ramban’s text. similar in meaning to the verse, Now will I be exalted; now will I lift Myself up.¹³⁰Isaiah 33:10. It is possible that the word ‘zeh’ (this) alludes to the seven emanations in wisdom, this being associated with the verse, ‘zeh’ (this) is My Name for ever, ‘v’zeh’ (and this) is My memorial.¹³¹Above, 3:15. And in the Mechilta we read:¹³²Mechilta here on Verse 2. “My G-d. He dealt with me according to the attribute of mercy, while with my fathers he dealt according to the attribute of justice. And whence do we know that my G-d signifies the attribute of mercy? Because it is said, My G-d, my G-d, why hast Thou forsaken me?¹³³Psalms 22:2. “And surely one would not say to the attribute of justice, ‘Why hast thou forsaken me?’” (Rashi further, 34:6). Heal her now, O G-d, I beseech thee?¹³⁴Numbers 12:13. A supplication of this kind is naturally addressed to G-d in His aspect of mercy. The Eternal is ‘E-il’ (G-d), and He hath given us light.”¹³⁵Psalms 118:27. If so, Scripture here says ‘zeh E-ili’ (this is my G-d), meaning that “with me He is E-il [G-d in His aspect of mercy] in this matter, since He was exalted with mercy to be compassionate in His justice.”

עזי וזמרת י-ה, It is G’d’s glory that He flung Pharaoh’s might into the Sea. By doing this He demonstrated that He is the King of kings, and that it is appropriate that those who have been saved by Him praise Him in poem and song. They should demonstrate their joy at having been elevated to being servants of the true master, the King of the universe.

עזי וזמרת כה, "The Lord is my strength and song." The normal procedure when one composes a song for G'd, praises Him or prays to Him, is to mention first how G'd relates to oneself before mentioning how G'd related to one's ancestors. Thus we find that the men of the Great Assembly who edited our major prayers began the עמידה by first referring to G'd as "our G'd," i.e. the G'd of the petitioner and only afterwards did they define G'd as also the G'd of the patriarchs. The Israelites were similarly motivated when they first referred to what G'd meant to them (each individual Jew), how G'd had proven a Saviour for them in their present situation acting as the merciful G'd (tetragram). They concluded the statement referring to their personal relationship with G'd by saying זה אלי ואנוהו, "this is my G'd and I will glorify Him," and only afterwards did they describe the same G'd in His capacity as the G'd of their fathers. Our sages copied this pattern when they formulated our prayers where we say אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו, "our G'd who was already the G'd of our ancestors." I have already explained why the Israelites in this instance chose to describe G'd in the singular as "my G'd" instead of as "our G'd."

. עזי וזמרת י-ה; the power, the glory and the fame of the Jewish people are only G’d. It was He Who became our ישועה, salvation. The chataf kametz followed by the letter י which is not part of the word is similar to a similar construction in Lamentations 1,1 רבתי בגוים as well as in Psalms 123,1 הישבי בשמים, and in Jeremiah 49,16 שוכני בחגוי סלע. On the other hand, when we encounter the construction עוזי as in Psalms 59,10 uzzi eleycha eshmorah, the meaning of עוזי is: “”My strength.”

עזי וזמרת י-ה, “My might and His cutting down.” Ibn Ezra says that the word עזי is part of what precedes it, as well as part of what follows it, as if the Torah had written עזי וזמרת עזי י-ה וגו', so that its meaning would be “my power, and my glory with which I sing a song of praise to Him is directed exclusively in His praise. It is only He Who has been my salvation.”

עזי וזמרת י-ה, “G’d’s might and vengeance was my salvation.” When Moses referred to G’d by the term עזי, he paraphrased what is written in Psalms 68,29: צוך אלו-היך עזך, “your G’d has ordained might for you.” The words זמרת י-ה are related to Samuel II 23,1 ונעים זמירות ישראל, “the favorite of the songs of Israel.” This term also occurs in Psalms, 47,7 זמרו לאלו-הים זמרו, “Sing, O sing to G’d; O sing.”
ויהי לי לישועה, “G’d became my salvation.” The reason the redemption from Egypt is always referred to as ישועה, is because it was followed by another exile. The redemption of the future which will not be followed by another exile, will become known as ישועות, (plural). This is why we have David (Psalms 53,7) express his hope for מי יתן מציון ישועות ישראל, “O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion!” On another occasion the final redemption is called תשועת עולמים, in Isaiah 45,17: ישראל נושע בה' תשועת עולמים, “But Israel has won through the Lord triumph everlasting.” In a parallel sense the “song” Moses sang at the Sea of Reeds is known as שירה, “a song (feminine),” whereas the song that will be sung after the final redemption will be known as שיר, “a song (masculine),” reflecting the permanent nature of that redemption; compare Isaiah 26,1 ביום ההוא יושר השיר הזה,”On that day this song which will be sung will be masculine.”

Being the same as עזִי , vocalized with a shuruk, and וזמרת being the same as וזמרתי . . . Meaning: “My might and My praise.”

V. 2. עזי, von עוז ,עזז: die Widerstandskraft, die Unüberwindlichkeit. Mein Unüberwundengebliebensein: — dass Pharao und das Weltmeer mich unberührt gelassen, und זמרת: das jetzige Singen, in dem ich begriffen bin, beides ist Gotteswirkung. Wir haben schon zu Bereschit 43, 10 das Verhältnis von זמרה, der Melodie, zu שיר, dem Liedeswort angedeutet. Wir meinten, es sei die Melodie das hörbare Emporringen des Gemüts zur ganzen Höhe der Begeisterung und Reife des in der Seele arbeitenden Gedankens ( — die Rebe zur Weinfrucht —). Diese höchste Arbeit des menschlichen Geistes, in welcher sich seine edelste Energie entfaltet, ist bei dem gottbegeisterten Sänger selbst ein Gotteswirken. Es ist, wie der Liederkönig Israels von sich ausspricht: Gottes Geist, der durch ihn spricht, und sein Wort schwebt auf seiner Zunge. — רוח ד׳ דבר בי ,(Sam. II. 23, 2). Darum fehlt in allen diesen Sätzen Gier — ומלתו על לשוני Ps. 118, 14, Jes. 12, 2) die Personalbezeichnung: mein, nicht זמרתי, sondern זמרת. Der Sänger will ja eben sagen: es sei nicht זמרתו!

עזי וזמרת יה, “my victory and my song is G-d;” (Onkelos) according to Rashi, the vocalisation of the word ozzi here is most unusual as it should have been uzzi. Rashi examined this song grammatically in great detail; [seeing that it is poetry and you my readers are mostly not experts in classical Hebrew grammar (neither is this editor), I omit most of these comments. Ed.]

זה אלי THIS IS MY GOD — In His glory did He reveal Himself to them and they pointed to Him — as it were — with the finger exclaiming “This is my God!” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:15) A maid servant beheld at the Red Sea what even the prophets never saw (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:2:2).

ויהי לי לישועה, my salvation consisted in the fact that He flung the enemy into the Sea. (compare Isaiah 66,14 “The power of the Lord will be revealed on behalf of His servants; but He shall rage against His foes.”)

וזמרת, the letter ת at the end of this word is similar to the letter ת at the end of the word שכורת instead of שכורה in Isaiah 51,21 or the letter ת at the end of the word שערות inתסמר שערות בשרי in Job 4,15. It is part of a repetition of the beginning of the verse i.e. the words ורוח על פני יחלוף, “a wind passed me by.” This is also how Rav Yoseph translated it. The word וזמרת is spelled defectively just as are the words שכורת and שערות in the verses quoted. [the author means that the letter ו, indicating a sound, is only read for the vowel cholem but not spelled out in the text. Ed.]

זה א-לי ואנוהו, “this is my G’d and I will erect a residence for Him (on earth).” He is my strength and I will enthrone Him in an appropriate residence.” This has also been the G’d of my father and I will aggrandize Him by telling of His exploits. Our sages say that the visions revealed to a simple kitchen maid at the crossing of the sea of Reeds exceeded by far the revelations that the prophet Ezekiel and other prophets were granted. [our author adds of his own that the visions granted to these other prophets compared to what the kitchen maid saw, compare to someone seeing the finger of a person as opposed to someone who sees the whole person. Ed.] According to the plain meaning of the text it is perfectly in order to use the descriptive word זה for something inherently invisible, just as the people who demanded from Aaron that he make them a visible image for “this man Moses, etc.” when Moses was presumed to have died on Mount Sinai and was quite invisible. (Exodus 32,1)

Der Gottesname י׳ — lautverwandt mit כח und כה) — bezeichnet überall eine Kraftoffenbarung Gottes, ein Sichtbarwerden seines Wirkens und Waltens. Es ist somit gesagt: meine Rettung und die Begeisterung selbst, die diese Rettung in mir geweckt somit: mein äußeres Geschick und mein inneres Leben, beides ist eine Offenbarung der gegenwärtig wirkenden, an mir sich bekundenden Gottesmacht, ויהי לי לישועה und das ward meine Rettung. Gott hat mich gerettet, weil er in mir ein geeignetes Werkzeug zur Offenbarung seines Völker und Menschen bildenden Waltens ersehen hatte. Meine äußere Schwäche und meine innere Kraft und Empfänglichkeit haben mir Gottes rettenden Beistand gewonnen. In הללוי׳ ist der Gottesname mit dem Besingen der Gottestaten zu einem Begriffe verbunden, eine Ausdrucksform, welcher derselbe Gedanke zu Grunde liegen dürfte, nach welchem die Begeisterung des die Gottestaten besingenden Gesanges selbst zu einer Gottestat wird. Uno dies mag auch der Sinn des Ausspruches רי׳ ב׳ל's sein (Peßachim 117 a.) גדול מכולן (מכל מאמרות של שבח) הללוי׳ שכולל שם ושח בבת אחת.—

ויהי לי לישועה, “He became my salvation.” Rashi explains that the expression ויהי should not raise any questions although we might have expected the word היה here for the past tense. He points out that we find similar constructions in Chronicles II 10,17, where we read about the kingdom of Yehudah having “appointed” Solomon’s son Rechavam as their king, and the word: וימלוך is used by the author, although the meaning is that Rechavam would continue to rule over the tribes of Yehudah and Binyamin as he had already been doing since his father Solomon had died and the country had not been split through the revolution which brought Jerovam to the throne of the ten remaining tribes. An almost identical verse is also found in Kings I 12,17.

ואנוהו Onkelos translates this in the sense of a dwelling (viz., I will build Him a temple) as in (Isaiah 33:20) “a peaceful habitation (נוה)” and in (Isaiah 65:10) “a dwelling (נוה) for flocks”. Another explanation of ואנוהו is that it has the sense of נוי, “beauty”, and the meaning is: I will relate His splendour and praiseworthiness to the inhabitants of the world as, for example, was actually done by Israel: (Song 5:9, 10) The nations of the world ask, “What is thy beloved more than another beloved?” … and Israel replies, “My beloved is white and ruddy”, and thus you will find it in that whole section (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:2:2).

זה א-לי, He is the eternal original Being as far as I am concerned. He invented or called into existence all perishable phenomena. Any and all phenomena which will endure have been enabled to do so only by His will.

זה א-לי, even though G’d remained, of course, invisible to the human eye, it is order to describe the experience witnessed with the word זה, “this,” just as we find the word זה “this,” used by the Torah (describing an utterance by the people about to make the golden calf) in the line כי זה האיש משה, “for this man Moses, etc.” (Exodus 32,1) It is clear that they did not “see” Moses at the time, as the reason for what they were about to do was precisely Moses’ “invisibility,” i.e. he had not returned from the Mountain as promised.

And the second one is not a sheva or chatef. . . Rashi is referring to the middle letter of עזי, which is ז, and to the middle letter of חקי , [which is ק ], etc.

זה אל: Das ist fortan mein Gott. Wie ich Ihn hier mein äußeres Geschick und mein inneres Leben allein gestaltend geschaut und empfinde, so will ich ihm fürder mein ganzes äußeres und inneres Leben zu Gebote stellen, von ihm gestalten und leiten lassen — (nur dann kann man Gott seinen Gott nennen) — er soll, wie das Wort buchstäblich heißt, meine bewegende Kraft sein; ואנוהו: und so will ich mich ihm zur Stätte bieten, mein ganzes Sein und Leben soll ein Tempel seiner Verherrlichung, eine Stätte seiner Offenbarung werden; es ist dies eine reine Konsequenz des נוה — .זה אל, verwandt mit נוה, bezeichnet eine sich zur Ruhe darbietende Stätte. Daher נָוֱה absolut eine solche Örtlichkeit, die den Herden alle Bedürfnisse darbietet, wo sie sich bleibend aufhalten können, ohne anderwärts Weide zu suchen. לקחתיך מן הנוה (Sam. II. 7, 8.) Also: Ich will Ihm eine Stätte sein, oder Ihm durch mein ganzes Leben eine Stätte bereiten, von der er gerne sprechen wird: אלקי אבי וארוממנהו — .ושכנתי בתוכם, Er hat sich also schon als Gott meiner Väter bewährt und ward so schon von den Vätern erkannt und mir überliefert; durch mich aber soll die Erkenntnis seiner Größe und Herrschaft noch immer steigen. Es ist damit die Aufgabe eines jeden folgenden Geschlechtes in Israel gezeichnet, die Erkenntnis und Huldigung Gottes in immer aufsteigender Linie fortzutragen.

זה אלי, “this is my G-d.” Moses refers to G-d with the word, “זה,” “this,” although G-d, is, of course, invisible, This maybe the reason why we find Moses described on occasion as "זה משה האיש,” [when after an absence on Mount Sinai of 40 days he had still not become visible again. (Compare Exodus 32,1)

אלהי אבי MY FATHER’S GOD is this וארממנהו AND I WILL EXALT HIM. אלהי אבי He is not merely my God but He was MY FATHER’S GOD also — I am not the beginning of the sanctity (i. e. I am not the first to hallow Him by proclaiming Him God), this hallowing of Him and the proclamation of His Godship over me is something that has been held by me and has remained mine since the days of my fathers.

ואנוהו, I will erect a suitable residence for Him in our midst. Within that residence I shall pray to Him exclusively and I will serve Him as is befitting to the One Who bestows both goodness and punishes the derelict. (compare Isaiah 44,17. ויתפלל אליו ויאמר הצילני נא כי א-לי אתה, “He prayed to Him, saying: ‘save me for You are my G’d.’”) Both prayer and service (sacrifices, etc.) have as their purpose to find favour in the eyes of the Lord.

ואנוהו, “I will describe His beauty in poetical terms.” We find something parallel to this in Jeremiah 6,2 הנוה והמעגנה, “the lovely and delicate one.” (a description of בת ציון, the concept of “Daughter of Zion.”) It is not to be compared to Isaiah 27,10 כי עיר בצורה בדד נוה משלח, “for the fortified city lies desolate, a homestead deserted, etc.” The proof lies in the repetition of the prophet’s theme at the end of his verse. [had he introduced a new thought, instead of the repetition of the same thought in different words, we could have erred in understanding his meaning. Ed.]

And they are all followed by ויהי לי לישועה . . . [Rashi is saying:] If וזמרת means וזמרתי (my praise), why then does it say ויהי לי לישועה ? Could it be that his praise was the cause of his deliverance? (Maharshal)

אלוקי אבי, a reference to the “G’d of Yaakov” who had spoken of א-ל אלוקי ישראל, in Genesis 33,20. Yaakov had meant that G’d is great in His awesomeness, His supervision of the individual fates of His creatures. He had named G’d thus to indicate that G’d combines within Himself both the attribute of love and the attribute of Justice.

In our context both the words ארומממנה and אנוהו are clearly expressions of glorifying G’d.

Do not wonder about the use of ויהי . . . Whereas according to Onkelos, [the use of ויהי ] is quite appropriate, as the verse is saying: “Hashem is my might and my praise.” And ויהי לי לישועה is a new point: [“He was my deliverance.”]

וארוממנהו, I elevate Him by my prostrating myself and humbling myself before Him, as well as by making it known that the purpose of everyone of my endeavours in this life to carry out His will to the best of my ability, consistent with the intellectual faculties granted to me. I acknowledge that His will is always superior and ultimately of the most benefit to His creatures. This is why in the final analysis He is beyond even our best efforts to praise Him and exalt Him. (Nechemyah 9,6).

Is this, and I will exalt Him. Rashi adds the word “this” because אלהי אבי stands separately, and seems to imply that “Hashem of my father” is a different God [from the God previously mentioned]. Thus Rashi explains the verse as if it said, “This is my God and the God of my father, and I will glorify and exalt Him.”

ה' איש מלחמה means The Lord is a Master of war; just as, (Ruth 1:3) “the איש (i. e. the master) of Naomi”. (Cf. Rashi on that verse). Wherever the words איש and אישך occur they must be translated by בעל; so, too, (1 Kings 2:2) “Be thou strong and show thyself an איש” — a mighty person.

ה' איש מלחמה, ה' שמו, even though He at times appears as the איש מלחמה, the “Man” of war who destroys His foes by invoking the attribute of Justice, He is yet predominantly Hashem, the G’d Who practices mercy. It is this attribute of His which is responsible for the continued existence of all His creatures. When He destroys His foes, He is in effect removing weeds from the garden in order to enable the useful plants to survive and develop. The wicked are like the thorns and thistles in a vineyard.

ה׳ איש מלחמה, "The Lord is a man of war," etc. This means that even when G'd operates with the attribute of Mercy He is still "a man of war." The fact that He conducts war does not imply that He abandons the attribute of Mercy. His name remains י־ה־ו־ה and all that this implies just as we find in Maleachi 3,6: כי אני ה׳ לא שניתי, "for I the merciful G'd have not changed, etc." G'd has made this plain also at the beginning of פרשת וארא where He told Moses אני השם, I am the attribute of Mercy.

ה' שמו, compare Psalms 9,17 נודע ה' משפט עשה, “He is known as Hashem because of the justice He worked.”

(Exodus, Ibid. 3) "The L rd is a man of war; the L rd is His name." R. Yehudah says: This is a verse rich from (what is written) in many places. We are hereby apprised that He revealed Himself to them in the implements of war. He revealed Himself to them as a warrior girded with a sword, viz. (Psalms 45:4) "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Hero. He revealed Himself to them as a rider, viz. (Ibid. 18:11) "And He mounted a cherub and flew, etc." He revealed Himself to them in mail and helmet, viz. (Isaiah 59:17) "He donned righteousness as mail, and a helmet of salvation on His head." He revealed Himself to them with a spear, viz. (Habakkuk 3:11) "by the light of the flash of Your spear," and (Psalms 35:3) "and draw spear and (don) buckler, etc." He revealed Himself to them with bow and arrows, viz. (Habakkuk 3:9) "The nakedness of Your bow will be revealed," and (II Samuel 22:15) "And He sent forth arrows, etc." He revealed Himself to them with shield and buckler, viz. (Psalms 91:4) "Shield and bucker is His Your truth, and (Ibid. 35:2) "Take up buckler and shield." I might think that He (actually) required one of all these appurtenances. It is, therefore, written "The L rd is a man of war; the L rd is His name. It is with His name that He wars, and not with any of these appurtenances. Why, then, need each of them be singled out? For if Israel requires it, He makes war for them. And woe to the nations what they hear with their ears, that He who spoke and brought the world into being is destined to make war with them! "the L rd is a man of war': What is the intent of this? Because He revealed Himself at the sea as a hero waging war — "The L rd is a man of war" — and He revealed Himself at Sinai as an elder full of mercy, viz. (Exodus 24:10) "And they saw the G d of Israel … and under His feet as the work of a sapphire brick and as the appearance of the heavens in brightness" [[ see Rashi], and (Daniel 7:9) "I watched as thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat … (10) A stream of fire was flowing forth from before Him, etc." — So as not to give a pretext to the peoples of the world to say that there are two (i.e., numerous) deities, (it is written) "The L rd is a man of war — the L rd is His name. It was He upon the sea, He in Egypt, He in the past, He in the future, He in time to come, He in this world, He in the world to come. As it is written (Devarim 32:39) "See, now, that it is I, I, and there is no god with Me, etc.", and (Isaiah 41:4) "Who wrought and did? The Caller of the generations (into being) from the beginning. I, the L rd, was the first (to perform wonders and to help,) and it is I (who will be) with (you,) the later (generations." There is a warrior in a province, accoutered in all the weapons of war, but lacking power, strength, stratagem, and war (wisdom). Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. He possesses all of these. As it is written (I Samuel 17:42) "For unto the L rd is the war, and He will deliver you into our hands." And it is written (Psalms 144:1) ("A psalm) of David: Blessed is the L rd, my Rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war." There is a warrior, at the height of his power, forty years old, who is not like a sixty-year-old, nor a sixty-year-old like a seventy-year-old, but the older he grows the more his power wanes. Not so, He who spoke and brought the world into being — (Malachi 3:6) "I am the L rd. I have not changed! There is a warrior in a province, who may be so swayed by wrath and power s to vent his fury even upon his father and mother and close of kin. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. "The L rd is a man of war — the L rd ("yod-keh-vav-keh," signifying mercy) is His name. "The L rd is a man of war" — who fought against the Egyptians. "The L rd is His name — He compassionates His creations, viz. (Exodus 24:6) "The L rd, the L rd, the G d (Kel) who is merciful and gracious, etc." There is a warrior in a province. As soon as the arrow leaves his hand he cannot retrieve it. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. When Israel do not do His will, a decree goes forth from Him, viz. (Devarim 32:41) "When I whet the flash of My sword, etc." But if they repent, immediately he withdraws it, viz. (Ibid.) "My hand shall take hold of justice." I might think that He withdraws it in vain (i.e., unbloodied); it is, therefore, written (Ibid.) "I shall return (with that sword) vengeance to My adversaries." Against whom does He return it? The nations of the world, viz. (Ibid.) "and (with it) My haters shall I repay!" A king of flesh and blood goes out to war and (emissaries of) neighboring lands come and request sustenance form him. He tells them angrily that he is going to war. When he returns victorious, they come and request sustenance form him. "The L rd is a man of war" — He wars against Egypt. "the L rd is His name" — (At the same time) He hears the outcries of all who enter the world. As it is written (Psalms 65:3) "Heeder of prayer — to You does all flesh come. A king of flesh and blood, whilst at war, cannot supply all of his soldiers. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. "The L rd is a man of war" — He wars against Egypt. "The L rd is His name" — He sustains all who enter the world. As it is written (Psalms 136:13) "He divides the sea into strips" (twelve strips for twelve tribes) — (Ibid. 25) "He gives bread to all flesh." (Ibid. 147:10) He gives the beast its food, the raven's young, what they call for." "The L rd is a man of war": Is it possible to say this (i.e., to refer to Him as "a man")? Is it not written (of His transcendent majesty) (Jeremiah 23:24) "Do I not fill heaven and earth, sys the L rd"? And (Isaiah 6:3) "And one (seraph) would call to another and say: Holy, Holy, Holy, etc." And (II Chronicles 6:14) "O L rd, G d of Israel, there is none like You, etc." And (Ezekiel 43:2) "And, behold, the glory of the G d of Israel, etc." What, then, is the intent of "a man of war"? Because of your love (i.e., the love He has for you) and because of your holiness, I shall sanctify My name through you. For it is written (Hoshea 11:9) "For I am G d, and not a man, etc." "the L rd is His name": It is with His name that He wars, and He has no need of any of these (military) appurtenances. And thus did David say (I Samuel 17:95) "You come to me with sword, and spear, and javelin; but I come to you with the name of the L rd of hosts, etc." And (Psalms 20:8) "These with chariots and these with horse, but we with the name of the L rd our G d, etc." And thus did Assa say, viz. (II Chronicles 14:10) "And Assa called out to the L rd his G d and said: O L rd, there is none besides You, etc." (Exodus 15:4) "the chariots of Pharaoh and his host": "As one measures, so is it meted out to him." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh]) said (Ibid. 5:2) "Who is the L rd that I should hearken to his voice?" And You meted it out to him accordingly, viz. "The chariots of Pharaoh, etc." One verse (here) states "yarah" (He cast into the sea"), and, another (Ibid. 1) "ramah" ("He lifted into the sea"). How are these two verses to be reconciled? "Yarah" — they descended to the depths; "ramah" — they rose to the heights. Variantly: "The chariots of Pharaoh, etc." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh') said (Ibid. 1:22) "Every son that is born into the Nile shall you thrown him, You, likewise, meted it out to him accordingly, viz.: "The chariots of Pharaoh, etc." They (Ibid. 14:7): "And he took six hundred chosen chariots." You, likewise (Ibid. 15:4): "and the élite of his officers were mired in the sea. They placed (Ibid. 14:7) "officers upon all of them"; You, likewise, (Ibid. 17:5) [He mired them there] "so that the waters should [return and] cover them." They (Ibid. 1:14) "embittered their lives with hard toil, with mortar"; You, likewise, made the water like slime for them, and they sank in it. Thus (15:4) "They were mired in the Red Sea," "mired" connoting slime, as in (Psalms 69:3) "I am sunk in the slime of the depths," and (Jeremiah 38:6) "and Jeremiah sank in the slime." Thus, "they were mired in the sea."

V. 3. Hiermit beginnt der Ausdruck der aus dem Erlebnis neugeschöpften Gotteserkenntnis: ד׳, die neue, bessere Zukunft in der Menschheit schaffend, ist eben darum איש מלחמה ein Kriegsmann, kämpft jede diesem besseren Gottesziele widerstehende soziale Gewalt nieder, ד׳ שמו das selbst liegt in seinem Namen, mit dem Er sich uns angekündigt. Der Weg zu dem von Gott das Gute bringenden Heile geht nur über die Vernichtung des Schlechten.

איש מלחמה, “a Man of war.” He acquired that title after having drowned His adversaries, the chariots of Pharaoh and their derivers, in the sea.

ה' שמו THE LORD IS HIS NAME — His wars are not waged with martial weapons but He fights by means of His Name, just as David said, (I Samuel 17:45) “But I come against thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts”. Another explanation of ה׳ שמו — He is a man of war, but His Name is the Lord (the God of Mercy): even at the time when He battles against and avenges Himself upon His enemies He retains His attribute (that expressed by His name ה׳) showing pity to His creatures and feeding all the inhabitants of the world; not as is the nature of the kings of the world each one of whom when he is engaged in war turns aside from all other engagements, and has not the power to do both this and that (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:3).

ירה בים Onkelos translates this by שדי בימא: HE HATH CAST IN THE SEA. The word שדי is an expression for “casting”. And thus, also, it says, (Exodus 19:13) או ירה יירה which Onkelos renders by או אשתדאה ישתדי “or he shall certainly be thrown down” where the ת is used in both these words in place of (as marking) the Ithpael form, so that in these Targum words the root is שדי‎.

מרכבות פרעה וחילו, after giving thanks to G’d for the destruction of Pharaoh and his horse, Moses refers to G’d’s fight against the army and his elite corps of officers which constituted the backbone of his army.

ירה בים, the verb is a variation of זרק or השליך, meaning: “he threw, flung with force.” It is used as such an alternate in Samuel II 11,24.

מרכבות פרעה וחילו, “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army.” The “chariots of Pharaoh” are the 600 chariots mentioned in 14,7. The word חילו, “his army,” refers to the שלישים who were manning these chariots. In view of this we would have expected the Torah to have written the following sequence: “He flung into the sea the chariots of Pharaoh and his army whereas his choicest captains drowned in it.” It is possible that the correct interpretation of the verse is: “seeing that the fate of Pharaoh’s chariots had already been determined in the celestial tribunal, they and their captains were bound to drown in the sea.”
Mechilta Beshalach 4 comments on our verse as follows: man is measured by the same yardstick he himself had applied to others. Seeing that Pharaoh had decreed that every Jewish male baby be thrown into the sea, his own chariots and his army were flung into the sea. He had instructed the midwives to look at the birthstool (Exodus 1,16) prior to male babies being born alive; in retaliation many of his soldiers went down in the sea like a stone (אבן).

A noun as מרכב . . . I.e., we should not say that the מ is a prefix, and the word means מן מבחר (some of the elite).

V. 4. ירה ,ירה בים, nicht bloß: werfen, sondern nach einem bestimmten Orte, einem Ziele werfen, daher der gewöhnliche Ausdruck für Pfeile schießen. Es scheint verwandt mit קרע ,קרא ,קרה etc. etwas aus seiner natürlichen oder bisherigen Richtung in eine andere, entgegengesetzte bringen. Daher der horizontale, der Schwerkraft entgegengesetzte Wurf. (Auch המצכה אשר יריתי Bereschit 31, 51 uחd ירה אבן פנתה ist Werfen an einen sehr bestimmten Ort. Josua 18, 6 heißt es vom Loose: ויריתי לכם גורל statt des gewöhnlichen הפיל גורל. Es bedürfte einer Untersuchung der Art und Weise, wie beim Losen verfahren worden. Der Satz בחיק יוטל את הגורל, im Schoße wird das Los entnommen, Prov. 16, 33, sowie die Prozedur, die uns Baba Bathra 122 a. hinsichtlich der Verteilung des Landes durchs Los mitgeteilt wird, und die ganz gleiche Joma 39 a. hinsichtlich der Losung für die beiden שעירים am י׳׳כ, lassen uns in keiner Weise ein "Werfen" bei dem Verfahren des Losens, vielmehr nur ein solches erkennen, wo die Lose in einem Behälter liegen, קלפי ,חיק, und daraus herausgegriffen, יוטל, rasch, ohne Auswahl herausgegriffen werden: טרף בקלפי. Das הפיל beim Lose scheint sich daher nicht auf das Verfahren, sondern auf die Wirkung des Losens zu beziehen. Durch das Los wird jemandem etwas zuerteilt, und weil diese Erteilung nicht nach Vorausberechnung und Wahl geschieht, wird dadurch bewirkt, dass jemandem etwas "zufällt". Ausdrücklich heißt es Bamidbar 34, 2 von dem zu verteilenden Lande: אשר תפל לכם בנחלה. Ebenso Josua 13, 6 הפילה לישראל בנחלה, so auch Jecheskel 45, 1. 47, 22. 48, 29. Ja in einem Verse (47, 22) wird נפל nach einander sowohl von dem Lande, als auch von den Personen gebraucht, denen das Land zuerteilt wird. תפילו אותה בנחלה לכם ולהגרים וגו׳ אתכם יפלו בנחלה וגו׳: ein Landesanteil fällt jemandem zu, oder jemand fällt einem Lande zu. Da Landbesitzergreifung hebräisch durch ֵהאָ ֵחז , vom Lande ergriffen werden, ausgedrückt wird, so ist der letzte Ausdruck ganz adäquat, und dürfte damit vielleicht das על פני כל אחיו נפל des Ismael Bereschit 25, 18 seine beste Erklärung finden. Wo demnach הפיל mit גורל verbunden ist, da dürfte unter גורל nicht der Zettel, oder das sonstige Losungsmittel, sondern der durchs Los anfallende Gegenstand zu verstehen sein, wie Bamidbar 36, 3 ומגרל נחלתנו יגרע Richter 1, 3 עלה אתי בגרלי und sonst. Josua 18, 6 heißt es nun, statt des gewöhnlichen: והפלתי ירה ,ויריתי לכם גרל :וגו׳ heißt aber, wie bemerkt, nach einem voraus bestimmten Ziele werfen, scheinbar somit der ungeeignetste Ausdruck für Losen! Allein nach Baba Bathra 122 a. war bei dieser Verteilung des Landes das Los mit den אורים ותומים also verbunden, dass Josua das Ergebnis des Loses schon immer im voraus ankündigte (siehe daselbst), ein Verfahren, das nicht treffender als durch ויריתי לכם גרל ausgedrückt werden könnte. Wenn darauf V. 8 u. 10 dasselbe Verfahren durch השליך גרל ausgedrückt wird, so ist damit gleichzeitig die völlige Unparteilichkeit und Nichtbeeinflussung des Loses durch Josua versichert.) ירה בים heißt somit wörtlich: schoss er ins Meer. Gottes Kriegsführung ist eine der menschlichen entgegengesetzte. Der kriegführende Mensch schleudert das Geschoss auf den Feind, Gott schleudert den Feind auf das Geschoss! So auch V. 1 רמה בים. —

ומבחר AND THE CHOICEST — This word is a noun of similar form to מֶרְכָּב and מִשְׁכָּב and מִקְרָא [קדש]‏.

טבע heißt überall: etwas in einen festen Stoff einsenken, der das Eingesenkte umschließend festhält, טבעו בארץ שעריה ,טבעתי ביון וגו׳ usw. Daher auch טבעת der Ring. Es wäre daher hier ein Versenken in den weichen Meeresgrund. Von den Anführern, שלישיו, heißt es nicht טָבעו, intransitiv wie צללו ,ירדו, sondern passiv טֻבעו, und nicht wie sonst immer בים, sondern בים סוף! Beides höchst charakteristisch. Sie, die Anführer, die der aktive Hebel des ganzen Heereszuges sein sollten, verloren alle Aktivität, wurden von einer höheren Macht gepackt und durch Versenken festgebannt. Und es geschah das nicht in "ein" Meer im allgemeinen, etwa ein ihnen unbekanntes, es geschah dies בים סוף, in das ihnen, dem מבחר, dem auserlesenen terrainkundigen Generalstab gewiss in allen seinen Örtlichkeiten durch und durch bekannte rote Meer! (Fast sollte man meinen, es sei dies zugleich ein schneidender Protest gegen alle Faseleien von Ebbe und Flut usw. mit welchen man, diesen "Durchgang durch das rote Meer" zu einem gewöhnlichen Naturereignis hinabinterpretieren möchte. War es dies, so war es doch sicher den מבחר שלישים des ägyptischen Heeres am allerersten bekannt!!)

‎טבעו ARE SUNK — The root טבע always denotes sinking in slimy matter, as may be seen from (Psalms 69:3) “I am sunk (טבעתי) in deep mire”, and from (Jeremiah 38:6) “And Jeremiah sank (ויטבע) in the mire”. The fact that this expression is used teaches, therefore, that the sea became slime (cf. Rashi on 14:24) to requite them according to their own measure — because that they had made the Israelites work as slaves with slime and with bricks (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:3).

יכסימו THEY COVER THEM — this is the same as יְכַסּוּם and the middle י is redundant. This is quite usual in Scripture–verses (in Biblical Hebrew), just as in (Deuteronomy 8:13) וצאנך ירביון, and (Psalms 36:9) ירויון מדשן ביתך, and the force of the first י which expresses the future tense you must explain as follows: they have been sunk in the Red Sea in order that the waters should return and should cover them. The word יכסימו has no similar example in Scripture so far as its punctuation is concerned; ordinarily it would be יְכַסְיֻמוּ with Melopum (חולם)‎.

תהומות יכסיומו, the deeps covered them, etc. The reason the Torah speaks of תהום in the plural must be viewed in light of my comment on 14,21 that half the sea was frozen whereas the other half was split. Each part was originally part of what is called תהום. Read what I have written on 15,8: "the deeps were congealed, etc."

יכסיומו, we would have expected the vowel cholem on the letter ו at the end of this word, i.e. “covered it” (the Egyptian army). However on account of the vowel kubutz under the letter י in the same word the vowel shuruk was chosen for poetical considerations. We find a similar anomaly in Ezekiel 43,11 מוצאיו ומובואיו, where there appears to be no justification at all for the letter ו after the letter מ in the word ומובאיו. The letter was added to maintain a certain poetical meter. [I am far too ignorant of Hebrew poetry either classical or modern, to offer any opinion on this. I do know, however, that the root בא from a grammatical aspect does not require the additional letter ו. Ed.]

(Exodus 15:5) "so that the depths should cover them": Now are there depths there (at the bottom of the sea)? Is it not dry ground? What, then, is the intent of "should cover them"? __ The lower depths (under the earth) ascended to the upper depths and the torrents embattled them. Thus, "the depths should cover them." (The water) covered the firmament over them and darkened the stars over them, viz. (Ezekiel 32:8) "All the lights of the heavens I will darken above you, and I will bring darkness to your land," and (Isaiah 13:10) "For the stars of heavens and their constellations will not give their light. (For) the sun will be dark when it rises, etc." And it is written (Ezekiel 30:18) "And in Techafnefess the day will be darkened when I break there the power of Egypt… (For) a cloud shall cover it. And (Isaiah 13:11) "and I shall requite to the world (its) evil, etc." Jonah descended to one depth, viz. (Jonah 2:6) "The depth surrounded me," and they descended to two depths, viz. (Exodus 15:5) "The depths covered them." Jonah descended into one metzulah (whirlpool, viz. Jonah 2:4), and they descended into two, (Exodus, Ibid.) "metzuloth." And it is written (Nechemiah 9:11) "And their pursuers You cast into metzuloth, as a stone into raging waters." (Exodus, Ibid. "They descended into the metzuloth": Now are there metzuloth there? Is it not dry land? We are hereby apprised that the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) burst into it (the Red Sea) and the torrents embattled them. Thus, "They descended into the metzuloth." "as a stone": "As one metes it out, so, is it meted out to him." They said (Exodus 1:16) "and you see upon the (birth;) stones, etc." — wherefore You, likewise made the waters like stones to them, and the waters struck them upon the stones. Thus, "as a stone." Variantly: "as a stone": This was the middle state. The wicked among them were tossed about like stubble (viz. 7); the "moderate," like stone (here); the "better," like lead (viz. 10). Variantly: "as a stone": because their hearts were hard as stone. But Your goodness and Your many lovingkindnesses and Your mercies are upon us, and Your right hand is stretched out to all who enter the world, "Your right hand," being written twice (viz. 15:6). (Psalms 44:4) "… but Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance — for You favored them," and (Isaiah 45:23) "By Myself I have sworn. From My mouth has gone forth righteousness, a word that will not turn back." (Exodus 15:6) "Your right hand, O L rd, is grand in power": ("nedari bakeach") Comely (na'eh) are You, and grand (adir [acronym of "nedari"]) in power. For You gave a grace period to the generation of the flood to repent. And they did not repent, as it is written (Genesis 6:3) "My spirit shall not contend (in Me) forever, etc." And You did not decree (destruction upon them) until they had consummated their evil before You. And thus do you find with the men of the tower (of Bavel), that You gave them a grace period for repentance and they did not repent. As it is written (Ibid. 11:6) "Behold, they are one people, and all of them have one language, and this is what they begin to do! And now, etc. "Now" connotes (an opening for) repentance, viz. (Devarim 10:12) "And now, O Israel, what does the L rd your G d ask of you" (but to repent). And You did not decree destruction upon them (the men of the tower) until they had consummated their evil before You. And thus do you find with the men of Sodom, that You gave them a grace period for repentance and they did not repent. As it is written (Genesis 18:20-21) "And the L rd said: The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it has become great … I shall go down now and I shall see, etc." (Ibid. 19:24) "And the L rd rained down upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire": If they repent — rain; if not, brimstone and fire. It is written here "rain," and elsewhere (Psalms 11:6) "rain." Just as there (ab initio) "rain," so, here, (ab initio) "rain." — But perhaps, just as here, "brimstone and fire," there, too, brimstone and fire! __ It is, therefore, (to negate this) written (Genesis, Ibid.) "from the L rd, from heaven" (and evil does not descend [ab initio] from the L rd.) And You did not decree (destruction) upon them until they had consummated their evil. And thus with Egypt. You brought ten plagues upon Egypt, and You did not decree destruction upon them until they had consummated their evil. Variantly: "Your right hand, O L rd, is grand in power. Your right hand" — twice. When Israel do the will of the L rd, they, as it were, convert the "left" to the "right." And when they do not do the will of the L rd, they convert the "right" to the "left," viz. (Eichah 2:3) "He has turned back His right hand before the foe." When Israel do His will, there is no sleep before Him, viz. (Psalms 121:9) "He does not slumber and He does not sleep." And when they do not do His will, there is, as it were, "sleep" before Him, viz. (Ibid. 78:66) "Then the L rd woke as a sleeper, as a warrior rousing himself from wine." And when Israel do His will, there is no wrath before Him, viz. (Isaiah 27:4) "I have no wrath." And when they do not do His will, there is wrath before Him, viz. (Devarim 11:17) "and the wrath of the L rd will burn against you." When Israel do His will, He wars for them, viz. (Exodus 14:14) "The L rd will war for you." And when they do not do His will, He wars against them, viz. (Isaiah 63:10) "And He turned into a foe of theirs; He warred against them." (Exodus 15:6) "Your right hand, O L rd, will break the foe": It is not written "broke the foe," but "will break the foe," in the future, viz. (Habakkuk 3:12) "In fury You will tread the earth; in wrath You will trample nations." "breaks the foe": This is Pharaoh, viz. (Exodus 15:9) "The foe (in this context, Pharaoh) said, etc." Variantly: This is Esav, viz. (Ezekiel 36:2) "Because the foe has said against you 'He'ach!', etc."

V. 5. תהומות, nicht Abgründe, sondern von המס=הוס: wogen, wogende Fluten. — מצולות von צול, wohl gleichbedeutend mit צלל, wovon צֵל der Schatten, überhaupt: dem Eindruck des Lichtes oder des Schalles entzogen werden. Daher צל, Schatten, צלל in das Dunkel sinken, מצולה, die schattige, dunkle Tiefe und תצלנה אזנים, betäubt werden, צלצל, ein betäubendes, laut schmetterndes Instrument.

(Fol. 27b) Mishnah: In that same dayR. Akiba expounded: (Ex. 15, 1) Then sang Moses and the children of Israel, this song unto the Lord, and thus did they say: "Why is the word Lamor (saying) in the above passage repeated? From this it may be inferred that Israel answered the song after Moses had begun."

תהומות יכסיומו, “the deeps covered them;” the letter מ in the word יכסיומו should have had the vowel cholem as have similar formulations of a verse, instead of the shuruk which our sages decided. The reason they did so was that there was already a vowel shuruk immediately in front of it. We find a similar example of this dilemma in Ezekiel 43,11, in the word: ומבואיו.

כמו אבן AS A STONE — But in another passage (v. 10) it states, “they dropped like lead”, and in yet another passage (v. 7) “it consumes them as stubble”! The wicked amongst the Egyptians were as stubble, being continually dashed about, and tossed up and down; those of average worth sank as a stone, suffering less agony, whilst the best amongst them sank as lead so that they came to their rest at once (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:5).

ירדו במצולות, they descended into the depths, etc. This is an allusion to all those champion swimmers who made strenuous efforts to escape from the depths as I have discussed in connection with 14,27.

ימינך ... ימינך THY RIGHT HAND — twice! — When Israel performs the will of the Omnipresent the left hand (intended for punishment) becomes a right hand (bestowing reward, so that God has two right hands as it were) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:5).

THY RIGHT HAND, O ETERNAL, GLORIOUS IN POWER, THY RIGHT HAND, O ETERNAL, DASHETH IN PIECES THE ENEMY. Rashi commented: “The literal sense of the text is as follows: ‘Thy right hand that is glorious in power — what does it do? Thy right hand, O Eternal, dasheth in pieces the enemy.’ There are many Scriptural verses that follow this form. For lo Thine enemies, O Eternal, for lo Thine enemies shall perish;¹³⁶Ibid., 92:10. The meaning then would be: “For lo Thine enemies, O Eternal, what shall happen to them? For lo Thine enemies shall perish.” Eternal, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?¹³⁷Ibid., 94:3. The floods have lifted up, O Eternal, the floods have lifted up their voice.”¹³⁸Ibid., 93:3. In my opinion, however, this is not correct. Verses repeat words in order to indicate that such will always be the case, without identifying what they refer to until they mention it the second time. Had Scripture said here, “Thy right hand, thy right hand, dasheth in pieces the enemy” it would have been exactly like the other verses Rashi mentions. [But instead it says here, Thy right hand, O Eternal, ‘glorious in power,’ Thy right hand, O Eternal, dasheth… and consequently it is unlike the other verses mentioned.] Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the verse means: “Thy right hand, O Eternal, Thou Who art glorious in power, may Thy right hand dash in pieces the enemy.” In that case, the verse here is similar in form to the verses mentioned [by Rashi].
A more correct interpretation would be to explain it thus: “Thy right hand, O Eternal, is glorious in power to humble all proud and lofty; Thy right hand, O Eternal, dashes in pieces the enemy with great power.” It mentions the right hand both in the masculine and feminine forms,¹³⁹“Thy right hand… ‘ne’edari’ (glorious)” is in the masculine gender; “Thy right hand… ‘tir’atz’ (dasheth)” is in the feminine. just as in the verse, Behold, a hand was put forth unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein,¹⁴⁰Ezekiel 2:9. Sh’luchah (put forth) is a feminine form; bo (therein) is a masculine. and is repeated as is customary in prophecies.
The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand the way of the Truth in this verse from the first verses¹⁴¹See above, 14:31. I have explained. And so did the Rabbis say it:¹⁴²Shemoth Rabbah 24:1. “With the very same hand with which He sank the Egyptians, He delivered Israel,”¹⁴³See my Hebrew commentary, p. 355, that it is so interpreted by Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher. for it is “the power” that saves, as it is said, And now, I pray Thee, let the power of the Eternal be great.¹⁴⁴Numbers 14:17.

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח, Moses emphasises that it is not the mighty military machine of Pharaoh which glorifies in power but the right hand of the Lord; (this was already the second “war” against the Egyptians G’d conducted, i.e. a separate war against part of the power of Egypt). The first time Moses mentioned G’d’s ימין this is a grateful acknowledgment of G’d’s war against Pharaoh; the repetition of the words

ימינך ה׳ נאדרי בכח, "Your right hand O Lord is glorious in power," The Israelites marvelled at the power displayed by G'd even when operating as the attribute of Mercy. Even that attribute "dashed the enemy to pieces." Alternatively, one may read this verse "backwards." "When is Your right hand visibly powerful? When it dashes the enemy to pieces." Then the fear of You overcomes people as described in verse 16.

ימינך ה', Your “right” which is glorious with might, was the one that shattered the enemy.

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח, “Your right hand Hashem is glorified with strength.” According to Rashi [who offers three explanations of this phrase, the one he calls the plain meaning, Ed.] is that the same right hand that is exalted by beautiful strength, is also the very hand which smashes the enemy when the need arises.

ימינך ה', Your right hand O Lord, etc.” It is an accepted rule that every one of G’d’s attributes contains within it an element of its opposing attribute. As a result the attribute of Justice is “clothed” in the attribute of Mercy. This idea appears to be expressed by the words נאדרי בכח “is glorified by strength.” The word is derived from אדרת, “mantle, cover,” the power of the mercy contained in that mantle over the attribute of Justice was responsible for the Israelites escaping the fate of the Egyptians. The latter were drowned by the essence of the attribute of Justice whereas the Israelites were saved by its periphery, the mantle of Mercy. Some Midrashim (Tehillim 18) phrased it thus: The word “Your right hand smashed the enemy,” suggests that G’d’s other hand saved the Israelites.

It is constantly crushing. . . I.e., we should not understand that תרעץ is in the future tense. Rashi similarly explains תהרוס (v. 7).

V. 6. נאדרי. Erwägen wir die Bedeutung אדר als Mantel, ferner Stellen wie נאור אתה ,אדיר Ps. 76. 5, אדירים משברי ים (daselbst 93. 4), מלכים אדירים (daselbst 136, 18) אוי לני מי יצילנו מיד האלקי׳ האדירים האלה (Sam. I. 4, 8) und andere Stellen mehr, in welchen überwiegend nicht der Charakter der Anmut, der Schönheit, der Pracht, sondern der einer außerordentlichen Macht durch אדיר seinen Ausdruck findet, erwägen wir ferner die Verwandtschaft mit עדר und חדר, die ein abschließendes Sammeln zu einem Haufen oder in eine Umgrenzung bedeuten: so bezeichnet אַדִיר einen durch weiteres Machtgebiet über alle andere hervorragenden, von allen andern gesonderten und ausgezeichneten Mächtigen. Es ist der Mächtige ohnegleichen, und הֵאָדֵר: als sondergleichen mächtig, in einer Machtfülle sondergleichen offenbar werden. — Es heißt nicht בְכֹח sondernבָכּחַ , heißt auch nicht הָאוֹיֵב, sondern ,אוֹיֵב daher: deine durch diese hier geübte Kraft in einer Machtgröße sondergleichen offenbar gewordene Rechte wird fortan jeden Feind schrecken. כח ist das Vermögen, etwas zu tun. Du hast hier gezeigt, was du vermagst, gezeigt, dass in dir eine Macht vorhanden ist, die selbst die riesigste soziale Gewalt zu fürchten hat, sobald sie dem von dir gewollten Menschenheile feindlich ist. Daher auch ימין die dem Bedrohten helfende Rechte. Die Anschauung, die in ימין in der Rechten Gottes, die helfende, Heil spendende Gottesmacht und in יד, der Linken, die strafende, vernichtende erblickt, quillt tief aus dem jüdischen Gottbewusstsein. Gott zeigt seine eigentliche Macht und Größe schaffend und helfend, Leben und Segen gebend, nicht strafend und vernichtend. Von ihm ausgehende Strafe und Vernichtung ist selbst nur ein Weg zum Heile und zum Segen. Seine Linke steht im Dienste seiner Rechten.

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח, “Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power;” Rashi explains the grammatical inconsistency of using the masculine adjective for the word “Your hand,” which is a feminine noun, and should have been נאדרת, as having a counterpart in Lamentations, 1,1, when the prophet Jeremiah said איכה רבתי עם, instead of the masculine adjective, seeing that the noun עם is masculine. An alternate explanation of the words נאדרי בכח, is that it is linked to the name of the Lord, as for instance in Psalms 123,1: היושבי בשמים, “He Who resides in heaven.”

נאדרי, “glorious;” this adjective refers to G-d, the letter י at the end is superfluous, just as the letter י in Psalms 123,1 is superfluous in the word: היושבי. We therefore understand the whole sentence as if the Torah had written: ימינך ה' הנאדר בכח היא תרעץ אויב, “Your right hand o Lord, is the one that shatters the foe.”

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח THY RIGHT HAND, O LORD, IS GLORIOUS IN POWER to deliver Israel, and thy second right hand dashes the enemy in pieces. But it seems to me that if we have to take it in the sense: Thy right hand is glorious to save, thy right hand dashes in pieces etc. the explanation is that the self-same right hand itself dashes the enemy in pieces, something which it is impossible for a human being — to do two actions with one hand. But the literal sense of the text is: “Thy right hand, that is glorious in power — what does it do?” — “Thy right hand, O Lord, dashes the enemy in pieces”. There are many Scriptural verses exactly in this poetical form, e. g., (Psalms 92:10) “For, behold, thine enemies, O Lord, for behold, thine enemies shall perish” and others similar.

'ימינך ה are a prayer for G’d to manifest this power against evil again at the time of the final redemption, may it come about soon in our days. We find a similar repetition in Devorah’s song of thanksgiving for Barak’s victory against Siserah in Judges 5,31.

The word ימין actually is of the feminine gender, as are all parts of the body which appear in multiples, and moreover the same word appears in the feminine gender in Psalms 118,16 ימין ה' רוממה. Why then does it appear in the masculine gender here? [the implied question is not answered, but it seems clear that when we describe the “power” of G’d as represented by His hand, we cannot at the same time use a grammatical mode applicable to the “weak” gender. In the verse quoted from Psalms, G’d is not described as active at the time. Ed.]

נאדרי The י is redundant as in (Lamentations 1:1) “full of (רבתי) people . . . princess (שרתי) amongst the provinces”; (Genesis 31:39) “stolen (גנבתי) by day”.

Our verse has to be compared to such verses as Psalms 93,3 נשאו נהרות ה' נשאו נהרות קולם, “the mighty river raised their voices; the mighty rivers made thundering sound.” Or look at Psalms 94,3 עד מתי רשעים ה' עד מתי רשעים יעלוזו, “how long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult?” In these various verses (all poetry, of course) the first sentence has not even been completed before the composer begins with the verse following. However, he mentions the subject of whom he speaks in the first half of the verse.

תרעץ אויב means, it always crushes and shatters the enemy; similar in meaning to it is, “And they crushed (וירעצו) and broke the children of Israel”, in the Book of Judges (Judges 10:8). [Another explanation is: Thy right hand that is glorious in power shatters and punishes the enemy, and these words must be connected with the following:

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).

וברוח אפיך AND WITH THE BREATH OF THY NOSTRILS — the breath that issues from both nostrils. Scripture speaks — if this were at all possible (i. e. if one may be permitted to speak so of God) of the Shechina (God) in the same manner as it does of a human monarch, in order to make peoples’ ears hear the facts in accordance with what usually happens to that they may understand the matter: when a man is angry the breath issues from his nostrils (and Scripture attributes this to God, also, when He is in anger). A similar idea is: (Psalms 18:9) “Smoke rose up in His nostril”, and also, (Job. 4:9) “By the breath of his nostril they are consumed”. And this is the meaning of what He said, (Isaiah 48:9) “For My name’s sake אאריך I will make long My אף”: when one’s anger subsides his breathing becomes long, whilst when one is in anger his breathing is short (consequently אאריך אפי signifies “I will not be angry”). The text continues ותהלתי אחטם לך which means “for the sake of My praise I will place a nose-ring in My nose to close up the nostrils against the anger and the breath so that they should not issue forth”. The word לך, for thee, in this text, means “for thy sake”, אחטם has the same meaning and root as in “a wild camel with a nose-ring (חֹטֶם)” which occurs in Mishna Treatise Sabbath (Mishnah Shabbat 5:1). Thus does the explanation appear to me. And wherever אף and חרון (i. e. where אף and words formed from the same root as חרון) occur in the Scriptures I say that it has the following sense: In the phrase חרה אף the first word is the same as (Job 30:30) “My bone is חרה with heat”, where חרה denotes burning and glowing, and this metaphor is used because the nostrils become hot and burning in a time of anger. The noun חרון is a derivation of חרה, just as רצון is a derivation of רצה, and therefore signifies “burning”. In the same way, חַמה which also signifies wrath really denotes heat (from a root יחם, not חמם, since the מ of חַמָה has no Dagesh. חַמָה is formed from יחם as עֵדָה, congregation, from יעד). That is why Scripture says, (Esther 1:12) וחמתו בערה בו “his wrath burned in him”, and when one’s wrath subsides one says, “his mind has become cooled” (נתקררה from קר cold).

וברוח אפיך נערמו מים, now Moses speaks of the third war G’d conducted against the multitudes of Egypt; (not the elite) Moses recapitulates the phenomena faced by the Egyptian hordes when the waters which had previously been normal became like towers of frozen water in the midst of the sea.

נערמו מים, גצבו כמו נר, "the waters were piled up, stood upright like a wall." This verse describes three distinct activities performed by G'd when He split the sea. 1) The waters split and remained in one place as a heap so as to make a path available for the Israelites to cross. 2) The waters which would normally replace the newly created vacuum in the centre of the sea did not spill into that vacuum but piled up along the sides forming a veritable wall. 3) As already mentioned in my comments on 14,21 it was not the entire depth of the sea which was split, but the deeper layers of water were frozen so as to enable the Israelites to march through relatively high ground and not to have to descend to what had been the bottom of the sea. The expression קפאו, "were frozen already," reflects what we have said earlier that the freeze of the lower waters in the sea preceded the splitting of the upper levels of the sea. The expression לב ים refers to the lower level of the sea which froze. The reason that the Israelites again used the word תהומות in the plural was that G'd made them travel along twelve separate lanes, each tribe having a lane to itself as we know from Shemot Rabbah 24,1.

וברוח אפיך, by means of the east wind which You made blow all night long. (14,21)

For the sake of My Name I will lengthen My breath”. . . I.e., I will not be angry. For “when one’s anger is calmed, his breath is longer.”

V. 8. V. 3 — 7 besingt die in dem Erlebnis offenbar gewordene Gottesmacht jeder sozialen Macht, V. 8—12 der physischen Naturordnung gegenüber, und beides im Dienste seines freien, richtenden und rettenden Waltens.

[not translated]

נערמו מים, “the waters rose up (like wall);” Onkelos translates these words as “חכימו מים,” the waters acted wisely, etc;” We understand this as the waters cooperating with G-d’s plan to pour the Egyptians into the water. This would conform with what we have read in Deuteronomy 11,4: אשר הציף ה' את מי ים סוף על פניהם ברדפם אחריכם, “how the Lord rolled back upon them the waters of the sea of reeds when they were pursuing you; i.e. the waters were pursuing the Egyptians.”

נערמו מים THE WATERS WERE HEAPED UP — Onkelos translated this in the sense of ערמימות, subtlety (the waters showed themselves clever); (cf. ערום Genesis 3:1); but it is more in accordance with the elegance of Biblical style to take it as the noun of the same root as in (Song 7:3) “a stack of (ערמת) wheat”, and the following words, “the floods placed themselves like a mound”, prove that this is so (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:8:2). נערמו — Through the burning heat of the breath that issued from thy nostrils (וברוח אפיך) the waters were dried up and they became like heaps and piles of gain-stacks (ערמה) which are high.

נערמו, they moved upwards. We know the word as a “pile” from ערימת חטים, “a high heap of wheat.”

I will place a nose-ring in My nose. . . חטם means “nose-ring,” as Rashi continues to explain: “In order to close up My nostrils against. . .”

אף ,רוח אפיך als Zorn mit Pronominalendung kommt nie im Plural vor, immer אפך אפי, in usw., ja wir sind geneigt zu glauben, auch in der Zusammenstellung, in welcher אפיםZorn zu sein scheint, in ארך אפים bedeute es nicht eigentlich Zorn; lange "zürnend" wäre ja wohl das Gegenteil dessen, was mit ארך אפים ausgedrückt werden soll. Wir glauben vielmehr, אפים sei nicht von אנף, zürnen, sondern von אפף, auf etwas mit heftigem Verlangen zugehen, daher die dem frühern einverleibende Partikel: אַף, und das verwandte אב ,אבב, der gierig den Saft trinkende Halm. (vergl. אפים .(מגמת פניהם, גמֶא, גמוא, גַם heißt das verlangende, anstrebende Angesicht (siehe zu בזעת אפיך), und ארך אפים heißt: der lang verlangende, der nicht ungeduldig wird, wenn er lange auf Befriedigung seines Verlangens warten muss. רזח אפיך ist daher: der von deinem verlangenden Angesicht gesendete Wind, der dein Verlangen erfüllende Wind. — ערם, Aufhäufen kleinster Stoffe, Getreide, Staub, hier: der einzelnen Wassertropfen. — נֵד von נוד, von der Stelle weichen. Wenn daher נֵד Mauer bedeutet, so kann dies nicht wie חומה eine den Schutz des innerhalb derselben Liegenden bezweckende Mauer, sondern eine den außer ihr liegenden Raum frei haltende Umzäunung bedeuten: eine scheu zurücktretende, Raum gebende Mauer. Es kommt übrigens nur in einer Schilderung dieses Ereignisses, sowie bei dem ähnlichen Durchzug durch den Jordan vor. — קפא ,קפאו, starr werden, gerinnen, von dem Gerinnen der Milch: jenseits der beiden Wassermauern wallte ,בלב ים — .(Job 10, 10) וכגבינה תקפיאני das Meer in gewöhnlicher Strömung: nur da, wo Gottes Volk die Bahn der Rettung finden sollte, ward die Natur des Wassers umgewandelt.

נערמו, “they had become cunning;” the waters had become crafty, so that they too recited G–d’s praises. This is also how Onkelos translates this line when he wrote: “the waters became smart;”

כמו נד — Render this as the Targum does: like a שור, i. e. a wall.

נד, another word describing height. We find it in connection with the waters of the Jordan river backing up when the Israelites crossed (Joshua 3,16).

אחטם is like נאקה בחטם . . . The Aruch explains: They pierce the animal’s nostrils and insert a ring there. They put a leash through the ring by which they lead the animal. Rashi’s explanation ad loc seems the same.

קפאו תהומות בלב ים, “the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.” The lower two thirds of the sea had become congealed, whereas the upper third had been split. If all three thirds of the water had been split, the Israelites would not have been able to climb out of it on the opposite bank. This is why the Torah chose the expression בלב ים, “in the heart of the sea,” as the heart of a human being is located at the junction of the upper third of torso and the two lower thirds.

נד is an expression for anything heaped up and gathered together, as, (Isaiah 17:11) “a heap (נד) of boughs in the day of grief”; (Psalms 33:7) “He gathereth as a heap (כַּנֵד) [the waters of the sea]”. It is not written “He gathereth כנאד”, but כנאד”, and if כנד, were the same as כנאד “like a water-skin”, and כונס were an expression for “bringing a thing in”, it should have written: “He gathered in (מכניס and not כונס) the waters of the sea as in a water-skin”, (כבנאד and not כנד), but כונס denotes gathering together and heaping up. And this must also be the meaning of נד in (Joshua 3:16) “[the waters] rose up as one נד”, and (Joshua v. 13) “and they shall stand in one נד”; for the expressions “rising up” and “standing up” cannot be used in reference to water in water-skins but only to water that stands up as walls and heaps (and this must therefore be the meaning of כמו נד in our text also). And, then again, we find the word נֹאד punctuated only with a Melopum (חולם), as, (Psalms 56:9) “Put thou my tears into thy bottle (נֹאדֶךָ)” and (Judges 4:19) “the bottle of (נֹאד) milk”.

קפאו, similar to the hardening of cheese described in Job 10,10 as וכגבינה תקפיאני, “You congealed me like cheese.”

חרון is derived from חרה . . . [First] Rashi proves from Scripture that חרה means “burning”. [Then] Rashi says: if so, חרון also is an expression of “burning,” because חרון is derived from חרה .

קפאו WERE CONGEALED, like (Job 10:10) “thou hast curdled me (תקפיאני) like cheese”; the meaning is that the depths were hardened and became like stones, and the waters cast the Egyptians against the stony wall with force and battled against them with every harsh means (cf. Mekhilta).

בלב ים means IN THE VERY STRENGTH OF THE SEA. It is the way of Scripture-verses to speak thus (to use לב in a metaphorical sense); e. g., (Deuteronomy 4:11) “unto the very midst of (לב) heaven”; (II Samuel 18:14) “in the midst of (בלב) the terebinth”. It is an expression denoting the essence and strength of a thing.

אמר אויב THE ENEMY SAID to his people, when he was persuading them with words (cf. Rashi on 14:6), I WILL PURSUE and I WILL OVERTAKE them and I WILL DIVIDE THE SPOIL with my captains and my subjects.

THE ENEMY SAID. “I.e., to his people, when he [Pharaoh] was persuading them with words: ‘I will pursue them and I will overtake them, and I will divide the spoil with my captains and my servants.’” Thus the language of Rashi. Now I have seen in the Midrash Chazita:¹⁴⁵I have not found this Midrash in Shir Hashirim Rabbah, (see above in Seder Shemoth, Note 317), but in Koheleth Rabbah 1:31 and also in the Mechilta of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai on the verse here. “Thus did Rabbi Yishmael teach: ‘The enemy said: I will pursue, I will overtake. This should fittingly have been at the beginning of the Song, and why was it not written there? It is because there is no strict chronological order in the narrative of the Torah.’” Now Onkelos is of that opinion, for he translated, “the enemy had said,” referring to the beginning of his plan to pursue after them.
In my opinion, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, this is to be understood in connection with the preceding verses, [all of them together explaining how the destruction of the enemy came about.] First, Scripture said that they sank in the sea and that they went down into the depths.¹⁴⁶Verse 5. This happened when the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen.¹⁴⁷Above, 14:28. After that, Scripture reverts to tell how this came about. With the blast of Thy nostrils, which is a reference to the strong east wind,¹⁴⁸Ibid., Verse 21. the waters were piled up, and the deeps were congealed¹⁴⁹Verse 8. from the beginning. It was because of this that the enemy thought that he would pursue and overtake them in the sea and divide their spoil, and that his lust would be satisfied upon them. But Thou didst blow¹⁵⁰Verse 10. upon them with Thy wind, and the sea covered them.
Now Moses mentioned this for in this thought of Pharaoh too were discernible the wonderful causation of G-d, Who strengthened the hearts of the Egyptians and turned their counsel into foolishness to come after the Israelites into the sea, as I have explained above.¹⁵¹Above, 14:21. It is for this reason that following that verse, Moses said, Who is like unto Thee, O Eternal, among the mighty,¹⁵²Verse 11. doing great and wondrous things in ways mutually opposed to each other, [such as was done here: with the same hand, He sank the Egyptians and delivered Israel, as mentioned above].

אמר אויב ארדף אשיג, The enemy had said to himself: "I will pursue, I will overtake, etc." The reason that the Israelites repeated what we knew already about the Egyptians pursuing the Israelites was to extol the manner in which G'd performed the miracle at the sea. G'd had succeeded in lulling the Egyptians into a sense of false security so that they did not consider the pursuit into the sea as hazardous.

אמר אויב, when they saw the sea turn into dry ground

אמר אויב ארדוף אשיג, “the enemy had said: “I will pursue and catch up, etc.” Rashi says that Moses quoted the words used by Pharaoh to encourage his people to join him in pursuit of the Israelites. This is also the understanding of our verse by Onkelos who translates אשיג as סגאה, progressing, marching. Nachmanides writes that it seems to him that the verse, basically, is a repetition of the theme of the beginning previous verse and does not refer to the decision made in Egypt to pursue the Israelites, but to the decision made at the sea to enter into the sea that had been split and stood like walls of ice. Pharaoh ignored or misinterpreted G’d’s having worked this miracle and that it was reversible and that these very waters would spell their doom. The end of verse 8 had explained that the whole phenomenon was an outgrowth and demonstration of G’d’s anger at the Egyptians.

My spirit and my will. [Rashi explains that the expression of] מלא (to fill) can be used relating to one’s “will,” as in: “To fill ( למלאות ) the will of your Father in Heaven.” Also: “To fulfill ( למלאות ) his friend’s will.”

V. 9. Der Gesang geht rückwärts. Der mächtigste Eindruck war der letzte und der fand zuerst seinen Ausdruck in סוס ורוכבו רמה בים, und in ihn sich versenkend wird Gott als איש מלחמה gegen alles Menschenfeindliche, Gott widerstrebende begriffen. Pharaos Macht, weil sie אויב, weil sie eine menschenfeindliche gewesen, war von Gott in die Fluten begraben. Und (V. 8) dieselbigen Fluten hatten sich doch auf Gottes Geheiß, Bahn gewährend, zurückgetürmt! Und (V. 9) es hatte der Feind doch eben diese Bahn zur siegreichen Vollbringung seiner feindseligen Absichten benutzen zu können vermeint! Der Feind erblickte in dieser plötzlich mitten im Meere entstandenen Bahn ein Naturereignis, das dem Verfolger wie dem Verfolgten zu Gebote steht. Es steht auch hier אויב, nicht האויב, um auch diese den Gehorsam der Natur im Dienste des frei gebietenden Gottesgerichtes völlig verleugnende Gesinnung Pharaos zu generalisieren. Diese Gesinnung wird geschildert: ארדף ,אשיג usw. —

'אמר אויב וגו, “the enemy had said, etc.; ”when he saw that the sea had had turned into a dry surface through the waves having frozen in the heart of it, the enemy considered this as an opportunity to catch up faster with the Israelites.

תמלאמו means SHALL BE FILLED WITH THEM (not it shall fill them). נפשי MY SOUL — my spirit, my desire. Do not be puzzled at a word, that expresses an idea usually expressed by two, viz., תמלאמו for תִּמָּלֵא מֵהֶם, for there are many examples of this way of speaking; e. g., (Judges 1:15) “the south country נְתַתָּנִי”, which is the same as נָתַתָּ לִי, “thou hast given to me”; (Genesis 37:4) “And they were not able דַּבְּרוֹ peaceably”, which is the same as דַּבֵּר עִמּוֹ “to speak with him”; (Jeremiah 10:20) “My children יְצָאוּנִי which is the same as יָצְאוּ מִמֶּנִי “have gone away from me”; (Job. 31:37) “the number of my steps אַגִידֶנּוּ which is the same as אַגִּיד לוֹ “I would declare unto him”. Similarly here: תמלאמו means תִּמָּלֵא נַפְשִׁי מֵהֶם “my soul shall be filled with them”.

אריק חרבי, I will empty my sheath by drawing forth my sword. This round about description of someone drawing his sword is not unique. We find something similar in connection with bows and arrows. In Psalms 38,3 כי חציך נחתו בי, literally: “for Your arrows have landed on me,” the meaning is, obviously, “Your arrows have struck me.” David, using poetic language, describes that when the bow has been placed flat on a solid surface in preparation for the arrow to be shot after the bow has been tensed sufficiently, it is aimed and shot so that its arrival at the target represents a “landing.” Psalms 18,35 uses similar language to describe the action of a bow and arrow.

Do not wonder about a word that expresses something expressed by two words. . . I.e., it is one word that is like two words.

אחלק שלל, "I will divide the spoils." The wicked Pharaoh intended to accomplish three things. 1) Something in which all would share equally, i.e. division of the spoils. 2) He wanted to take the Jews back as slaves as they had been before. He said: "my lust shall be satisfied upon them." He referred to the sense of accomplishment he would feel once he captured the Israelites to make them slaves again. He also hinted that he would treat them at will and oppress them more harshly than previously. 3) He planned to kill Moses and Aaron as well as the elders and leaders of the people. This is what he referred to when he said (in the words of the Israelites) "I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them." We have an example of the previous Pharaoh attempting to kill Moses by the sword (Exodus 2,15) where Shemot Rabbah 1,31 describes Pharaoh as unsuccessfully attempting to kill Moses by the sword.

In eigentümlicher Weise steht hier אחלק שלל, das Beuteverteilen, doch sicher das letzte nach völlig errungenem Siege, in der Mitte, ja als das erste unmittelbar nach dem Einholen, wo ja erst der Kampf zu beginnen hätte; wir hätten es zuletzt, nach תורישמו ידי erwarten sollen. Er scheint daher sein Heer durch die Aussicht und das Versprechen der Beute zu ermutigen, oder doch zu noch größerer Kühnheit haben anstacheln wollen, oder müssen, und es sind hier nicht Pharaos Gedanken, sondern Pharaos Ansprache an sein Heer ausgedrückt: "Ich will nach, will sie einholen, — ihr sollt alle Anteil an der Beute haben! — ich will meinen Mut ganz an ihnen kühlen und sie dann mit gezogenem Schwerte wieder in unsern Besitz bringen."

אריק חרבי, “I will bare My sword;” our author feels that the letter ב before the word חרבי is missing here, and he quotes similar instances, so that as a result, the line would mean that by using His sword G-d separates body from soul; and blood from breathing; [personally I had no problem with the word חרבי as is. Ed.]

אריק חרבי Translate this as the Targum: I WILL DRAW [MY SWORD]. Because one empties the scabbard when one draws out the sword and it (the scabbard) then remains empty (ריק), the, expression “emptying” is appropriate to it (to the act of drawing the sword), as in (Genesis 42:35) “emptying (מריקים) their sacks”; (Jeremiah 48:12) “And they shall empty (יריקו) his vessels (of wine)”. Now do not say that the expression “emptiness” in these examples does not apply to the thing which comes out, but that it applies to the scabbard and the sack and the vessels from which these things come out and not to the sword and to the wine (it is the scabbard, the sack and the vessels which are empty not the sword, the corn and the wine), — and consequently give a forced explanation of אריק חרבי in the sense of the verb in (Genesis 14:14) “He armed (וירק) his trained servants”, saying that it means, “I will arm myself with my sword”, for we do, indeed, find the expression “empty” applied also to the thing which, comes out of a receptacle; e. g., (Song 1:3) “oil which is emptied (תורק)”; (Jeremiah 48:11) “it (the wine) hath not been emptied (הורק) from vessel to vessel”. It does not say here “the vessel hath not been emptied”, but “the wine has not been emptied (הורק) from vessel to vessel”; consequently this expression is applied to the wine. Exactly like the phrase in this verse, is (Ezekiel 28:7) “And they shall draw their swords (והריקו חרבותם) against the beauty of thy wisdom”, in the chapter about Hiram.

The same meaning as: “And he armed his trained servants”. . . See Bereishis 14:14.

מַלֵא נֶפֶש ,תמלאמו נפשי heißt ein Verlangen sättigen, ונפש רעבה מלא טוב (Ps. 107, 9), וגם הנפש לא תמלא (Pred. 6, 7), למלא נפשו כי ירעב (Prov. 6, 30) und sonst. Mein Verlangen soll an ihnen satt werden. Ich will meine ganze Rache an ihnen nehmen. — ירש ,תורישמו ידי verwandt mit גרש, heißt hinausdrängen, sowohl den Besitzer aus dem Besitze, als den Besitz aus den Händen des Besitzers, sowohl daselbst 23) וירשתם גוים (Dewarim 11, 8) als וירשתם את הארץ תירוש: der aus seiner Hülle getriebene Rebensaft —). Ähnlich kommt auch der Hiphil von der Person und von der Sache vor. Da aber hier Pharaos Absicht nicht die Vertreibung des Volkes war, so kann wohl תורישמו nur in der Bedeutung zu verstehen sein, wie: והורשתם את הארץ. (Bamidbar 34, 53): ihr werdet das Land in Besitz geben, es unter euch verteilen, והורשתם את העיר (Josua 8. 7): ihr sollt die Stadt zum Besitz erben, את אשר יורישך כמוש (Richter 11, 24): was er dich in Besitz nehmen lässt. So auch hier תורישמו ידי: meine Hand wird sie uns wieder in Besitz nehmen lassen.

תורישמו ידי, “My hand shall destroy them;” the root of the word is ירש, so that the meaning in our verse is “Will disinherit them in favour of My people”

תורישמו This is an expression for poverty and need, (meaning “my hand shall make them poor”), just as, (I Samuel 2:27) “He maketh poor (מוריש) and maketh rich.”

נשפת — an expression for “blowing”. Similar is (Isaiah 40:24) “He bloweth (נשף) upon them”.

NASHAPHTA’ WITH THY WIND. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that nashaphta is derived from the root nesheph (twilight),¹⁵³“For there are two kinds of nesheph (twilight): the nesheph after sundown, and the nesheph before sunrise” (Ibn Ezra)! Here the nesheph before sunrise is referred to. for it was at twilight that He brought the wind which caused the water to return and drown the pursuers. Rashi explained it “as an expression for ‘blowing,’ similar in usage to the verse, When ‘nashaph’ (He bloweth) upon them, they wither.”¹⁵⁴Isaiah 40:24. Rashi has explained it well.
My opinion, furthermore, is that the purport of nashaphta, [written with the letter phei], is like [that written] with a beth: Thou ‘nashavta’ (didst blow) with Thy wind. The usage of the word is similar to: Because the breath of the Eternal ‘nashva’ (bloweth) upon it;¹⁵⁵Ibid., Verse 7. ‘yasheiv’ (He bloweth) His wind, and the waters flow.¹⁵⁶Psalms 147:18. These two letters — [the phei or pei and the beth] — are of similar usage, just as in the verses: ‘al gapei’ (Upon) the highest places of the city,¹⁵⁷Proverbs 9:3. which is like al gabei; ‘im b’gapo’ (if by himself),¹⁵⁸Further, 21:3. which is like im b’gabo. Similarly: And substance ‘yivzor’ (he shall scatter) among them;¹⁵⁹Daniel 11:24. ‘bizar’ (He hath scattered) the peoples.¹⁶⁰Psalms 68:31. These are expressions of pizur (scattering), [with the letter beth serving here as phei]¹⁶¹See Vol. I, pp. 505-506, for a similar interchange of letters between the gimmel and the kuph. In proper names, these letters also interchange, e.g., Shovach, and Shophach.¹⁶²II Samuel 10:16; I Chronicles 19:16. And our Rabbis say in the Mishnah:¹⁶³Peah 6:1. “[If produce is proclaimed] hevkeir (ownerless) for the benefit of the poor [only], it is deemed hevkeir (ownerless).”¹⁶⁴If a person gives up his ownership of the produce of his field, he is free from the obligation of giving the Tithe. But if he proclaimed it ownerless only for the poor and not for the rich, the School of Shammai say it is deemed ownerless and is therefore Tithe-free. The Mishnah continues that the School of Hillel say that it can be deemed ownerless only if it is proclaimed ownerless equally for the rich. Ramban here is interested only in the language of the Mishnah using a veth (hevkeir) for a phei, and therefore he quotes only the beginning of the Mishnah. [The word hevkeir] is like hephkeir (ownerless). From the expression, The grains ‘avshu’ (shrivel)¹⁶⁵Joel 1:17. comes the word ipush (musty). The term ben p’kua,¹⁶⁶Chullin 69a. Literally: “a child [of an animal] which is ripped open.” [an animal taken alive out of the slaughtered mother’s womb], is used in place of ben b’kua, because the mother was “ripped open” and there was found in it a living offspring of nine months.
In my opinion also, ‘hichpishani’ in ashes¹⁶⁷Lamentations 3:16. is like ‘hichbishani’ (He presses me) [or “He made me cower”] in ashes, the usage of the word being similar to: And replenish the earth, ‘v’chivshuha’ (and subdue it);¹⁶⁸Genesis 1:28. ‘yichbosh’ (He will subdue) our iniquities.¹⁶⁹Micah 7:19. In the language of the Rabbis we also find: “a measure which is k’phushah,”¹⁷⁰Yebamoth 107b. meaning k’vushah, [a measure into which the contents have been “compressed”, and which therefore contains more than its normal measure].
The purport of the verse is thus: “with Your strong and mighty wind, the waters of the sea were piled up, and when You blew the wind with which You control the sea, the sea covered them.” This is the intent of the verse, And the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared,¹⁷¹Above, 14:27. for He caused the wind to blow on it as He does at His strength when He ruleth the proud swelling of the sea.¹⁷²Psalms 89:10.

נשפת ברוחך, You used the very same wind You had used to dry out the sea bed after splitting it to now turn against the pursuers and to turned into overwhelming and turbulent waters.

נשפת ברוחך, "You blew with Your wind, etc." This verse enumerates three disasters corresponding to three of Pharaoh's intentions. The reason that Pharaoh (and the Egyptians) were covered by the sea was because he had said: "I will divide the spoils." Even though under normal conditions the horses could have saved themselves by swimming, he was made to lose his own most treasured property, his horses. He and the Egyptians died a slow death as retribution for their declared intention to oppress the Jews even more harshly and to kill their leaders. This is why the Israelites referred to צללו. The Mechilta describes the words כעופרת like lead, as describing how the individual Egyptians were tossed up and down repeatedly by the waves. In their song the Israelites spoke about במים אדירים, powerful waters, to describe two features. A) the descent, i.e. צללו כעופרת; B) their inability to die at once; this is alluded to in the words במים אדירים, the powerful waves which kept tossing the Egyptians up into the air. Israel praised the Lord in recognition of all these phenomena.

צללו כעופרת במים, they sank quickly like lead although the waters were so turbulent [which usually delays the sinking even of objects of heavy specific weight such a lead. Ed.]

נשפת ברוחך, “You blew with Your wind.” Ibn Ezra, pointing out that the meaning of the root נשף is used to describe the evening, claims that G’d’s making the walls of frozen waters collapse was caused by a wind blowing in the evening. My sainted father, the רא'ש, said that the reason that the Torah wrote the line וברוח אפיך נערמו מים before, while here the Torah writes נשפת ברוחך, [two phrases describing activities of רוח, Ed.] is intended to make the miracle appear as even greater than meets the eye at first glance. אף and רוח אף always suggests something hot. Anger is the result of a person becoming “heated.” When the result is that water turns to ice, as was the case here, this is an even greater anomaly. On the other hand, the רוח הפה, [the רוח associated with נשף without the word אף nose, is the exhaling which is an integral part of speech. Ed.] dissolved these ice-cubes.

V. 10. נשף ;נשפת, das verstärkte נשב, wehen. Da נֶשֶף sowohl Abend- als Morgendämmerung heißt, so scheint die Grundbedeutung: räumlicher und zeitlicher Übergang zu sein. Da נשף als Zeitwort nur hier und in וגם נשף בהם ויבשו (Jesaias 40. 24) vorkommt, so kann es auch vielleicht in noch engerem Zusammenhang mit der Bedeutung נֶשֶף, ein Umspringen des Windes bedeuten. Ein Ostwind hatte das Meer gespalten und getürmt. Gott ließ durch einen Westwind die Wasser wieder zurückkehren. — במים אדירים selbst die Gewalt mächtig wogender Wasser hielt sie nicht oben, sondern regungslos sanken sie aus ihren Wagen in die schattige Tiefe.

כעופרת, “like lead.” The word is a derivative of עפר “earth.” Whereas the other six types of metal, if buried in the earth will gradually diminish in weight and substance, lead retains its composition and does not deteriorate.

צללו means THEY SANK, they went deep, — an expression of the same root as (Psalms 69:3) מצולה “the depths”.

אדירים, not a reference to the waters but to the men who had been considered mighty, invincible, etc. [I suppose the unusual exegesis is based on the dividing tone sign tipcha under the word במים, which indicates that it belongs to the preceding words. Ed.] The people to whom Moses refers are the ones who had been described in 14,7 as שלישים על כולו.

צללו כעופרת, “they sank like lead.” They descended into the depths as if they had been lumps of lead. The reason Moses makes mention of this is to tell us that this was a deliberate act of G’d. Although many of the Egyptians did know how to swim, this did not help them at all. No doubt many of them were quite near the shore when all this happened, and yet, not a single one of them managed to escape. Most horsemen would normally be able to save themselves in such conditions, as horses float on the surface of the water, but on this occasion not a single one did. This is the meaning of the line וינער ה' את מצרים בתוך הים, “the Lord poured the Egyptians into the middle of the sea.” (14,28)

TZALALU’ AS LEAD. They went down into “the depths” (m’tzoloth) of the sea as lead. Now Moses mentioned this in the Song twice: They went down into the sea like a stone,¹⁷³Verse 5. and as lead, [mentioned in the verse here], in order to emphasize that this too came upon them from the hand of G-d. There were many persons among the Egyptians who knew how to swim, and they were near dry land, and surely all those who rode on the horses could be expected to be saved since horses are accustomed to swimming in water. Similarly, those that handle the shield¹⁷⁴Jeremiah 46:9. The shield can serve as a board for passing through the surf. See Yebamoth 121 a where Rabbi Akiba relates that once when his boat drowned “I chanced upon a board of the boat and every wave that came upon me I bent my head” and he was thus saved. can save themselves in water, and here not one of them escaped! This is the meaning of the verse, And the Eternal overthrew (‘vay’na’er’) the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.¹⁷¹Above, 14:27. He lifted them with His rough blast,¹⁷⁵Isaiah 27:8. and He lowered them into the sea. The usage of the word is similar to that in the verses: And the wicked ‘v’yina’aru’ (shall be shaken) out of it;¹⁷⁶Job 38:13. And the strong shall be ‘lin’oreth’ (as tow),¹⁷⁷Isaiah 1:31. ‘n’oreth’ being that which is separated and falls off from the flax when it is being prepared [for spinning].

כעופרת LIKE LEAD: old French plomb.

באלם means AMONGST THE MIGHTY, just as (Ezekiel 17:13) “and the mighty of (אילי) the land he took away”; (Psalms 22:20) “O, thou my strength (אילותי) hasten to my help”.

WHO IS LIKE UNTO THEE, O ETERNAL, ‘BA’EILIM’. “I.e., among the mighty ones, just as in the verses: And ‘eilei’ (the mighty) of the land he took away;¹⁷⁸Ezekiel 17:13. ‘eyaluthi’ (O Thou my strength), hasten to help me.”¹⁷⁹Psalms 22:20. Thus the language of Rashi.
Now it is true that the word eilim is an expression of power and strength, but Who is like unto Thee ‘ba’eilim’ is a reference to the angels who are called eilim, the usage of the word being similar to that in the verse, This is ‘E-ili’ (my G-d), and I will glorify Him,¹⁸⁰Verse 2. and the Holy One, blessed be He, is called E-il Elyon (G-d the Most High)¹⁸¹Genesis 14:18. above all powers. Similarly, And he shall speak strange things against the G-d of ‘eilim’¹⁸²Daniel 11:36. is like the expression, He is G-d of gods.¹⁸³Deuteronomy 10:17. Also, Ascribe unto the Eternal, O ye ‘b’nei eilim’ (sons of might)¹⁸⁴Psalms 29:1. is like the expression b’nei ha’elohim,¹⁸⁵Genesis 6:2. since they are at times called eilim or b’nei eilim, and sometimes also ha’elohim or b’nei elohim. Thus: For the Eternal is greater than all ‘ha’elohim;’¹⁸⁶Further, 18:11. And the ‘b’nei ha’elohim’ came to present themselves before the Eternal.¹⁸⁷Job 1:6. Some scholars¹⁸⁸Reference is to R’dak, who mentions this point clearly in his Sefer Hamichlal, and quotes the verses mentioned here. If b’nei is not in the construct state, b’nei eilim will not mean “sons of the mighty ones,” as it would if the word b’nei were in the construct state. Instaed, it means “the sons who are the mighty ones.” say that the word b’nei is not in the construct state, nor are these expressions: b’nei shileishim,¹⁸⁹Genesis 50:23. In the construct state, it would mean “children of the third generation,” i.e., the fourth generation. In the non-construct state, it would mean “children who were the third generation.” ‘anshei’ (men) portrayed upon the wall.¹⁹⁰Ezekiel 23:14. The point here is that the word anshei (men) is vocalized with a tzeirei, as is the rule in the construct state. See Vol. I, p. 503. Yet it is not in the construct state. So also the word b’nei, although vocalized with a tzeirei, is not in the construct state. And this is the meaning of Who is like Thee, ‘ne’edar’ (majestic) in holiness? since there is no adir (lofty one) like Him in the celestial holy abode. And so we find in the Mechilta:¹⁹¹Mechilta on the verse here. “Who is like unto Thee among those who serve before Thee in heaven, as it is said, For who in the skies can be compared unto the Eternal, who among the sons of might can be likened unto the Eternal, a G-d to be feared in the great council of the holy ones?”¹⁹²Psalms 80:7-8.

מי כמוכה בא-לים; Moses praised the Lord for His third war, the one against the Egyptian cavalry of the second quality. G’d’s incomparable stature consists in His ability to change the nature of phenomena in the universe which had previously been considered as indestructible, inviolate, impervious to any attempt by man to influence their nature in any way.

מי כמוך באלים השם, "Who is comparable to You amongst the deities O Lord?" Israel describes that they had seen the guardian angel of Egypt die; hence they could say that absolutely no celestial force compares to the Lord our G'd.

מי כמוך בא-לים ה' מי כמוך נאדר בקודש!; this is another example of the poetic repetitions we have been remarking on previously in connection with the line ימינך ה' וגו. The meaning of the verse therefore is: “who among the divine powers which are exalted can compare to You in this respect?”

מי כמוך באלים, “who is comparable to You among the celestial powers?” Rashi simply explains the word אלים as חזקים, powerful terrestrial forces. Nachmanides writes that while it is true that this is generally the meaning of the word חזקים, in this verse, seeing that the comparison has been made to the Lord, there would be no point if the Torah would only describe the Lord as mightier than terrestrial forces; ordinary celestial forces are known as אלים as opposed to the Lord Who is described as אל עליון, the supreme celestial force. Rather, Moses compares G’d as superior to the mightiest angels.

מי כמכה באלים ה' מי כמכה נאדר בקדש, “Who is like You amongst the heavenly powers, who is like You majestic in holiness!” The additional letter ה both times at the end of the word כמך is an allusion to the attribute of Justice; the first one refers to the “weaker” attribute of Justice, this is why the letter כ at the beginning is weak,” i.e. without dagesh. This attribute is merely a conduit having received its input from the “strong” attribute of Justice. This is why the second word כמכה is spelled with the dagesh in the first letter as it describes the original attribute of Justice, not its delegate. It originates in the region Moses described as קדש.

As is written: “For You, silence is praise.” Therefore, when a person prays, [as in the first blessing of the Amidah,] he should conclude [his praises of Hashem] with the word הנורא . For it is written (Devarim 10:17): “God of all gods, Master of all masters, Hashem, the Great, the Mighty, the Awesome ( הנורא ).” And so with all [other praises of Hashem. One should not add more than was fixed by Scripture and Chazal.]

V.11. Wie ימינך וגו׳ V. 6 u. 7 das Resultat des erlebten Gottessieges über soziale Gewalten zusammenfasst, so מי כמכה וגו׳ das Resultat der erschauten frei schaltenden Gottesherrschaft über Naturgewalten. Wohl gibt es אֵלים, bewegende, wirkende Naturmächte, allein, obgleich man sie vergöttert, sind sie gebunden durch die Ordnung, die du gesetzt und die sie allgewaltig fesselt. Du allein bist frei, bist nicht durch die Naturordnung, nicht durch dein eigen Werk gebunden, schaltest frei über dein Werk und über die von dir geschaffenen Kräfte und Mächte, die die Menschen vergöttern. —

מי כמכה, “who is comparable to You?” The reason this question has been repeated is that it refers to two different verses. The first one is verse 8, where the wind, ברוח אפיך, the wind issuing forth from G–d’s nostrils, is described as making the waves assume an upright posture; the second wind in verse 10 describes a natural wind at work but blowing constantly in the same direction. Wind emanating from the nose is basically hot, as opposed to wind emanating from arctic regions. Here the phenomena were reversed, the wind emanating from G–d’s nostrils resulting in the waters congealing, as a result of which the waters piled up upon layer after layer; the wind emanating from natural causes covered the Egyptian soldiers and their chariots so that they drowned. In accurate versions of the Torah scrolls the word באלם, is spelled without the letter י, so that it does not refer to deities, but refers to אלמים, the dumb, describing how very often G–d, even though He had good reason to raise His voice in protest, remained silent. (Talmud tractate Gittin, folio 56)

מי כמוכה באלם, “Who is like you among deities?” the letter י is missing in the word אלים. It is a hint of the inability of any socalled deities to even use the power of speech that ordinary human beings possess. They are totally dumb. Moses uses it here slightly differently by hinting that only our G-d can remain absolutely silent even when provoked. This degree of selfcontrol is found nowhere else.

נורא תהלות means Thou art an object of dread so that people do not recount thy praises fearing lest these may be enumerated less then they really are, just as it is written (Psalms 65:2) “To Thee, silence is praise”.

NORA TH’HILOTH’ (FEARFUL IN PRAISES). “He is feared by those who recount His praises lest they enumerate fewer than there really are, [and thus fail to praise Him adequately], just as it is written, To thee silence is praise.”¹⁹³Ibid., 65:2. Thus Rashi’s language. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra also explained “that all who praise Him are fearful when praising His Name, for Who can make all His praise to be heard?¹⁹⁴Ibid., 106:2. And they are duty-bound to praise His Name, for He alone does wonders.”
In my opinion, nora th’hiloth means: “fearful with praises, for He does fearful things and He is praised for them, as when He wreaks vengeance on those who transgress His will and thereby helps those who serve Him. Thus He is [both] feared and highly praised.” And because earthly kings are feared because of their oppression and perverseness,¹⁹⁵Isaiah 30:12. Moses said that G-d is feared through the very things for which He is praised. Similarly, To Thee ‘dumiyah’ is praise¹⁹³Ibid., 65:2. means, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, “that hoping to Thee is praise, for all who hope to Thee obtain their wish, and they praise Thy Name in Zion and there they perform their vows¹⁹⁶See Psalms 65:2. which they have vowed in the time of their trouble.” The usage [of the word dumiyah as “hope”] is similar to that found in these verses: Only to G-d ‘dumi’ (wait) thou, my soul, for from Him cometh my hope;¹⁹⁷Ibid., 62:6. One who hopes waits in expectation of something to happen. ‘vayidom hashemesh’ and the moon stayed.¹⁹⁸Joshua 10:13. It is generally translated: And the sun stood still. Ramban obviously takes it to mean: “and the sun ‘waited,’” a term akin to hoping, for he who hopes waits. Similarly, Only to G-d ‘dumiyah’ my soul¹⁹⁹Psalms 62:2. means: “only to G-d doth my soul hope.” Thus it appears to me.
In the name of other scholars,²⁰⁰Mentioned by R’dak in his Sefer Hashorashim, under the root of damah, in the name of “some commentators.” I have heard that it means: “to Thee, praise becomes silent, for no amount of praise can fathom Thy great and fearful deeds.” The usage is similar to the verse: And at night there is no ‘dumiyah’ (respite) for me.²⁰¹Psalms 22:3. Accordingly, the meaning of the expression, O G-d, in Zion²⁰²Ibid., 65:2. The verse reads: To Thee ‘dumiyah’ praise, O G-d in Zion, and unto Thee the vow is performed. Now Ramban had first presented his own interpretation that the word dumiyah means hope, and the purport of the verse is that hoping to G-d is praise, for all who hope to G-d obtain their favor from Him and then they praise His name in Zion where they come to perform their vows. But according to the explanation of the other scholars, i.e., that dumiyah expresses a sense of silence, the verse means: “praise unto Thee becomes silent, O G-d Who dwells in Zion, for no amount of praise can fathom Thy deeds, and unto Thee the vow is performed.” is “the G-d Who is in Zion.” That is to say, the One Who dwells there. The correct interpretation is as we have said, [i.e., that dumiyah signifies “hope”].

נאדר בקודש, that which is קודש, holy, is by definition something indestructible. This is what our sages meant (Sanhedrin 92) when they stated that the righteous people who will be resurrected in the future will never again return to their dust. They based this on Isaiah 4,3 הנשאר בציון והנותר בירושלים........ קרוש יאמר להם, “and those who remain in Zion and are left in Jerusalem, all who are inscribed for life in Jerusalem, shall be called holy.” The Talmud concludes: “what is the meaning of the word נאדר used here by Moses? There is none such as the Lord Who is known to be eternal, King over even all other holy beings, the ones that are also of an enduring nature, not mortal or subject to decay. This is the reason why there is no one else who is entitled to be worshipped, exalted, obeyed, etc. Anything that is infinite had its origin in the Lord, Who is not only infinite but also eternal.

נורא תהלות, the praises that have been heaped upon You by them are based on the reverence and awe of the people extending them. (compare 14,31 וייראו העם את ה', “the people were in awe and reverence of the Lord”).

מי כמוך נאדר בקודש, “who is comparable to You, mighty in holiness.” In the domain of holiness there is no one who can compare to You.

Another dimension of this verse is based on an observation in Chagigah 16 where our sages draw a comparison between G'd and terrestrial kings. The latter is unrecognisable when he chooses to hide amongst his people (soldiers). G'd is never unrecognisable when He is surrounded by His armies. The word באלים means that even when G'd is amongst celestial forces, He is immediately recognised as such.

בקדש. Die absolute, — durchaus unabhängige, durch nichts bedingte, von nichts abhängige und durch nichts gehinderte und zu hindernde — Freiheit des Seins, Wollens und Vermögens, ist der Begriff der קדושה, die in eigentlichem Sinne nur von Gott zu prädizieren ist. קדוש לד׳, relativ, ist das von allem andern losgesagte, absolut für Gott mit seinem Sein, Wollen und Vermögen Bereitstehende. קדושה des Menschen ist der höchste Grad der sittlichen Freiheit, in welcher das sittliche Wollen gar keinen Kampf mehr zu bestehen hat, sondern absolut für den Willen Gottes bereit ist. (Daher auch umgekehrt קָדֵש, der höchste Grad sittlicher Entartung, in welcher das Schlechte keinen Kampf mehr zu bestehen hat, das vollendete Bereitsein für das Schlechte. Es ist ein ähnlicher Gegensatz wie כבוד und כָבֵד, wo dieses denselben Begriff im Materiellen, den jenes im geistig sittlichen Gebiete bedeutet). Der Grundbegriff ist vollendetes Bereitsein, daher auch das lautverwandte גדיש: das völlig reife, für den Menschen in Haufen bereitstehende Getreide. Die Form קדושה kommt in תנ׳׳ך nicht vor. Dafür: קדֶש, das sowohl den abstrakten Begriff קדושה, als auch einen Gegenstand, Kreis, Raum bezeichnet, der den Charakter der קדושה trägt. Ps. 77, 14 wird ein Rückblick auf diese Gottestat am Meere mit den Worten eingeleitet: אלקים בקדש דרכך מי אל גדול כאלקים und ebenso Ps. 68. 25: ראו הליכותיך אלקי׳ הליכות אל מלכי בקדש. Das auf Gottes Wink vor dem unschuldig Verfolgten, Rettung gewährend, scheu zurücktretende, und ebenso auf Gottes Wink auf den schuldvollen Verfolger vernichtend niederstürzende Meer hatte für immer Gott in seinem absoluten, sittlich und mächtig freien Wollen und Walken gezeigt, hatte ihn נאדר בקדש machteinzig in der Heiligkeit des Seins, Wollens und Vermögens erkennen lassen. Dieses קדש, diese absolute Freiheit des Seins, Wollens und Könnens macht Ihn zu dem Einzigen und scheidet alle andern von Menschen vergötterten Gewalten und Mächte völlig von Ihm, dem Einzigen, macht die אלים eben zu .לא־ אל

נורא תהלות, “awesome in splendour.” It is the multiplicity of praises that make the Lord so awesome. We find the expression נורא applied to objects which possess more than the virtues or qualities required for them to live up to their reputations. For instance: המדבר הגדול והנורא הוא, “that great and awesome desert.” (Deuteronomy 1 19.) Or, Maleachi 3,23: לפני בא יום ה' הגדול והנורא, before the arrival of that great and awesome day.”: [The author quotes more examples. Ed.]

נורא תהלות, anyone aware of the marvelous attributes of His cannot fail but recite these praises in awe, not because he is afraid of being punished but because the very nature of G’d inspires awe and reverence.

נורא תהלות, “too awesome for praise.” Rashi explains that G’d is too awesome for us to begin praising him, lest we omit some praises and become guilty of belittling Him. Nachmanides explains that being awesome in praise means being praised for having performed awesome deeds. The reason why Moses chooses these comparisons is because this is the way Kings of flesh and blood are praised. We do not possess the yardsticks to praise G’d in terms of celestial norms, seeing we have no access to that region. What is described is that G’d is praised by people who observe how He pays back people who have oppressed others and treated them violently.

According to the Mechilta there is still another meaning to this comparison between G'd and other powers; whereas a king of flesh and blood inspires greater fear amongst his distant subjects than amongst those near at home, the reverse is true of G'd as we know from Leviticus 10,3: בקרובי אקדש. The composer of this song bemoans the fact that in the "distance," i.e. in the celestial regions, G'd is revered at all times, whereas here on earth He is revered only when He displays such miracles as the splitting of the sea, i.e. when He is נאדר בקדש.

הלל ,תהלות, siehe Jeschurun (VIII S. 170). תהלה, ist das Wort, in welchem die Strahlen der Gottestaten wiederstrahlen, somit: das Gott in seinen Taten besingende Wort. נורא תהלות drückt nun wohl den Gedanken aus: indem wir hier im begeisterten Worte die Strahlen der erlebten Gottestaten wie in einen Fokus in uns sammeln, ist die erste Wirkung: יראה, daß wir ihn fürchten lernen, dass er uns in seiner mit Allmacht und Allgegenwart gepaarten Gerechtigkeit für immer gegenwärtig bleibt, und wir in seiner allmächtigen, allgerechten Allgegenwart nur ein Ihm wohlgefallendes treues und gehorsames Leben leben. Dieser gottesfürchtige Gehorsam ist die allererste, durch nichts zu ersetzende Frucht, die von der Gotteserkenntnis und deren preisendem Ausdruck erwartet wird. Sie ist es auch, die oben sofort als das Produkt des großen Erlebten verkündet ward: וייראו העם את ד׳! Blasphemien sind alle Lobgesänge Gottes, die nicht Gottesfurcht erzielen, oder die gar Gottesfurcht ersetzen sollen, und das Wort: נורא תהלות bleibt das ernste Kriterium aller seit diesem "Gesang am Meere" und sich ihm bewusst und unbewusst anschließend entstandenen "Gottesverehrungen" auf Erden. תהלות sind die objektiven Gottesanschauungen, יראה, die subjektive bleibende Wirkung derselben.

עושה פלא, “working wonders.!” It is well known that air exhaled through the nose is warm or even hot. It could even be hot enough to cause substances with a low melting point to melt. When G-d was described as exhaling hot air from angry nostrils, the result was that the waters of the sea piled up as blocks of ice instead. On the other hand, when G-d blew forth air from the mouth, these blocks of ice melted instead.

עושה פלא. He accomplishes marvelous, supernatural results, such as the type of pillar of cloud and pillar of fire which were tailored to fit the needs of the Jewish people at that time.

Still another meaning of the comparison drawn by the composer of this song is based on Daniel 7,10 where the waters of the mythical river Dinor are described as the product of the sweat of the Chayot [permanent kind of angels Ed.] which proclaim the holiness of G'd and to whom this is an awe-inspiring experience, i.e. נאדר בקודש (compare Chagigah 13).

פֶלֶא ist die absolute Tat, die rein aus dem freien allmächtigen Willen, unabhängig von der bestehenden Ordnung der Dinge, und größtenteils im Gegensatz zu ihnen geschieht. Wir nennen sie mit einem nicht sehr adäquaten Ausdruck: Wunder; denn Wunder bezeichnet ein Ereignis nur nach seinem Verhalten zu unserem subjektiven Erkenntnisvermögen; — wir staunen es an: und ist nicht, von dieser Seite betrachtet, eben das Gewöhnlichste, die in ihrem Bestande uns ewig dünkende Naturordnung selbst das am meisten zu bewundernde, somit das größte Wunder? פֶלֶא bezeichnet aber das Ereignis nach seinem objektiven Charakter, als das unabhängig von der Naturordnung und im Gegensatz zu ihr Geschehende, das somit eben den einen Einzigen offenbart, der, über der Ordnung der Natur, unabhängig von ihr, über sie gebietet und sich damit eben als freien Schöpfer der Naturordnung verkündet. Das erste uns bewußte פֶלֶא war die Schöpfung der Naturordnung, und jedes fernere Eingreifen Gottes in dieselbe ist ein פלא und bleibt ein פלא, auch wenn wir aufhören, uns darüber zu "wundern", weil wir uns dieser unmittelbaren Wirkungen und Leitungen Gottes täglich bewusst sind. Gleichwohl haben wir deutsch keinen andern Ausdruck als: Wunder. Dieser Bedeutung der Wurzel פלא gemäß heißt auch eine freie, vom sittlichen Gesetze unabhängige, von ihm nicht motivierte Willenstat des Menschen, das Gelübde: פלא und es ist ein scharf präzisierender Ausdruck: איש כי יפליא לנדור נדר. (Bamidbar 6, 2). Also: "Wer ist wie du unter den Göttern, Gott, wer überhaupt wie du, machteinzig in der Heiligkeit! Wir lernen dich fürchten in allen unsern Lobpreisungen als Wundervollbringer."

נורא תהלות עשה פלא, "fearful in praises doing wonders?" Everyone ought to be afraid to tell His praises seeing His deeds are so wonderful that no one is able to acknowledge them adequately. How dare one even express an appreciation of G'd's wonderful works knowing one's own inadequacy?

נטית ימינך THOU INCLINEST THY RIGHT HAND — When the Holy One, blessed be He, inclines His hand the wicked cease to be and fall — because everything is held in His hand and consequently falls when He inclines it. Similarly it states, (Isaiah 31:3) “When the Lord inclineth His hand, he that helpeth shall stumble and he that is helped shall fall”. A parable: it may be compared to glass vessels held in a man’s hand: if he inclines his hand a little they fall and are shattered to pieces (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:12:3).

THOU STRETCHEDST OUT THY RIGHT HAND — THE EARTH ‘TIVLA’EIMO’ (SWALLOWED THEM). The meaning is that “after you blew with Your wind and the sea covered them, You stretched out Your right hand and Your arm,²⁰³Verse 16: By the greatness of Thine arm… and the earth swallowed them.” The purport thereof is that after they drowned, the sea cast them out as is the custom of the seas, and so Scripture says, And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore.²⁰⁴Above, 14:30. There, [on the sea-shore], their bodies decomposed and they returned to the dust upon the earth as they were,²⁰⁵See Ecclesiastes 12:7. and thus they were swallowed up and destroyed [by the earth]. The usage of the word tivla’eimo is similar to the expressions: Together round about, ‘vativla’eini’ (Thou dost destroy me);²⁰⁶Job 10:8. The Eternal ‘bila’ (hath swallowed up) unsparingly;²⁰⁷Lamentations 2:2. And the way of thy paths ‘bileiu,’²⁰⁸Isaiah 3:12. which means “they destroyed.” Our Rabbis have said²⁰⁹Mechilta on the verse here. that the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them, for they were privileged to be buried by virtue of having said, The Eternal is righteous.²¹⁰Above, 9:27. [Thus, according to this Midrash of the Rabbis, the bodies of the Egyptians were not totally destroyed, for they even merited a place for burial.] But the expression of G-d’s “outstretched right hand or arm,” [as stated here. Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand], is used in Scripture only as indicating vengeance and destruction! Perhaps the Rabbis [of the above-mentioned interpretation] will explain the verse as follows: “Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand to slay them in the sea, and the earth swallowed them up after that,” this being the burial which they merited.

נטית ימינך תבלעימו ארץ, "when You inclined Your right hand the earth swallowed them." Mechilta describes the sea as tossing the Egyptians onto the dry land and the earth as tossing them right back into the sea. The dry land argued with the sea saying: "considering that I was cursed by G'd for having merely absorbed a single human being's blood, i.e. Abel's, at the time, what will G'd do to me if I will accept an entire population of human beings unless G'd swears an oath to me not to demand an accounting from me? [this is based on the meaning of "right hand" often being equated with an oath. Ed.] Targum Yonathan also explains our verse in this sense. We learn from here that the sea did not want to accept the Egyptians and tossed them out. This contradicts something we have learned in Pessachim 118. G'd is quoted as saying to the guardian angel of the sea: "spit them out onto the dry land." The guardian angel of the sea retorted: "Lord of the universe, is there then a servant who has been given a gift by his master (food for the fish according to Rashi) and the master subsequently demands the gift back?" To this argument G'd replied: "I will give you a gift worth one and a half times the original gift if you give Me back the original gift." The sea replied: "can a servant take a master to court?" G'd answered: "I will guarantee My promise by giving you the river Kishon as a pledge." Upon hearing this the sea immediately disgorged the bodies of the Egyptians onto the dry land and the Israelites were able to see that they were dead. It is clear from that story in the Talmud that the sea was quite unwilling to toss the Egyptians onto the dry land. Why then was the sea not overjoyed when the dry land refused the bodies of the Egyptians and tossed them back into the sea? Besides, why did G'd have to repay the sea from the camp of Siserah (900 chariots versus the Egyptians' 600 chariots, compare Judges 4,13)? Why did He not repay the sea personally so that He did not have to give the sea the river Kishon as a pledge?

נטית ימינך, a reference to when G’d said to Moses: נטה, “extend your hand over the sea and the waters will return, etc.” (14,26).

נטית ימינך תבלעמו ארץ, “as soon as You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.” Our sages deduce from this that all the people drowned in the sea did enjoy the privilege of being brought to burial. Nachmanides writes that according to the plain meaning the words “hand” and “right” being stretched, do not imply that these organs are necessarily being used in the execution of vengeance. Therefore, it appears that we need to understand what happened as the Egyptians first being drowned and their bodies then being tossed on to the shore as is customary in cases of bodies drowning in the sea. The earth of the dry land, not the bottom of the sea, then swallowed these corpses so that in the end “dust returned to dust.” Although no grave diggers were involved, the surface of the earth after the dissolution of the bodies of these drowned Egyptians could not be told apart from the way it had looked before this had occurred.

נטית ימיך תבלעמו ארץ, “when You inclined Your right hand the earth swallowed them.” Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 17 use this verse to prove that the Egyptians were granted burial in the earth. This was in recognition of their having accompanied Yaakov on the long journey to the land of Canaan at the time he was buried. Mechilta Shirah section 9 adds: ”the word ימין or ימינך when referring to G’d always refers to an oath G‘d has sworn. We know this from Isaiah 62,8: ‘The Lord has sworn with His right hand.’ The meaning of all this is that whereas the sea had spat out the bodies of the Egyptians who had been drowned in it, the earth refused to accept these bodies remembering G’d had cursed it for accepting Hevel’s body at the time (Genesis 4,11). It continued in its refusal until G’d swore an oath that He would not demand an accounting from earth for accepting these bodies. This accounts for the words נטית ימינך תבלעמו ארץ, ‘after You gave a signal with Your right hand the earth swallowed them.’”

V. 12. נטה. In den vielen Stellen, in welchen diese Wurzel vorkommt, heißt sie nirgends mit Entschiedenheit: neigen, also in perpendikuläre Richtung bringen, sondern: strecken, in horizontale Richtung bringen. Auch נטה אהל heißt ein Zelt auseinander, somit horizontal, ausbreiten. Auch קיר נטוי heißt eine Wand, die sonst perpendikulär aufrecht stand und jetzt horizontal geneigt ist. Daher נטה, intransitiv: sich von einem Punkt seitlich ab bewegen. Insbesondere heißt es so in Verbindung mit Hand, daher auch זרוע נטויה. Es ist immer die tätig gestreckte Hand. Daher: נטית ימינך תבלעמו ארץ: Du strecktest uns zu Hilfe deine Rechte aus und sie verschlang die Erde. In diesen beiden Sätzen wird das ganze Gott offenbarende Erlebnis nochmals prägnant zusammengefasst. Unsere Rettung und ihre Vernichtung war eine Tat. Wie oben ד׳ ארץ .איש מלחמה ד׳ שמו, Erde, ist hier wohl nicht im Gegensatz zu Wasser zu nehmen, da sie doch eben im Meere umgekommen. Sondern im Gegensatz zur Höhe, zum Himmel. Du strecktest in der Höhe deine Rechte aus, die Erde gehorchte dir und verschlang sie.

נטית ימינך, “You inclined Your right hand;” a reference to chapter 14,26 when G-d instructed Moses to extend his arm so that the waters would return to normal.

תבלעמו ארץ THE EARTH SWALLOWED THEM — From this it may be gathered that they received the privilege of burial as a reward for having said, (Exodus 9:27) “The Lord is righteous” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:12:2).

נחית בחסדך, “You guided in Your love, etc.” The Israelites had three merits to their credit which helped them become redeemed. 1) the merit of performing deeds of kindness to one another. 2) the merit of Torah; 3) the merit of the sacrificial offerings. The word בחסדך in our verse alludes to the deeds of loving kindness performed by one Israelite for another in return for which You G’d repaid them with kindness.” In Deut. 30,14 the Torah refers to all three of these merits when we read כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו, “for the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to observe it.” The word בפיך, “in your mouth,” refers to Torah; the word ובלבבך refers to sacrificial service of which G’d said (Deut. 11,13) “you shall serve Him with your whole heart;” the word לעשותו, “to do it,” refers to deeds of loving kindness.

Another difficulty is the fact that generally speaking the sea does not retain either people or animals but tosses them on to the beaches either on the day they drown or a few days later. According to the view of our sages the sea would prefer to retain these bodies; Rashi and Rashbam suggest that the sea needs these bodies in order to provide food for the fish. If all this is true we must try and understand why, in the case of the Egyptians, the sea made strenuous efforts to get rid of these bodies instead of retaining them as food for the fish? Perhaps the bodies which the earth tossed back had already begun to decompose and would not only have polluted the sea but had also become unfit as food for the fish. This does not seem a satisfactory answer seeing that G'd would not have prevented the earth from providing a burial for the dead Egyptians if only in order to satisfy the commandment in Deut. 21,23 not to allow a person who has been hanged to remain unburied overnight. The shame of the people G'd had executed did not have to be perpetuated beyond the time of their death so that they should serve as a frightening example.

It is not generally our custom to explain aggadic sayings of our sages. In this instance, however, it is necessary to do so in order to understand the plain meaning of the verse, and in order not to allow the impression that different Midrashim are at odds with one another. We have already referred to a Mechilta on 14,30 where the Torah told us that the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the beaches of the sea. They beheld the Egyptians in their last gasps just before they died completely. This was in order for the Egyptians to see that the Israelites had been saved from the onrushing waters of the returning sea. This comment by the Mechilta throws light on the two apparently contradictory Midrashim. When the sea asked G'd not to have to disgorge the Egyptians (to give back the gift) this was because G'd had ordered the sea to toss the Egyptians out while they were still alive. G'd's reason was to cause joy to His friends the Israelites whereas the Egyptians would feel ashamed when they noticed that the Israelites had been saved. Although there is no direct mention of the fact that the Egyptians still had some life in them when they were tossed ashore, our sages relied on traditions handed down to them throughout the generations. In view of this, the argument of the sea that a master does not demand return of a gift bestowed on a servant makes good sense. The sea was anxious to be allowed to complete its task of killing those who had angered the Lord. All of G'd's creatures, be they in the celestial or the terrestial spheres, share the desire to carry out G'd's commandments seeing that compared to human beings they have so few opportunities to carry out G'd's commandments. You will find on the same folio in Pessachim that the Talmud tells of how anxious the angel Gabriel was to be the instrument which saved Abraham from the fiery furnace of Nimrod, and that G'd did not withhold his reward allowing Gabriel to save three other human beings (Chanayah, Mishael, and Azaryah) as a reward for his volunteering to save Abraham. This teaches us that it is considered a meritorious deed for angels to perform deeds of loving kindness for the righteous. The sea was similarly motivated and that is why it objected to being asked to disgorge the Egyptians prematurely. When G'd offered to compensate the sea by allowing it to acquire the merit of drowning Siserah's 900 chariots when the time would be ripe, this was certainly a fair compensation.

The sea had another reason for asking that the Egyptians be deprived of all vestiges of life while they were in the sea. It is the nature of the souls of the Gentiles to remain wherever their bodies died as we know from Kohelet 3,19 where Solomon tells us that the "souls" of the beasts descend into the bowels of the earth. Idol worshipers are compared to animals and when they happen to die while in the sea the guardian angel of the sea acquires their souls. The concern of the sea was therefore that it did not want the earth (dry land) to acquire these "souls" rather than its own guardian angel. The sea's feelings were reflected when it exclaimed: "is there such a thing as a master taking back a gift?" G'd therefore replied that at a future date He would compensate the sea handsomely. G'd meant that He would give the "sea" i.e. the river Kishon, live bodies who would drown therein. The sea had never been interested in the bodies, only in the so-called souls. Seeing this was so, it did not want the dead bodies the earth was tossing at it as the sea is not a natural habitat for dead bodies. On the other hand, earth generally is the habitat for dead bodies seeing that the bodies of human beings are composed of earth as the primary raw material. G'd therefore forced Earth to receive the bodies of the dead Egyptians, seeing it was no more than natural.

Do not ask that according to the Talmud in Pessachim the fish opened their mouths thanking G'd when G'd paid off the sea, proving that they were very interested in the bodies of the dead soldiers. It is possible that when the sea receives fully alive human bodies the fish derive some benefit therefrom. Once the bodies die the fish are no longer interested in them. The song of the fish was in appreciation of their food supply.

נהלת is of the same root, conjugation and meaning as מנהל a leader; Onkelos translated it in the sense of bearing and carrying, but he was not particular to translate according to the Hebrew expression (i. e., to translate literally)

THOU IN THY LOVE HAST LED THE PEOPLE THAT THOU HAST REDEEMED; THOU HAST GUIDED THEM IN THY STRENGTH TO THY HOLY HABITATION. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that this is a past tense in place of the future, as is customary in prophecies. In my opinion, Moses is saying: “Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand²¹¹Verse 12. upon the enemy, and the earth swallowed them, but Thou in Thy love hast led — in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way²¹²Above, 13:21. — the people that Thou hast redeemed, and Thou hast guided them in the strength of Thy hands to Thy holy habitation,” for it is to that holy habitation that they were going, and so also, And all nations shall flow unto it.²¹³Isaiah 2:2. Thy holy habitation is a reference to the Sanctuary [in Jerusalem], as Moses says again, The Sanctuary, O Eternal, which Thy hands have established.²¹⁴Further, Verse 17. And so the Rabbis have said in the Mechilta:²¹⁵Mechilta on the verse here. “Habitation is but a designation for the Sanctuary, as it is said, Look upon Zion, the city of our solemn gatherings; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a peaceful habitation.”²¹⁶Isaiah 33:20.

נחית בחסדך עם זו גאלת, ever since You redeemed them and took over their leadership at the boundary of Egypt at Sukkot, as we know from 13,20-21.

נהלת בעזך, You are guiding the Israelites now in order to bring them into the Holy Land to give it to them as an ancestral possession. The land of Canaan will then be called נוה קדשך, “residence of Your Holiness.”

נחית בחסדך עם זו גאלת, “In Your kindness You have guided this nation whom You have redeemed.” Ibn Ezra mentions that the past mode employed by Moses here about events that have not yet happened, is typical of the usage of future events that are being described by prophets, as they consider the future as real as the past.

V. 13. VV. 3-—7, 8—12 hatten in dem Erlebten Gott in seiner zu fürchtenden Größe und Macht über alle politische und physische Gewalt geschaut und besungen, 13 —17 schaut und besingt nun Gott in seiner allmächtigen leitenden und aufbauenden Liebe aus demselben Erlebnis. Die ersten zweimal vier Verse waren der יראה diese vier Verse sind der אמונה geweiht. Da im 14. Vers die Philister als die zuerst vom Schicksal Getroffenen genannt sind, im 15. mit אז eingeleitetem Verse Edom und Moab genannt werden, so scheint V. 13 und 14 sich auf die erste Wirkung des Auszuges von Ägypten, V. 15 u. f. aber auf die Wirkung seit dem Durchzug durch das rote Meer zu beziehen. Als Gott sein gerettetes Volk zuerst aus Mizrajim führte, um es in den Besitz Palästinas zu bringen, erschraken zuerst die Bewohner Philistäas, als die auf natürlichem Wege zunächst Bedrohten, wie oben דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא. Jetzt aber, da Gott das Volk den Weg durch die Wüste, durch und längs des roten Meeres nehmen lässt, somit das Land von der Südostseite her betreten lassen will, sehen sich zunächst Edom und Moab bedroht, die von dieser Seite zunächst die Grenzvölker bilden.

עם זו, “this nation;” Whenever the expression זו is used it means the same as אשר, “that one,” or “which;” compare Isaiah 42,24. It follows that in our verse, the words עם זו גאלת, mean: “You have redeemed a nation.”

נהלת בעזך, You guided them across the dry seabed in a leisurely fashion. (compare Isaiah 63,13 “Who led them through the depths so that they did not stumble-- as a horse in a desert.”)

נחית. Bis dahin war Gottes Tat an Mizrajim der Gegenstand, hier beginnt Gottes Tat für Israel. נחה heißt zum Ziele führen (siehe Kap. 13, 17). נהל kommt immer vor als Führen eines Schwachen mit Rücksicht auf seine Schwäche. So עלות ינהל (Jes. 40, 11), על מי מנוחות ינהלני (Ps. 23 ,2). אתנהלה לאטי (Bereschit 33, 14) und sonst. Also: In deiner Liebe hattest du dieses Volk nicht nur gerettet, sondern auch dessen Weiterführung zu seinem Ziele übernommen, hattest in deiner unwiderstehlichen Macht, mit welcher du es sofort hättest zum Ziele, d. i. zu der Stätte deiner Heiligkeit hättest führen können, doch mit Rücksicht auf seine noch unreife Schwäche den Weg geführt, den es ertragen konnte. (Vergl. oben: ולא נחם אלקי׳ וגו׳). — Die Rettung aus der Misshandlung und Knechtung Ägyptens war zunächst ein Akt der Gerechtigkeit, die Weiterleitung ein Akt reiner sich an die Wohlfahrt des andern hingebenden Liebe: חסד. — Das zu erreichende Ziel ist nicht der Besitz eines fruchtbaren Landes, sondern eines Landes, das "Stätte der absoluten Gottesherrschaft" sein soll. Vergl. זה אל ואנוהו.

אל נוה קדשך, the entire land of Israel is called: “G-d’s holy residence.” As an example of this statement our author cites: Psalms 78,54.ויביאם אל גבול קדשו הר זה קנתה ימינה, “He brought them to the land of His holiness His right hand acquired this mountain.”

אל נוה קדשך, on the proper way in order to arrive at a place where they will sanctify Your holy Name.

נחית, “you guided;” both this word and the word נהלת, are to be understood as in the future tense, as Moses is predicting something that had not happened yet. This is very common use of language when prophecies or poems are involved.

ירגזון means THEY TREMBLE (not they will tremble).

THE PEOPLES HAVE HEARD, THEY TREMBLE. The purport thereof is: “when the people will hear [of Thy visitation upon the Egyptians], they will tremble from the blow of Thy hands, and pangs will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia when they will hear [of those deeds].” It is possible that Moses is saying that the peoples have already heard all that G-d has done in the land of Egypt, and that they will always tremble from the disease He has put upon them.²¹⁷See further, Verse 26. Thus Moses continues to pray that He should let fall upon them terror and dread²¹⁸Verse 16. so that they should not go out to war against Israel.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the verse, Horror and dread shall fall upon them,²¹⁸Verse 16. refers only to Philistia, [mentioned in Verse 14] and Edom and Moab, [mentioned in Verse 15], but not to the inhabitants of Canaan, [who are also mentioned at the end of Verse 15]. This is because Moses said afterward, [i.e., at the end of Verse 16 before us], till Thy people pass over, O Eternal. It was over them [Philistia, Edom and Moab] that the Israelites passed before they came into the land of Canaan, and these peoples really did not war against them. Even when Edom came out against him with much people, and a strong hand,²¹⁹Numbers 20:20. it was only so that the Israelites should not pass over his land, but he did not war against them. But were it not for the terror and dread that fell upon them, they would have wanted to battle against them out of their hatred of them. Now Moses did not mention Ammon, because Ammon and Moab are as one nation. It is possible that the dread of the Israelites fell on the Canaanite too, and he did not war against them until they had passed over [the Jordan], for the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the south²²⁰Ibid., 21:1. [and who warred against Israel when they were still in the wilderness], was not a Canaanite by descent, according to the opinion of our Rabbis.²²¹Tanchuma, Chukath 18. The explanation there is that this was Amalek, but he purposely changed his speech to the Canaanite language so that Israel might be misled and would pray that G-d should give the Canaanites into their hands. Since Amalek was actually not a Canaanite, their prayers would therefore be ineffectual. This interpretation is quoted by Rashi to Numbers 21:1.

יושבי פלשת, אלופי אדום, אילי מואב, all the aforementioned are neighbours of the land of Israel.

They tremble. Rashi is saying that ירגזון is the present tense, not future.

V. 14. חיל, von חול ist das Angstgefühl des passiven Werdens, wo auf Kosten des Bestehenden ein Neues sich erzeugt. Daher vor allem das Angstgefühl der Gebärerin. Die Bewohner Philistäas hatte bereits das Angstgefühl mit dem Bewusstsein ergriffen, dass über ihre Vernichtung hin das Volk zu freiem, neuem Dasein schreiten werde.

חיל אחז יושבי פלשת, “fear gripped the inhabitants of Palestine.” They were afraid that retribution for their having killed tens of thousands of the members of the tribe of Ephrayim was at hand. Those members of the tribe of Ephrayim had been trying to leapfrog the appointed time of the end of Jewish slavery. They had been killed by the inhabitants of Gat, who had been born in the land of the Philistines. (Compare Chronicles I 7,21.)

ישבי פלשת [REIGS SEIZED] THE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE, because they slew the children of Ephraim who anticipated the end fixed for the period of slavery and left Egypt forcibly, as is explained in Chronicles (1 7:21) “[The sons of Ephraim…] whom the men of Gath slew” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:14:3).

Who had calculated prematurely the end. . . They calculated that the period began at the time of the decree of בין הבתרים , which was 30 years before Yitzchok was born [and thus they attempted to leave Egypt 30 years before the prescribed time].

אלופי אדום אילי מואב [THEN WERE PERTURBED] THE CHIEFTAINS OF EDOM, THE MIGHTY MEN OF MOAB — But surely they had no cause to fear anything because they (the Israelites) were not marching against them! But the explanation is, that they were perturbed by annoyance, because they were annoyed and distressed by the glory that Israel had achieved (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 251:11).

אז נבהלו אלופי אדום, אילי מואב, when they saw all these miracles; even though they knew that Israel would not make war against them. They were still frightened by the mere spectacle even if it was not directed at them.

אז נבהלו אלופי אדום, Then the chiefs of Edom were frightened. The word אז refers does not refer to what happened at this time, but to what will happen when the final redemption of the Jewish people is at hand. The same is true of the prophecy of Bileam concerning Edom being laid waste (Numbers 24,18). The same applies to the feelings of Moab and Ammon whose lands will be appropriated by Israel in that future. The reason that Ammon is not mentioned separately in the song the Israelites sang after crossing the sea, although it too was the product of Lot's daughter sleeping with him is, that it will share the general fate of the land of the Canaanites which Israel had not captured up to that time. The Torah therefore speaks of the ישבי כנען, people living in Canaan at the time though they might not have a legitimate claim on that land. The reason the Torah uses the past tense is to assure us that this future is as assured as if it had already happened.

For they were not going against them. . . [Rashi knows this] because it says (Devarim 2:9), “Do not afflict Moav,” and (ibid 2:5), “Do not attack them (Edom).” Although these verses were written 40 years after their Exodus, they were actually commanded many years earlier. (Mechilta) See also Tosafos נשא משה ד"ה , Bava Kama 38a.

V. 15. אז: sodann, nun aber, wie אז אמרה (Kap. 4, 26). Edoms Führer heißen אלופים, Tausendmänner, wie (Bamidbar 36). Edom war ein Militärstaat, seine Fürsten waren Generäle. Von ihnen heißt es: נבהלו (verwandt mit בעל), sie wurden bestürzt, von Schreck bewältigt durch Anblick einer höhern Macht, gegen welche ihr Schwert nicht ausreichte. Moabs Große heißen: אילים, Kraftvolle, Reiche, Moabs Widder. Moab war ein auf den Reichtum seines Bodens machtstolzer, von Kriegsunruhen unbelästigter Staat. (Vergl. Jesaias 15. 16 u. Jeremias 48). Seine Reichen und Großen fangen an für ihren Reichtum und ihre Ruhe zu zittern. Die eigentlich mit Vernichtung bedrohten Bewohner Kanaans sind schon ganz aufgelöst. מיי ,מקק ,מכך ,מגג, alles gradativ verschiedene Ausdrücke des Zergehens, Zerfließens.

אז נבהלו אלופי אדום, “then the chieftains of Edom were frightened.” They thought that they would now be punished for their founder Esau’s wrongful hatred of his twin brother Yaakov.

נמגו means THEY MELTED — just as, (Psalms 65:11) “Thou makest it soft (תמגגנה) with showers”. They said, “They are marching against us to destroy us and to take possession of our land” (therefore they melted away from fear, and were not merely perturbed in mind) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:15:1).

יאחזמו רעד, they were gripped by fear praying that the Israelites would never rise to attack them.

Pained over the honor of Yisrael. . . And they feared Yisrael would quarrel with them on account of the quarrels [that were] between the shepherds of Avraham and Lot, and between Yaakov and Eisov. (Mechilta)

נמוגו כל יושבי כנען, “all the inhabitants of Canaan’s hearts melted away.” They were certain that the time when the Israelites would drive them out of their homes was at hand. They were aware of the prophecy recorded in Exodus 3,8 that the Jewish G-d would descend from heaven in order to redeem His people, and drive out the Canaanites from their land.

נמוגו כל יושבי כנען, there can be no question that the hearts of all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan melted at the manifestation of these miracles as they knew that the Israelites were marching in order to drive them out of their land. Rachav testifies even 40 years later when their worst fears had not yet been realised, that the population of Canaan had completely lost confidence in the outcome of a confrontation with Israel (Joshua 2,11).

תפל עליהם אימתה THERE SHALL FALL UPON THEM DREAD — upon those of them who are far away (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:16:1),

תפול עליהם אימתה ופחד בגדול זרועך, may it be Your will that fear will overcome them in a manner which will make them flee because they are afraid of Your arm. Moses refers to what the Torah described in 14,25 when the Egyptians announced that they would flee as they realised that G’d was fighting on behalf of Israel.

הפול עליהם אימתה ופחד, "Terror and dread will fall upon them, etc." Both this verse and the one following it refer to two separate conquests of the Holy Land, one during the period of Moses/Joshua and the other at the time when the Messiah will arrive. This is the reason the author of the song appears to repeat what he says.

עד יעבור, the reason this is repeated is because it refers not only to the crossing of the Sea of Reeds but also to the crossing of the Jordan. This could also be considered as the reason for the repetition of the words עד יעבור.

תפול עליהם אימתה ופחד, “fear and trembling gripped hold of them.” According to Ibn Ezra the words תפול עליהם do no refer to the Canaanites, even though they were relatively close to the Israelites, but they refer to the Edomites. Ibn Ezra’s argument is supported from the verse following where the leaders of the Kingdom of Edom are described as confused, frightened. Moses tells us this so that we should know that when the Israelites did not engage in battle with Edom when that kingdom refused the Israelites passage trough its territory, the reason was not that the Israelites were afraid, they knew well that the Edomites’. posture was only for show. The reason the Israelites detoured around the territory of Edom was that G’d had commanded them to. (Numbers Numbers 20,14-21) The Edomites had legitimate reason to fear the Israelites, as their land lay squarely on the route the Israelites now set out to travel.

On those who are nearby. . . [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, why are both terms necessary?

V. 16. אימה ist überall der Schreckeindruck einer gegenwärtigen zu fürchtenden überlegenen Größe und Macht. So ואימתו אל תבעתני ,(Job 9, 34) ואימות מות נפלו עלי (Ps. 55, 5) u.f. פחד, der Eindruck einer drohenden Gefahr. Also: Schrecken und Furcht. Also: Schreck über die Nahen, Furcht über die Fernen. Oder: über alle Schreck wegen der ihnen plötzlich gegenwärtig gewordenen Macht und Größe Gottes, und Furcht wegen alles dessen, was sie von einer solchen zu erwarten haben. — בגדול ist wohl Infinitiv: indem dein Arm sich groß zeigt, d. h. während die Größe deiner Macht sich vor ihren Augen immer mehr entfaltet, erstarren sie wie Stein. Es erfüllt sie dies alles mit einer erstarrenden Bewunderung. ידמו von דמס wie ויתמו ימי בכי.(Dewarim 34, 8) von תמס .תמם: Aufhören des Seins; דמם: Aufhören der Tätigkeit, ohne Tätigkeit, ohne Bewegung werden, oder sein. קנית, darin liegt Israels ganze Bestimmung. Durch alles, was du für dieses Volk getan, gehört es mit jeder Faser seines Daseins und jedem Fünkchen seiner Kraft dir, hat keine andere Bestimmung, als die treueste Erfüllung deines Willens, als dein "Diener" zu sein.

תפול עליהם אימה ופחד, “may fear and terror descend upon them;” this is a prayer by Moses. He prays that they should continue to remain in this state of terror. The root נפל is used here in the same sense as when the Torah described the death of Yishmael in Genesis 25,18 with the words: על פני כל אחיו נפל, “he had fallen in the presence of all his brothers.” [If I understand our author correctly, he interprets Yishmael’s death as not that of a mighty hunter or hero, but as a person who was desperately afraid of death at the time. Ed.]

ופחד AND HORROR — shall fall upon those of them who are near by; and all this really happened just as the matter is stated, (Joshua 2:10) “For we have heard how the Lord dried up [the waters of the Red Sea]” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:16:1).

ידמו כאבן עד יעבור עמך הן, may it also be Your will that they will not launch an attack against us until we have crossed the rivers still in front of us, i.e. the Arnon and the Jordan, seeing that the battles are always more difficult at river crossings, and we would need greater miracles in order to become victorious. We might not be deserving of such miracles.

בגדול זרועך, as if the Torah had written: בזרוע גדלך, “with the arm of Your Greatness.” We encounter a similar formulation in Psalms 65,5 קדוש היכלך where it means the same as היכל קדשך, “the Sanctuary of Your Holiness.”

Than other nations. . . Rashi is answering the question: Does not Hashem possess the entire world [and everything in it], as it says: “To the supreme God, Possessor of heavens and earth” (Bereishis 14:19)? Perforce [it means, “You hold it dearer. . ..”]

בגדול זרועך, “through the might of Your arm;” this means the same as if the Torah had written: בזרוע גדלך, “with the arm of Your greatness.” We find a similar inverted expression of adjective and noun in Psalms 65,5: קדוש היכלך, which normally would be expressed as היכלך הקדוש, “Your holy Temple.”

עד יעבר ... עד יעבר TILL THY PEOPLE PASS … TILL THE PEOPLE PASS — The repetition must be explained as the Targum takes it (until they pass over the Arnon, until they pass over the Jordan).

עד יעבור עמך ה', “until Your people O Hashem cross over.” Moses refers here to the Israelites crossing the river Arnon (Deut. 2,24). When he continued עד יעבור עם זו קנית, “until this nation whom You have acquired will cross,” he referred to the Israelites crossing the river Jordan (compare Pessikta Zutrata) This is why we are told specifically that when the Ark entered the waters of the Jordan, that the water piled up north of the river to afford the Israelites passage on a dry river bed (Joshua 3,16 and 17).

עד יעבור עם זו קנית, “until this people which You acquired as Your own through having taken them out of bondage from Egypt,” in order to bring them and implant them firmly in the mountain of Your heritage.”

קנית denotes [THE PEOPLE] WHICH THOU HOLDEST DEAR above all peoples — like an article purchased (קנוי) at a high price and which is therefore held in affection by the man who bought it.

תבאמו THOU WILL BRING THEM IN — Moses foresaw by prophetic inspiration that he would not enter the Holy Land: on this account it is not stated here, “Thou wilt bring us in” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:17:1).

[Which] Your hands established. Every aspect of the Tabernacle was made in according with Hashem’s instructions, as the verse states, “You shall erect the mishkon according to its rules as shown to you on the mountain” (26:30). Therefore it is as if Hashem’s own hands established it. Rashi cites the verse, “My hand also founded the earth and My right hand spanned the heavens” (Yeshayahu 38:14), indicating that heaven and earth were each created with a single hand. He contrasts this with this verse in which it is implied that the Mishkon was fashioned with two hands. The idea is that the hosts of heaven were created with Hashem’s right hand while those of earth were created with His left. But because the Mishkon—the Shechinah’s dwelling place on earth—serves as the intermediary between the two, it was created with both hands. Similarly, Adam was created out of earth from the site of the future Beis Hamikdosh because he, too, serves as an intermediary between the hosts of heaven and those of earth.

תביאמו ותטעמו, in a manner that will ensure that they will never be exiled from there.

מקדש, the letter ק in this word has a dagesh, whereas the letter ד is “weak,” i.e. without a dagesh. We encounter similar construction in Exodus 2,3 hatzfino, (the letter צ has the dagesh, whereas the letter פ following it does not) as well as in Judges 16,28 משתי עיני מפלשתים, where the letter ש has the dagesh, whereas the letter ת immediately afterwards does not have a dagesh. The reason is that the dagesh in the letter converts the vowel beneath it into an abbreviated sound after which the consonants ב,פ,ד,כ,ג,ת are never in a “strong” mode.

תביאמו ותטעמו, “You will bring them and plant them, etc.” By excluding mention of himself in this verse, Moses prophesied that he would not enter the land of Israel (Mechilta Shirah section 10). As to his words מכון לשבתך פעלת, “You have made the foundation of Your dwelling-place,” these words are a continuation of the words בהר נחלתך, “on the mount of Your heritage.” The meaning of the whole verse is: “on the mount of Your heritage down here on earth You have established the foundation of a dwelling-place which corresponds to Your dwelling in the heaven.” Moses referred to that dwelling-place with the words מקדש ה' כוננו ידיך, a reference to the Sanctuary in the heavens. This is the reason that you find the tone-sign zakef gadol on the word מקדש, “Sanctuary.” The letter ק in the word מקדש is spelled with the dagesh chazak tone-sign in the letter to indicate the תוקף, “the strength” represented by that Sanctuary. This is because it is a “Sanctuary of Sanctuaries,” the crown of the Sanctuary on earth. Whereas in connection with the Sanctuary on earth Moses speaks of a פעולה, a physical activity, something appropriate for the terrestrial regions, no such activity is mentioned in connection with the Sanctuary in heaven. However, he did say כוננו ידיך, “Your hands have established it,” a reference to the ten emanations (i.e. the ten fingers on the two hands).

The Temple below is lined up. . . [Rashi knows this] because instead of מקום it is written מָכוֹן [which may also be read מְכֻוָּן , “lined up”]. (Gur Aryeh) The verse reads as follows: “You will bring them and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance.” And that mountain is lined up with “the place for Your habitation” above, “which You have made.” (“You have made” refers to “Your habitation,” which is the Throne above.) However, not the whole mountain is מכון — only “the Sanctuary which Your hands established” is מכון , i.e., מְכֻוָן . (Nachalas Yaakov; see there.)

V. 17. תבאמו, für diese Bestimmung bringst du sie hin, eigentlich: bringst du sie heim. So steht לבוא dem לצאת entgegen, תבואה, das Heimkommende, die von der "Aussaat" erzielte Frucht usw. — נטע von Menschen, insbesondere von einer Volksgesamtheit gebraucht, heißt: eine bleibende Stätte zu einer gedeihlichen Entwicklung gewähren. So נטעתם גם שרשו (Jerem. 12, 2). ונטעתיו ושכן תחתיו (Sam. II .7.10) usw. Daher auch: נטע אוז (Ps. 94. 9) zur Bezeichnung, dass damit nicht die Verleihung des äußeren Organes, sondern der dadurch vermittelten Sinnestätigkeit gemeint sei. Das von dir erlöste Volk soll in dem Lande, wohin du es führst, die heimatliche Stätte und den Boden seiner Entfaltung finden. Es soll dort für das ihm von dir bestimmte Ziel alle seine Kräfte blühend entwickeln. — בהר נחלתך, es ist nicht ihr Eigentum, sondern das deine, wohin es kommt, und hat es sich daher dort nur für dich zu entfalten. — Pälästina, überwiegend Gebirgsland und selbst in seinen Ebenen sich noch bedeutend über Meeresfläche erhebend, heißt daher im allgemeinen הר, Berg, so: ההר הטוב הזה והלבנון (Dewarim 3, 25) הר זה קנתה ימינו (Ps. 78, 54). Es wird als sich senkender Ausläufer des Libanon betrachtet, und heißt daher der Berg Zion, dessen südlichstes Ende, ירכתי צפון, der äußerste Ausläufer des Nordens. (Ps. 48, 3, Jes. 14, 13.) Auch ירכתי לבנון (Kön. II. 19, 23) der letzte Ausläufer des Libanons. ירכתים heißt das dem Eingang entgegengesetzte fernste Ende einer Räumlichkeit. So ירכתי בור ,ירכתי הבית. Vom Anfang des Libanon im Norden gerechnet ist das Gebirge Zion ירכתים. Ja, es wird das ganze, Palästina seiner Länge nach von Süd nach Nord durchziehende Gebirge noch unter dem Namen Libanon begriffen. Daher die Beschreibung der Territorialausdehnung des gelobten Landes von Süd nach Nord und dann von Ost nach West: מן המדבר והלבנון מן הנהר נהר פרת ועד הים האחרון (Dewarim 11, 24): "Von der Wüste (in Südost) und den Libanon hinauf und dann vom Euphrat bis zum mittelländischen Meer." —

תביאמו ותטעמו, “You will bring it and plant it;” these words belong to the words: עם זו קנית, “You have acquired this nation,” from the previous verse. Another example where words in one verse belong to the previous verse is found in Psalms 5,12: וישמחו כל חוסי בך לעולם ירננו ותסך עלימו; “and let all who take refuge in You rejoice; ever jubilant as You shelter them.” That verse too is actually part of the verse preceding it, contrasting it with it.

מכון לשבתך THE PLACE FOR THY RESIDENCE — the Sanctuary here below will be exactly opposite the Divine Throne above which פעלת THOU HAST MADE (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:17:4).

בהר נחלתך, on the Temple Mount, of which it has been said in Genesis 22,14 בהר ה' יראה, “on the Mountain of the Lord He manifests Himself.”

נחל ,נחלתך (das verstärkte נהל, sich fortbewegen, und als ח-Wurzel Gegensatz der ע-Wurzel, נעל, welches ein Hemmen, zuriegeln, bedeutet und den Schuh, נעל, wohl nur nach dessen Umschränkung des Fußes bezeichnet), bezeichnet zunächst die starke abwärts gehende Bewegung des Wassers und daher: Strom. Auf soziales Gebiet übertragen, wird das von den Vorfahren immerfort zu den Nachkommen übergehende Gut, als ein in natürlichem Laufe sich abwärts bewegender Strom begriffen, und נחלה heißt: das Erbgut. So wie aber נחל nicht nur den Strom, sondern auch das abschüssige Strombette, das Tal bedeutet, dessen geneigter Boden eben das Wasser abwärts strömen lässt, so bezeichnet נחלה nicht nur das "abwärts strömende Gut" sondern נחול bezeichnet auch das Inempfangnehmen eines solchen Gutes, in Erbbesitz nehmen, erben, das eben damit als ein nur vermittelndes bezeichnet wird: der Erbe empfängt es, um es weiter zu vererben. Jeder Erbe ist nur das "Strombette", das das Empfangene weiter abwärts führt. Nun wird das, was von der zeitweilig andern Göttern und Einflüssen hingegebenen Menschheit und deren Erde Gott endlich zufällt, mit נחלה bezeichnet. Gott ist der Erbe. So: כי אתה תנחל בכל הגוים (Ps. 82, 8) "denn dir fallen endlich unter allen Völkern Menschen und Verhältnisse zu." וסלחת לעוננו ולחטאתנו ונחלתנו (Schmot 34, 9): Du wirst so lange immer wieder und wieder unserer Krümme und unserm Leichtsinn Verzeihung schenken, bis wir dir ganz anheimfallen, aus allen andern Einflüssen frei geworden, ganz die Deinen werden. So heißt Israel נחלתו, es ist der erste Gott wieder zugefallene Teil aus der Menschheit. Und hier heißt das Israel bestimmte Land נחלת ד׳. Es ist der erste von der Erde der Alleinherrschaft Gottes wieder zugefallene Teil.

תביאמו ותטעמו; according to Rashi, the fact that Moses spoke only about G-d doing this, is equivalent to a prophecy that he would not live to see his people entering the land of Israel. Otherwise he would have used the first person plural mode of: ”us.” If you were to argue that this is not news as we could have learned this from Exodus 6,1 where G-d had told Moses what he would experience, i.e. “now you will see what I shall do to Pharaoh, which some commentators interpret as Moses being told that he would not experience what G-d would do for the people when He would defeat the Canaanites. Rashi did not understand that verse in that sense, saying that this was our interpretation, but was not what G-d had meant to convey to Moses. Proof that Moses had not understood himself as being excluded is found in Numbers 10,29, when he says to his fatherinlaw Yitro: נוסעים אנחנו אל המקום אשר אמר ה' אותו אתן לכם, “we are about to journey to the place of which G-d has said: ‘I will give it to you.’”

מקדש ה׳ The accent on it (the word מקדש) is a Zakef Gadol (a disjunctive accent) which serves to separate it from the word expressing the Divine Name (ה׳) which follows it, so that the translation is: “The sanctuary which Thy hands have established, O Lord”. The Temple is an object of affection to God because the Universe was created by one hand — as it is stated, (Isaiah 48:13) “Yea, My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth” — whilst the Temple by two hands, as stated here. And when will it be rebuilt by God, with the two hands? At the time when “the Lord shall reign for ever and ever”: at that future period when all the kingdom will be His (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:17:5).

'מכון לשבתך פעלת ה, similar to what David, quoting G’d, said in Psalms 132,14 פה אשב כי אויתיה, “here I shall dwell for I have yearned for it.”

מכון לשבתך. Die Wurzeln כון und כנן scheinen keineswegs identisch zu sein. Während כנן ein Feststellen an sich bedeutet, ist כון mehr ein relatives Schaffen oder Bereitstellen eines Mittels für einen Zweck. (Gleichwohl scheinen allerdings die Bedeutungen in einander überzugehen. Z. B. והכינו את אשר יביאו [Schmot 16, 5] und הכין ד׳ את ממלכתך [Sam. I. 13, 13].) מכון, eine Stätte, die bereit ist, jemanden aufzunehmen. Das Land, dem Israel entgegenzieht, hat nicht die Bestimmung, Israels Wohnplatz, sondern eine Stätte zu werden für Gottes Gegenwart auf Erden. — פעלת, פעל heißt nicht sowohl konkretes Schaffen, Machen, Produzieren, als durch eine Tätigkeit erzielen, auf ein Ziel hinarbeiten. פעולת שכיר ist daher nicht das vom Tagelöhner gefertigte Werk, sondern der durch seine Arbeit erzielte Lohn. Auch hier heißt es nicht, Gott hat das Land, die Stätte geschaffen; hinsichtlich ihres konkreten Daseins ist Land und Stätte nicht mehr Gottes Werk als die ganze übrige Erde. Aber durch die Bestimmung des Landes für ein mit jeder Faser seines Daseins Gott dienendes Volk und vor allem durch die geschichtliche Erziehung dieses Volkes für einen solchen Beruf, hat Gott sich damit eine Stätte zur Wiedereinkehr seiner Herrlichkeit auf Erden erwirkt. Ja, es wäre ganz möglich, daß sich פעלת auf שבתך bezieht. —

ותטעמו, “You will plant it;” the verb נטע meaning to plant, is always used with a plant that will endure for a long period. [Our author quotes Ezekiel 17,23, as proof although there the verb שתל is used? Ed.]

מקדש ה' כוננו ידיך, a veiled reference to the sanctuary which G’d would instruct the Jewish people to build for His Presence in Exodus 25,8-9. [G’d’s stating the sizes, furnishings, and materials this Sanctuary would be made of makes it equivalent to He Himself having constructed it. Ed.] Also David, in Chronicles I 28,19 spoke about his having received the details of the blueprint of the Temple to be built by his son Solomon from G’d, proving that G’d Himself considered this as His permanent residence on earth.

מקדש וגו׳, eine Stätte der Heiligkeit, die, Gott mein Herr, deine Hände, gegründet. Das Walten deiner Rechten und deiner Linken, deiner helfenden, segnenden und deiner strafenden, vernichtenden Liebe und Macht, hat diese Stätte deiner Heiligung auf Erden begründet. Vielleicht wäre es nicht zu kühn, zu glauben, das Dagesch im ק gebe dem voranstehenden מ die Bedeutung von מן und lasse in dem jetzt zu beginnenden und mit dieser Rettung schon begründeten Heiligtum nur einen "Teil", einen Anfang, ein verjüngtes Beginnen jenes Heiligtums erblicken, das einst, nicht Israel nur, sondern der ganzen Menschheit zum heiligenden Mittelpunkt werden soll. Es ist erst מקצת הקדש. Und darum auch der Name אדנ׳, der immer im Munde eines sich als Gottes Werkzeug Begreifenden erscheint. Mosche und Israel begreifen sich als Diener und Werkzeug jener großen Heileszukunft, die Gott nunmehr mit seiner offenbar gewordenen machteinzigen Waltung der Liebe und des Rechts in ihrem Anfang begründet hat. Und darum schließt auch der Gesang mit dem die fernste Zukunft umfassenden Blick: ד׳ ימלוך לע׳׳ו, das nicht nur heißen kann: Gott wird in alle Zukunft hin regieren, d. h. so wie wir ihn hier am Meere in seiner allmächtigen Waltung erkannt, wird er fort und fort walten, sondern auch ebenso heißen kann: Gott wird einst, in einer fernen, aber darum nicht weniger gewissen Zukunft, König der ganzen Menschheit werden. Es ist nämlich nicht unwahrscheinlich, daß ועד von יעד, bestimmen, sei, wie das chaldäische בית ועד ,וַעַד, und die Zusammenstellung עולם וער würde bezeichnen: die uns verhüllte, aber darum nicht minder gewisse Zukunft.

'מקדש ה, the name for G-d used in the spelling here is the one with the letters אד.

לעלם ועד The word ועד is an expression denoting ETERNITY — The ו in it is a root-letter, and consequently it is vowelled with a Patach; but in the similar word in (Jeremiah 29:23) “I am He that knoweth and am witness (ועד)”, where the ו is a servile letter (a prefix) it is vowelled with a Kametz.

THE ETERNAL SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER. Moses is saying that just as He has now shown that He is King and Ruler by having brought deliverance to His servants and destruction upon those that rebel against Him, so may it be His will to do so in all generations forever, that He withdraw not His eyes from the righteous,²²²Job 36:7. nor hide them [His eyes] from the wicked ones who inflict evil upon others. There are many verses that are to be interpreted in this way, such as: The Eternal will reign for ever, thy G-d, O Zion, unto all generations. Hallelujah;²²³Psalms 146:10. Blessed be the Name of the Eternal from this time forth and for ever;²²⁴Ibid., 113:2. And the Eternal shall be King over all the earth.²²⁵Zechariah 14:9.
Now Onkelos was apprehensive [of translating this verse literally, which is stated in a future tense], since G-d’s sovereignty is [indeed] to all eternity [and no prayer for its continuance is possible]. Therefore he rendered it in the present tense: “The Kingdom of the Eternal endureth for ever and to all eternity,” just as is expressed in the verse, Thy Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages.²²⁶Psalms 145:13. But I have not understood Onkelos’ opinion in this matter, for it is written: May the Glory of the Eternal endure for ever;²²⁷Ibid., 104:31. And let the whole earth be filled with His Glory;²²⁸Ibid., 72:19. “Magnified and sanctified shall be [His great Name]”;²²⁹From the beginning of the Kaddish prayer. In Ricanti’s work on the Torah in quoting this text from Ramban, he writes clearly: “and in the Kaddish [we say], ‘Magnified, etc.’” It is thus to be noted that the Kaddish-text is quoted by Ramban amidst Scriptural verses as authority for his thesis! The great sanctity of the Kaddish prayer is thus clearly indicated. Yea, let it be established, and let Thy Name be magnified for ever.²³⁰I Chronicles 17:24. It is possible that the meaning of these [future tenses] is similar to the secret of the benedictions.²³¹“Magnifying G-d’s Name brings life and blessing to the world, thus assuring that His kingdom will be acknowledged in the world in the future. And so is the purport of the benedictions we make, which begin by referring to ‘the Eternal, our G-d’ and continue to mention ‘King of the universe’” (Ma’or V’shamesh).

ה' ימלוך לעולם ועד, this too is a prayer by Moses who expresses the hope that G’d, exclusively, will reign forever, and that He will not have to share power with anyone else claiming divine authority on earth.

ה׳ ימלך לעולם ועד, "The Lord will rule for ever and ever." The author implies that the reason he did not speak about the Lord having reigned in the past is because of the challenge to G'd's rule described in verse 19. Inasmuch as G'd has exacted retribution from only one nation which has not recognised His sovereignty in the world it would be inappropriate to extol G'd as having ruled in the past. כי בא סוס פרעה, "For the horses of Pharaoh came, etc." The fact that G'd disposed of the challenge represented by Pharaoh was not yet proof of the impotence of all the powers which compete with G'd on earth and which different nations worship. G'd's true sovereignty will be established only when He deals with all competing deities.

ימלוך לעולם ועד. will be king forever.

ה' ימלוך לעולם ועד, “The Lord will rule forever more.” The meaning is that at this time Hashem had demonstrated that He is the true ruler in this universe. He can take care of all those that serve Him, and He can dispose of all those that oppose Him.

ה' ימלך לעולם ועד, “the Lord will rule forever.” The plain meaning of the text is that just as G’d had demonstrated His supremacy over all of mankind and the forces of nature at this time by saving the deserving and punishing the guilty, may He continue to do so in each and every generation. The same idea has been expressed by David in Psalms 146,10: “The Lord will reign forever, your G’d, O Zion, for all generations, Hallelujah.” The word ימלך is written defective, without the letter ו to teach us that G’d does not approach His subjects with great demands by demanding an exhausting sort of service from them. (Avodah Zarah 3). The prophet Micha 6,3 has already publicly remonstrated with his people showing that G’d’s demands of His people (and on mankind) are quite minimal. He asked: “My people! What wrong have I done you? What hardship have I caused you?”

Therefore it is vocalized with a patach. The “patach” means the segol (called “patach koton”) which is under the ע of ועד .

ה׳ ימלוך לעולם ועדת, ‘the Lord will rule forever;” a prayer, meaning: “may it be Your will that the Lord Who rules over us now will continue to do so forever, and may He continue to do favours for us similar to the ones He just did.” Although at first glance the word: ימלוך may be misunderstood a it is in the future tense, it is used as a present tense. One of many such examples is found in Deuteronomy 32,11: כנשר יעיר קנו ירחף, “as an eagle that stirs up its nest hovering over its young.” The verse continues in the future tense but describes matters that occur all the time.

Where the letter ו in it is a prefix, it bears the kametz vowel. The “kametz” means the tzeirei, which is called “kametz koton.” “It bears” refers to the word ועד [not to the letter vav].

Another way of understanding the sequence of the words in these two verses plus the fact that G'd is described as sovereign only in the future is this: "The Lord will rule only in the future because all of Pharaoh's horses and their riders perished as one man. As a result the only ones left to tell about G'd's mighty deeds were the Israelites who were saved in the midst of the sea." Had there been a few Egyptians who had saved themselves and those Egyptians had told the rest of the world of their experiences this would have suitably impressed the world. As it was, only the Israelites who had already recognised G'd's sovereignty were around to tell the tale. This was not enough to convince the pagans.

לעולם ועד; this is an abbreviated version of the expression: לעולם ועד עולם, “from one world until the next world.” There is no reason to wonder that the word ועד does not appear in the construct mode, as we find more such examples, such as in Isaiah 57,15: שוכן עד מרום וקדוש שמו, “forever dwells the One Whose name is high and holy;” the meaning of the line is: His name will remain forever exalted and holy.”The author explains that it is a peculiarity of classical Hebrew that the emphasis is placed on the letter following the prefix ו, in other words, on the letter ע in the word ועד. He cites Leviticus 7,23 שור וכשב ועז as an example, as well as Genesis 3,13: הנחש השיאני ואכל, “the serpent seduced me and I ate,” as another example.

כי בא סוס פרעה means WHEN [THE HORSES] CAME.

FOR THE HORSES OF PHARAOH WENT IN WITH HIS CHARIOTS AND WITH HIS HORSEMEN. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that this verse is also part of the Song, for Moses and the children of Israel were singing and saying: For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Eternal brought back the waters of the sea upon them while the children of Israel were walking on dry land in the midst of the sea, this being a miracle within a miracle.²³²For when the horses of Pharaoh went in, etc., He brought the waters upon them, and at the same time, the children of Israel walked on dry land.
But this verse is not written in the style of the Song, nor is it in the style of prophecies! [Therefore, Ibn Ezra’s interpretation is not correct.] Instead, the verse is to be interpreted [as dating the Song]: Then sang Moses — when the horses of Pharaoh went in. Immediately on that day — not the following day or at some later time — [he sang this Song]. It may be that the sense thereof is as follows: Then Moses sang, when the horses of Pharaoh went into the sea and G-d brought back the waters of the sea upon them while the children of Israel were yet walking on dry land in the midst of it. Thus the verse relates that they said the Song while they were walking in the midst of the sea on dry land. Scripture further tells²³³Verses 20-21. that it was then that Miriam the prophetess took the timbrel in hand and sang them the first verse of the Song that they, [i.e., the women], should sing after Moses and Israel.

כי בא סוס פרעה, the opening words of this song,אז ישיר משה had been inspired by the spectacle of Pharaoh with his chariot, his horses and its riders drowning in the sea at the time when the Israelites, by contrast, were taking their time walking through the same sea on dry ground. ביבשה בתוך הים, they began the song of thanksgiving even before all had emerged from the sea to the shore.

כי בא סוס פרעה, and He tossed them into the sea הלכו בתוך הים ביבשה, after the Israelites had crossed the sea on dry ground

כי בא סוס פרעה, “for when Pharaoh’s cavalry came, etc.” Ibn Ezra claims that this verse is still part of Moses’ victory song of praise to the Lord, and that the whole people sang this verse with him also. Nachmanides claims that this is not correct, for it is not styled in the poetic manner the previous verses have been styled, and it does not contain any element of prophesy. He also claims that Moses had composed and sung the Shirah on the same day as the Israelites had emerged from the sea bed, and that he had not waited until the day following. [He seems to imply that according to Ibn Ezra the song was composed on the day after the miracle. Ed.] According to Nachmanides the words:אז ישיר משה לבני ישראל כי בא סוס פרעה וו' need to be understood as one sentence, the poem being inserted between these two halves of one verse. Alternatively, “after Pharaoh and all his army had drowned in the sea while the Israelites were still marching on the bed of the dried out sea, Moses already began this song.” Accordingly, upon hearing this, Miriam immediately took the drum, etc, and continued leading the women in song.

כי בא סוס פרעה, “for Pharaoh’s cavalry came, etc.” The Torah now goes back to the beginning of the שירה as if the opening line had read אז ישיר משה ובני ישראל את השירה הזאת כאשר בא סוס פרעה ברכבו ובפרשיו בים, “then Moses and the Children of Israel sang a song when Pharaoh, his cavalry, and its riders went into the sea and G’d brought the waters of the sea upon them whereas the Israelites walked on dry ground.” The verse teaches that the Israelites sang the song while still crossing.

When it came. The verses mean as follows: Because Pharaoh’s horse came into the sea, therefore Miriam took the drum. And this is what Rashi means: When it came, Miriam then took. (Nachalas Yaakov)

V. 19 schließt dem Liede das Gedächtnis des Ereignisses an, aus welchem es hervorgegangen. Alles: Gottes Macht über politische Gewalt, Gottes Macht über physische Gewalt, Gottes rettende, leitende, führende und pflanzende Liebe, Israels Gott dienende und verherrlichende Bestimmung, und die mit diesem Eingriff in die Geschichte beginnende Herrschaft Gottes über die ganze Erde, alles ist aus der Tatsache erschaut, daß Pharaos Roß usw. כי בא וגו׳.

כי בא סוס פרעה, “when Pharaoh’s horse entered the sea and G-d brought back the waters of the sea upon them, while the Israelites continued to walk on a completely dry sea bed, Miriam, the prophetess, sister of Aaron, took her drum and began to sing a song of thanksgiving.

ותקח מרים הנביאה AND MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS TOOK — But where had she prophesied? When she was THE SISTER OF AARON alone — before Moses was born she said, “My mother will at some time bear a son who will deliver Israel etc.”, as is stated in Treatise Sotah 12b (cf. Megillah 14a). Another explanation of אחות אהרן, the sister of Aaron: because he jeopardised his life for her by entreating on her behalf and so possibly incurring God’s displeasure when she was stricken with leprosy, she is called by his name (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:20:1; cf. Rashi Genesis 34:25).

AND MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS, THE SISTER OF AARON. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that because Moses and Miriam were mentioned in the Song and Aaron was not, Scripture wanted to mention him. It therefore said the sister of Aaron as a mark of honor to him, i.e., that he was her older brother and that his sister the prophetess connected her genealogy to him, since he too was a prophet and a holy man of G-d. It is possible that it is the custom of Scripture to trace the genealogy of a family through the oldest brother. Similarly it is written, And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel,²³⁴I Chronicles 2:42. because he was the oldest brother, as it is said: The sons also of Hezron… Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.²³⁵Ibid., 2:9.

ותקח מרים הנביאה, the author lists a number of verses which appear to commence in the middle and without forming a continuation of what preceded them. Examples given are: Exodus 16,34 commencing with the wordsכאשר ציוה ה' את משה, “as G’d had commanded Moses.” Another example quoted is Jeremiah 37,16-17. כי בא ירמיהו וגו'. [While these examples make the beginning of verse 19 less unique, they still do not explain the reason for this type of syntax. Ed.]

אחות אהרן, “Aaron’s sister.” The reason Miriam is described thus is because both Moses and Miriam had already been mentioned in a “single breath,” as it were in connection with the song, the Torah looked for a way to also have Aaron mentioned in this context. It was a way of giving honour to Aaron, her older brother. After all, Aaron too possessed the rank of being a prophet. It is also possible that it is the norm of Torah verses to relate women to their brothers, as for instance in Genesis 36,22 ואחות לוטן תמנע, “Timna was Lotan’s sister.”

V. 20. Aarons Schwester: sie nahm unter den Frauen im Volke die Stellung ein, die Aaron unter den Männern hatte. Wie Aaron das durch Mosche geoffenbarte Wort unter den Männern verbreitete, so Mirjam unter den Frauen. — תוף von תפף, wie רבב, das schwankende Wort, טפף den trippelnden Gang bezeichnet, so תפף den kurzen nach einander folgenden Tonschlag, und תוף: die Pauke. Daher auch תפף על לב vor Schmerz auf die Brust schlagen (Nachum 2, 8). — מחלות von חלל, das, wie bereits Jeschurun (Vlll, 170) entwickelt, mit עלל ,הלל ,אלל verwandt, ursprünglich die Kreisbildung bedeutet. Daher מחול der Reigentanz.

מרים הנביאה, “Miriam the prophetess;” the word “prophetess” is used here to describe Miriam’s extraordinary ability to use words to express her feelings. [According to Rash’bam,] the word is also used as describing someone who preaches to people to behave morally and ethically correctly. Compare when G-d told Moses that his brother Aaron would be נביאך, which can hardly mean: “your prophet,” as Moses outclassed him in that department.

את התף A TIMBREL — an instrument for a particular kind of music.

הנביאה, the term נביא or נביאה is accorded to people who either are held in high esteem by their peers for their eloquence or their ability to admonish their peers.

בתפים ובמחלת WITH TIMBRELS AND WITH DANCES — The righteous women in that generation were confident that God would perform miracles for them and they accordingly had brought timbrels with them from Egypt (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:20:2).

אחות אהרן, seeing that he was her older brother the Torah describes her as Aaron’s sister rather than as Moses’ sister. I have explained this in connection with Genesis 28,9 about אחות נביות as well as in connection with אחות לוטן in Genesis 36,22.

בתופים ובמחולות, “with drums and dances.” The women mentioned here were extremely wise as we mentioned earlier. They had experienced visions not granted to the greatest prophets bar Moses. Some of them were motivated by pure motives, others had unacceptable motives. The ones who engaged in dancing had unacceptable motives as the “dance” as a musical instrument was the one associated with the planet Mars, a symbol of warfare, violence. The negative impact of that “instrument” became evident at the time of the golden calf where the Torah reports the woshippers as indulging in מחולות, (Exodus 34,19). I will have more to say on that subject in my commentary on that verse.

ותען להם מרים AND MIRIAM SANG UNTO THEM — Moses sang the Song to the men — he sang it and they repeated it after him; and Miriam sang the Song to the women and they repeated it after her (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:20:2).

Miriam sang the song for the women. Although regarding Miriam only the first stanza is written, [she sang the whole song]. Scripture abbreviated, relying on the fact that the song is written above.

V. 21. ותען, da hier להם mascul. folgt, so kann sich hier das להם auf Mosche und Israel beziehen und das ענה in gewöhnlicher Bedeutung: entgegnen, erwidern, stehen. Mosche und Israel sangen, Mirjam und die Frauen entgegneten ihnen. ענה steht jedoch allerdings auch im Anfange der Rede, wo es nicht die Gegenrede, die Antwort bedeuten kann, da noch keine Rede vorangegangen, wie: וענית ואמרת. (Bamidbar 26, 5), כלם יענו ויאמרו (Jes. 14, 10), ויען איוב (Job 3, 2). In solchen Stellen behält gleichwohl) ענה die ursprüngliche Bedeutung des Entgegnens. Wie ענה sonst das durch eine Anrede hervorgerufene Gegenwort bedeutet, so ist es in diesen Stellen das durch den Moment, durch die Gelegenheit hervorgerufene, das dem Moment, der Gelegenheit "entsprechende" Wort. Sollte es auch hier in diesem Sinne stehen, dann müßte sich das להם auf die Frauen beziehen, und es wäre zu ermitteln, warum sie hier gen. masc. bezeichnet sind. Vielleicht um, obgleich den Männern im begeisterten Gesange nachfolgend, sie dennoch in der ganzen Bedeutung dieses Gesanges und der darin bekundeten hohen Bestimmung des Volkes den Männern völlig ebenbürtig gleichzustellen.

שירו לה' כי גאה, “raise your voices in song to the Lord, for He has been triumphant;” the women sang the whole of Moses’ song, word by word; seeing that the text had already been recorded, the Torah does not need to repeat all of it and mentions only the beginning.

ויסע משה AND MOSES CAUSED [ISRAEL] TO JOURNEY — He made them journey against their own will, because the Egyptians had adorned their horses with ornaments of gold and silver and with precious stones, and the Israelites were finding these in the sea. Greater, indeed, was the booty they obtained at the Red Sea then the booty they had brought out of Egypt — as it is said (Song 1:11) “Circlets of gold (the booty of the Sea) will we make thee together with the studs of silver” (which we brought forth from Egypt) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:36). On this account he was compelled to make them journey on against their will.

ויסע משה את ישראל, Moses made Israel move on, etc. This was the only march which was initiated by Moses. Every subsequent move occurred at G'd's initiative.

ויסע, a causative construction, hiphil. When the Torah writes, as it does most of the time, vayisa, this is in the intransitive active mode, meaning “he journeyed,” instead of “he made (someone) journey,” as is the case here. Similar constructions involving both the kal mode and the hiphil mode of the verse are: vayagesh את פר החטאת, “he presented, brought near, the bull of the sin offering,” (Leviticus 8.14) as distinct from vayigash, “he approached (himself).” Similarly, a construction such as vayipol is in the intransitive active mode, meaning: “he fell, or he prostrated himself deliberately,” whereas the transitive mode of the same word (root) would be “vayapel,” “he threw down.”

ויסע משה, “Moses caused Israel to journey, etc.” Ibn Ezra writes that originally the cloud used to travel in front of the Israelites and the pillar of fire would travel behind them. After the Egyptians had been drowned, and the people no longer were in a state of fear from pursuers, and they no longer traveled at night also, the cloud departed and Moses instructed the people which way to move forward in accordance with directions he received directly from G’d. There were only 6 journeys all the way to Mount Sinai. The climate at that time of year was pleasant in that region, neither too cold nor too dry so that those that did not have tents of their own did not even need tents to sleep in at night. When they came to the region of Mount Sinai they made tents for themselves, as they expected to remain in the same location for a number of nights until the Tabernacle would be ready. [According to the Torah’s report they remained encamped at Mount Sinai for 11 months and 20 days. Ed.] Moses had informed them that they would remain there until the Tabernacle would be built. This was the reason why they had brought the shittim beams with them out of Egypt. In order to provide a visible symbol of these, Moses commanded them to construct the huts on the Sukkot festival, as the Torah says in Leviticus 23,43 כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל, “For I have house the Israelites in huts, etc.” They certainly could not very well have dwelled in the clouds for all this time. [a reference to the tradition that the Israelites “dwelled” in tents in the desert. Ed.] There is no comparison between “huts” and “clouds.” Once the Tabernacle had been constructed, G’d made a cloud take up position above that Tabernacle. (compare Exodus 40,38 “for the cloud of the Lord would be above the Tabernacle by day, and fire would be on it at night, before the eyes of all of the Children of Israel throughout their journeys.”) Whenever the cloud would move, this was the signal for the Israelites to commence journeying once they had left Mount Sinai, and this is why the Torah describes two pillars traveling with the Israelites, one by day and one by night. These two pillars would alternate with one another by day and by night respectively. If the report is based on historical tradition that these clouds were identical with the ones commonly known as the ענני הכבוד, the clouds proving the Presence of a Divine Presence, שכינה, we will abandon our rational approach to the subject and accept that tradition. Our sages explain the unusual wordויסע as proof that Moses had to make the Israelites travel in the direction of the desert against their will. One reason was that the loot they garnered at the sea was many times more than what they had taken with them from Egypt. Other commentators hold that this was not a criticism of the Israelites, but a compliment to them; they had been so enthralled by the spiritual uplift during their miraculous salvation that it had caused them to exclaim “this is My G’d, let me build Him an appropriate residence,” (15,2) that they could not entertain the thought of leaving a location where they had such a wonderful vision.

He made them travel against their will. . . [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, why does it say, “Moshe led”? They always traveled by command of Hashem.

וילכו שלשת ימים במדבר ולא מצאו מים. The distance covered was one which normally requires three days’ travel. They covered this distance in the space of only one day. This means that actually the period that they were without water was a single day. It is not normal for people, and especially such a large body of people, to keep marching for three days without having any water.

V. 22. ויסע משה. Es kommt dieser Ausdruck bei keinem der ferneren Züge vor. Der Ausdruck sagt, dass ein mehr als gewöhnlicher Nachdruck dazu gehörte, sie zu dem Aufbruch von dem Gestade des roten Meeres zu bewegen. Und in der Tat, das an diesem Gestade Erlebte, die dort geschaute Gottesmacht trug Momente genug in sich, Geist und Gemüt dort dauernd zu fesseln. Und nun zumal von dieser Stätte des unmittelbaren Gottesschutzes hinein in eine Wüste zu ziehen, die unter allen Teilen der Wüste die schauerlichste und ödeste sein soll. Daher auch der Ausdruck ויצאו: sie zogen hinaus, also eigentlich aus einem schützend umschließenden Orte in dessen Gegenteil.

וילכו שלשת ימים, “they walked for a period of three days;” when the Israelites had left Egypt they had taken vessels containing drinking water with them. As soon as they ran out of water they raised their voices complaining (verse 24) Instead of displaying a minimum amount of patience, they complained immediately. An alternate interpretation: the expression וילכו שלשת ימים במדבר ולא מצאו מים, is an allegory; the people had been hoping to find Torah=מים=life sustaining water, but were sorely disappointed not to have found it, so they complained. In Isaiah 55,1, Torah has been equated with water. This is the reason why Ezra introduced the custom to read publicly from the Torah every Monday and Thursday, so that the people would not have to go without listening to a Torah reading for three successive days. (Talmud, tractate Baba Kamma, folio 82)

The Egyptians adorned their horses with gold and silver ornaments and precious stones. . . You might ask: Is it not written (12:36), “They drained Egypt of its wealth,” and Rashi explains [in Bereishis 45:18] that they made Egypt like the depths of the sea which has no fish, [i.e., they emptied Egypt from its wealth]? The answer is: Here it is speaking of their hidden treasures.

שלשת ימים במדבר, “for three days in the desert.” They camped three times, at Eytam, Pihachirot, and Marah.

We will make gold bracelets for you, together with silver studs. . . I.e., “gold bracelets” are the booty of the sea, and “silver studs” are from the booty of Egypt — as stated in Midrash.

ויבאו מרתה AND THEY CAME TO MARAH — The word מרתה is the same as למרה: a ה at the end of a word (as a suffix) replaces a ל at its beginning (as a prefix). The ת takes the place of the ה which is rooted in (an integral part of) the word מרה; when it is joined with another letter, viz., when it is attached to the ה which is added to the word in place of the ל, the ה of the primary form (the ordinary form of the noun from which longer forms are made by the addition of suffixes) is changed into a ת. Thus, also, every ה which is a root-letter (a letter in the primary form of the noun) is changed into a ת when it is joined to another letter. E. g., we have (Isaiah 27:4) “Fury (חמה) is not in Me”, but (Esther 1:12) “And his fury (חמתו) burned within him”; you see that the ה of the ground-form is changed into a ת because it is to be joined to the ו which has been added. Similar are: (Leviticus 25:44) “Manservant and handmaid (אמה)”, but (Genesis 30:3) “Behold, my handmaid (אמתי) Bilhah”; (Genesis 2:7) “a creature of life (חיה)”, but (Job 33:20) “His life (חיתו) maketh him to abhor bread”; (Judges 4:5) “Between Ramah (רמה) [and Beth-el]”, but (I Samuel 7:17) “And his return was to Ramah (הרמתה)” the latter example being exactly parallel to that in this verse (מרתה - מרה‎).

ויבאו מרתה, They arrived at Marah, etc. Why is this place sometimes referred to as Marah and other times as Maratah? Apparently the original name of the oasis was Maratah and the spring it contained did not have a separate name.

(Exodus 15:23) "And they came to Marah": R. Yehoshua says: Israel came to three places at that time, viz. "And they came to Marah." R. Elazar Hamodai says: They came to only one place. (The above requires elaborate commentary, which is beyond the scope of this translation.)

The Torah added: "they could not drink the waters of Marah," meaning that the spring itself was now named Marah because its waters were bitter. The name Marah therefore also became the name of the oasis after the Israelites had camped there and G'd had shown Moses how to make the waters of that spring palatable. The words כי מרים הם were an allusion to an experience the Israelites were going to have.

וילנו AND THEY MURMURED — This is a Niphal form, and similarly the Targum is a Niphal form: ואתרעמו (the Ithpael form in Aramaic corresponds to the Hebrew Niphal). And such is the way in which the expression denoting murmuring (from root לון) is employed: to refer back the matter (the action of murmuring) to the person (the subject of the verb); thus one says מתלונן and מתרועם and one does not say לונן and רועם. So, too, the Frenchman says “decomplaisant se” in old French, where it turns back the matter (the action) to himself (the subject) by saying, “se”, English himself.

וילונו העם על משה, The people murmured against Moses, etc. The Torah criticises the manner in which the people provoked a quarrel. The Torah does not deny the validity of a people asking for drinkable water, i.e. the question: "what are we to drink?" They should have asked for their needs in an appropriate manner.

To revert the statement to the person: מתלונן . . . I.e., meaning: [It refers] to the complainer. But the expression לונן does not revert to the complainer as much.

(Ibid. 24) "And the people caviled against Moses, saying: 'What shall we drink?'" R. Yehoshua says: They should have taken counsel with their leader (Moses) first as to what they should drink. Instead, they took him to task. R. Eliezer Hamodai says: Israel were "conversant" in complaining against Moses — and not only against Moses, but also against the Omnipotent!

V. 24. לון .וילונו: vor Ungemach Schutz suchen, daher: irgendwo übernachten und מלון: die Nachtherberge. Davon הלון על־: sich, von einem zu erduldenden Ungemach Abhülfe suchend, über jemanden erheben, über jemanden aussprechen: über jemanden murren.

שם שם לו HERE HE MADE FOR THEM [A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE) — At Marah He gave them a few sections of the Torah in order that they might engage in the study thereof; viz., the sections containing the command regarding the sabbath, the red heifer and the administration of justice (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:25; Sanhedrin 56b).

THERE HE MADE FOR THEM A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE, AND THERE HE TRIED THEM. “At Marah He gave them some of the sections of the Torah so that they might engage in the study thereof, [such as]: the Sabbath, the Red Heifer,²³⁶Numbers, Chapter 19. The reason that Rashi singles out these three subjects — the Sabbath, the Red Heifer, and the laws of justice — is generally explained as follows: He mentions the Sabbath because it is referred to in the section on the manna (further, 16:23-30), as the means through which G-d tried Israel. The Red Heifer is the most outstanding example of a chok (a statute), the type of a commandment the reason for which we do not know. The laws of justice are the typical examples of mishpat (ordinance), which is a precept dictated by reason. Accordingly Rashi interpreted the verse before us — a statute etc. — as referring to these three subjects. and the laws of justice. And there He tried them, that is, the people.”²³⁷Rashi’s intent is to explain the extra word v’sham (‘and there’ He tried them). It should have said, “There He made for them a statute and an ordinance and tried them,” in which case it would have meant that He tried them with the statute and ordinance, i.e., to see if they would observe them. But since it says, and there He tried them, it must refer to something additional, namely, the preceding event when the people murmured against Moses instead of approaching him to pray that the bitterness of the waters be removed. It is to this event, according to Rashi, that the expression refers: “And there He tried them, that is, the people” (Sifthei Chachamim). Ramban, however, will explain that “the trial” was of another nature, as will be explained in the text. Thus the language of Rashi, and it is the opinion of our Rabbis.²³⁸Sanhedrin 56b.
But I wonder! Why does Scripture not explain these statutes and ordinances here, saying, “And the Eternal spoke to Moses: ‘Command the children of Israel,’” as it says in the chapters mentioned above, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel?²³⁹Above, 12:3. Indeed, it does so with regard to all commandments given in the Tent of Meeting, on the plains of Moab,²⁴⁰Numbers 35:1. and the Passover in the wilderness!²⁴¹Ibid., 9:1-5. Now Rashi’s expression, “He gave them… sections of the Torah so that they might engage in the study thereof,” indicates that Moses did inform them of these statutes and that he taught these statutes to them, [saying], “In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will command you so,” in the same way as Abraham our father learned the Torah.²⁴²See Vol. I, pp. 331-332. The purpose of it was to make them familiar with the commandments and to know if they would accept them with joyfulness and with gladness of heart.²⁴³Deuteronomy 28:47. This was “the trial” of which Scripture says, and there He tried them, and he [Moses] informed them that G-d would further command them the precepts of the Torah. This is the intent of the verse, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Eternal thy G-d… and wilt give ear to His commandments,²⁴⁴Verse 26. It is thus obvious that Ramban understands the word vayomer (and he said) as a reference to Moses, and not, as rendered in some translations, “and He said.” which He will command you [in the future].”
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, when the Israelites began coming into the great and dreadful wilderness… thirsty ground where there was no water,²⁴⁵Deuteronomy 8:15. Moses established customs for them concerning how to regulate their lives and affairs until they come to a land inhabited.²⁴⁶Further, 16:35. — “Moses established customs.” It should be noted that Ramban uses the expression sam lahem which could possibly be a reference to G-d, that “He established customs for them.” But in Rabbeinu Bachya’s commentary quoting Ramban he writes clearly: “In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, statute and ordinance are the customs how to regulate their lives in the desert, for Moses was king in Jeshurun, a leader who chastised his people and commanded them how to regulate their lives in the desert” (Bachya, Vol. II, p. 137 in my edition). On the basis of Bachya’s interpretation I have translated here: “Moses established customs.” A custom is called chok, this being associated with the expressions: Feed me with ‘chuki’ (my customary) bread;²⁴⁷Proverbs 30:8. ‘chukoth’ (the customary ways or laws) of heaven and earth.²⁴⁸Jeremiah 33:25. Custom is also called mishpat (judgment or ordinance) because it is something measured out accurately. A similar usage [of the word mishpat] is found in these verses: So did David, and so hath been ‘mishpato’ (his manner) all the while;²⁴⁹I Samuel 27:11. After the former ‘mishpat’ (manner) when thou wast his butler;²⁵⁰Genesis 40:13. And the palace shall be inhabited upon ‘mishpato’²⁵¹Jeremiah 30:18. i.e., upon its ascertained dimension.
It may mean that Moses instructed them in the ways of the wilderness, namely to be ready to suffer hunger and thirst and to pray to G-d, and not to murmur. He taught them ordinances whereby they should live, to love one another, to follow the counsel of the elders, to be discreet in their tents with respect to women and children, to deal in a peaceful manner with the strangers that come into the camp to sell them various objects. He also imparted moral instructions, i.e., that they should not become like bands of marauders who do all abominable things and have no sense of shame, similar to that which the Torah commanded, When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing.²⁵²Deuteronomy 23:10. In the case of Joshua it is also said. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.²⁵³Joshua 24:25. Here too the expression, [a statute and an ordinance], does not refer to the statutes and ordinances of the Torah, but rather to the customs and ways of civilized society, such as “the conditions which Joshua made [upon entering the Land],” which the Rabbis have mentioned,²⁵⁴Baba Kamma 80 b-81 a: “Ten conditions did Joshua stipulate [with Israel when they came into the Land]: that all people have a right to pasture their cattle in forests [without the interference of the owner of the forest] etc.” The customs established by Joshua were thus the norms of a functioning society. and other such similar regulations. And Scripture says, and there he tried them, in order to inform us that he [Moses] led them by such a road on which there was no water, and he brought them to a place where the waters were bitter in order to test them, even as Scripture says, And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger;²⁵⁵Deuteronomy 8:3. And that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.²⁵⁶Ibid., Verse 16.

ושם נסהו, to find out if they would be willing to accept statutes (laws not given to our intelligence to understand,) as well as social legislation and they would not ignore it when they were not in a state of crisis as now when they needed water through a miracle.אם שמוע תשמע לקול ה' אלוקיך, to accept the statutes which would follow as a way of life, not merely as emergency regulation in the desert, and if from now on they would הישר בעיניו תעשה והאזנת למצותיו, וגו, carefully observe G’d’s commandments endeavouring to live according to their understanding of what is pleasing to Him, then they would be permanently spared any of the afflictions that G’d had brought upon the Egyptians. The implication was that betraying G’d’s trust would have painful consequences. The entire experience is a reminder of the manner in which the Rabbis relate to a potential convert to Judaism. One does not present Judaism in rosy attractive colours so as to encourage him to convert, but on the contrary, one apprises him first and foremost of the עול המצות, “the yoke of the commandments,” telling him of all the things he would have to forego by joining the Jewish people, i.e. the Jewish religion. Moreover, one advises him that whereas up until now he was able to eat certain foods, such as chelev, not only would he no longer be able to eat these foods, but violation of the commandment would carry the penalty of karet, loss of entitlement to his afterlife, etc. Only after he has duly absorbed this information does one proceed with teaching him the intricacies of Judaism. What happened at Marah was preparatory to accepting Judaism at Mount Sinai. If the people had not gone through this process it is doubtful that they would have said נעשה ונשמע, “we will do, now let us learn G’d’s Torah,” when the time came for this a few weeks later.

. ויורהו, a word meaning “He instructed, taught,” similar to Deuteronomy 33,10 יורו משפטיך ליעקב, “they (the Levites) will teach Your laws to Yaakov.”

ויורהו ה' עץ, “Hashem showed him a tree.” Nachmanides writes: seeing that I do not know of a single instance in which the root להורות means something other than “to teach, to instruct,” (as in Proverbs 4,4 and all other examples) I believe that according to the plain meaning of the text the tree the Torah speaks about here would convert bracken water into sweet water upon contact. This was a beneficial property of that kind of wood, a phenomenon found in nature. G’d taught Moses some lesson in botany. According to our sages we are dealing with a miracle, in fact a miracle within a miracle, as the instrument used to perform it was naturally bitter instead of sweet. G’d either told Moses where to find this marvelous tree, or He invented it for the purpose of the miracle.

שם שם לו חוק ומשפט, “there He established for it (the Jewish people) statute and social legislation.” According to the plain meaning of the text Moses (at the instruction of G’d) laid down some ground rules for the Israelites’ conduct while they journeyed in the desert. Moses occupied the de facto position of king, lawgiver. He rebuked the people and told them how to treat their wives and children. He also established rules how to relate to other nations with whom the Israelites could expect to come in contact during their trek to the land of Canaan. They would have to engage in trade relations with surrounding nations.

That they occupy themselves with them: Shabbos, Parah Adumah. . . You might ask: How does Rashi know it was these three sections? The answer is: the Torah speaks of Shabbos right afterward (16:23). [I.e., Shabbos is the first mitzvah to be mentioned afterward.] An alternative answer: In the second set of the Ten Commandments it is written [about Shabbos], “As He commanded you” (Devarim 5:12), and Rashi explains: “As He commanded you. . . in Marah.” Regarding the Parah Adumah, [the answer is]: Here it is written חק , and regarding Parah Adumah it is also written חקת (Bamidbar 19:2). The commentators discuss this at length, as the Mechilta and the Gemara [additionally] mention other mitzvos; see there.

V. 25. Die außerordentliche Gottesnähe in außerordentlichen Momenten hatte die Erlösung aus Mizrajim und der Durchzug durchs Meer für alle Zeiten gelehrt. Dass aber auch für die Bedürfnisse des alltäglichen Lebens in jeder Lage Gott zu vertrauen sei, dass die sogenannten kleinen täglichen Bedürfnisse des Menschen dem Gottesauge und der Gotteshand nicht zu geringe seien, und der gotttreue Mensch mit jedem Atemzuge für sich und die Seinen der stets gegenwärtigen Gotteshuld und Gottesmacht vertrauen dürfe, das sollte sie der nun erst eigentlich angetretene Weg durch die Wüste lehren. War ja von vornherein ein großes Ziel noch vor dem Eintritt in das gelobte Land mit den Worten verkündet: בהוציאך את העם ממצרים תעבדון את האלקי׳ על ההר הזה (oben Kap. 3, 12), sie sollten dort mit Entgegennahme des Gesetzes in den Dienst Gottes treten. Dieses Gesetz, das jeden Augenblick des täglichen Lebens in dem Dienste Gottes verlebt wissen will, bedarf wesentlich dieser Zuversicht in die überall und immer bereite Allgegenwart Gottes und in die Kraft der Erfüllung dieses seines Willens, uns durch die wüsteste Öde des Lebens heiter hindurch zu geleiten und uns das Bitterste, das die Erde bietet, zu versüßen. Das war die in der Wüste zu absolvierende Propädeutik zum göttlichen Gesetze. In Mara war die erste Erfahrung zu schöpfen. Sie hatten in drei Tagen kein Wasser gefunden und das Wasser, das sie endlich fanden, war bitter. Da lehrte Gott Mosche ein Holz, er warf es in das Wasser und das Wasser ward süß: שָם, dort, im Anblick dieser Erfahrung, wie das Bitterste durch das, was uns Gott damit zu verbinden lehrt, süß wird, gab Gott ihnen die Grundlage von Gesetz und Recht und ließ sie Sein Gesetz und Sein Recht als "Heilung" aller physischen כי אני ,und sozialen Übel begreifen, indem er sich damit als ihr "Arzt" ankündigte .כי אני ד׳ רופאך

חק ומשפט, “a law which is a social law,” i.e. the commandment to honor one’s parents.

And God showed him a piece of wood. If God had wished to do this without wood, God would have been able to sweeten the water without wood. But it is God's way to do miracles according to the way of the world -- for the heretics use sweet things in a bitter thing to sweeten it.

ויורהו ה׳ עץ וישלך אל המים, “the Lord taught him about a certain kind of wood, and he tossed it into the water;” although G-d had other means of making the water sweet, without using that kind of wood, G-d wanted to teach Moses some common chemistry, i.e. how to use natural products to sweeten something that only needs sweetening in order to make it drinkable or edible.

ושם נסהו AND THERE HE TRIED THEM (lit., He tried him) — “him” (singular) means the people; and He saw their stubbornness: that they did not consult with Moses in a respectful fashion: “Entreat mercy for us that we may have water to drink” — but that they murmured.

VAYOREIHU HASHEM EITZ’ (AND THE ETERNAL SHOWED HIM A TREE). The meaning thereof is that G-d showed Moses a tree and He told him, “Throw this tree into the waters, and they shall become sweet.” Now due to the fact that I have not found the expression of moreh, [from which the word vayoreihu here is derived], except in the sense of instruction — [e.g., the verse], ‘vayoreini’ and said to me,²⁵⁷Proverbs 4:4. which means “and he [my father] taught me,” and so all other such expressions — it appears by way of the plain meaning of Scripture that this tree had a natural property to sweeten water, this being its uniqueness, and He taught it to Moses. Our Rabbis have said²⁵⁸Mechilta on the verse here. that the tree was [naturally] bitter, but that this was a miracle within a miracle, [i.e., that He healed the bitter waters with something which was bitter], just as the salt which Elisha cast into the waters.²⁵⁹II Kings 2:21. “Now even if you put salt into good water, it immediately spoils. Here, Elisha put a thing that spoils [salt] into the waters that had already been spoiled, in order to perform a miracle, [i.e., to heal the waters], therewith” (Mechilta). Now if so,²⁶⁰I.e., if, as this interpretation has it, the sweetening power of that tree was not a natural property thereof, the question again arises, why does Scripture say vayoreihu which indicates instruction? Ramban proceeds to remove this difficulty. the word ‘vayoreihu’ (and He instructed him) indicates that the tree was not found in that place, and the Holy One, blessed be He, taught him where it was to be found, or perhaps He made it available to him by a miracle. I found further in the Yelamdeinu:²⁶¹Tanchuma, Beshalach 24. For the name Yelamdeinu, see above in Seder Bo, Note 196. “See what is written there: Vayoreihu hashem eitz. It does not say vayar’eihu (and He showed him) but vayoreihu, which means that He taught him His way.” That is to say, He instructed him and taught him the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, i.e., that He sweetens the bitter with the bitter.

כי אני ה' רופאך, the point of all this is that once you have accepted the statutes and then fail to honour your commitment you will be subject to punishment by G’d. These punishments will be in the nature of being self-inflicted as all of G’d’s commandments are designed to make your life on earth and beyond a healthy life. Failure to honour your commitment will expose you to all the negative influences which abound on earth. I have shown you that I can cure harmful waters, waters which humans cannot drink. This is only a sample of what My commandments and observing them can do for you. We, today, do not know what kind of wood or tree G’d told Moses to throw into these waters. The Torah deliberately did not reveal this information. Even if all the trees in the world would be the kind that G’d told Moses to throw into the water, and even if we would throw all this wood into only a minute quantity of water the result would be nil. On the other hand, if, by the grace of G’d, one throws even a minute quantity of such wood into even an entire ocean, the waters of the ocean would suddenly become drinking water. [my addition. Ed.] Leviticus 20,26 states clearly that G’d separates the Jewish people from the surrounding nations. Failure to honour commitments results in “disease,” i.e. the defilement of one’s soul. As a result, such a person deserves his punishment.

שם שם לו חק ומשפט, there, at Marah, as a result of the complaints and the resolution of the crisis, G’d taught the people that it would pay them to accept G’d’s laws, as failure to do so might result in G’d withdrawing His vital support from them. They were to learn that G’d was not only willing but also able to provide all of their needs. This is why the experience is referred to as a נסיון, a trial. G’d Himself spelled out the lesson after having supplied them with water, “to see if they would listen to His instructions and carry out His ordinances.” (verse 26) He added the assurance that if the people would take the lesson to heart, כל המחלה אשר שמתי במצרים, all the diseases which He had brought upon Egypt, commencing with turning the source of life, the waters of the Nile, into blood, G’d would not afflict the Israelites with. We know from Exodus 23,25 that blessing one’s food and water is equivalent to keeping away disease from people. וברך את לחמך ואת מימיך והסירותי מחלה מקרבך.

שם שם לו חוק ומשפט ושם נסהו, “there He established a decree and ordinance for His people, and there He subjected it to a test of faith.” According to Rashi [based on the Talmud Sanhedrin 56.Ed.] the Jewish people were given a partial list of the laws pertaining to the observance of the Sabbath, the commandment to honour father and mother, purification rites by means of the red heifer, and a number of laws governing inter-personal relations. Nachmanides wonders why the Torah would not have spelled out some specifics, introducing them by the time honoured introduction: “G’d said to Moses, ‘say to the Children of Israel, etc.?’” According to the wording in Rashi it appears that Moses taught the people laws that would later on be revealed to them as part of the Torah, and he did it in a manner similar to Avraham, who is reputed to have known all the laws of the Torah. What he did when he taught his converts was to teach them what he knew to be the wishes of G’d in his respect. Neither Avraham nor Moses had at that time been authorized to reveal these laws as already being operative, and in the case of Moses, having done so would have robbed the revelation at Mount Sinai of part of its momentum. The reason why the Torah adds that this was in the nature of a test of their faith, was that G’d/Moses tested the reaction of the people to such laws, and if they welcomed them with joy. According to the plain meaning of the text, upon entering the desert, Moses asked himself by which rules he should lead the Israelites pending their arrival in the promised land, at which time the entire Torah would become applicable. Rules of behaviour are generally known as חק, statute. One example of the use of that word in this context is found in Proverbs 30,8 הטריפני לחם חוקי, “feed me with the bread allotted to me.” משפט, on the other hand, is the term used to describe generally acceptable conduct, as in Samuel I Alternatively, the meaning of the expression ושם נסהו, refers to the all the tribulations which wandering in the desert involved, especially to test if the people were willing to put up with the discomforts and deprivations without complaining. In this context the word משפט would mean that the people would understand and willingly submit to the need to love their neighbours, honour the aged, be modest and undemanding in their general behaviour, and be welcoming to people who came to the camp to offer their wares to the Israelites.

Some commentators say that he taught them details about the vegetation they would encounter in the desert, which plants had therapeutic value, which were poisonous, etc., etc. The word חק applied to phenomena which were known only empirically, whereas the word משפט applies to knowledge of the inner workings and the why and wherefore of the phenomena in question.

They did not consult with Moshe with respectful language. . . Re”m writes: I do not know what forced Rashi to explain that “There He tested them” refers to their complaint. And consequently, it is unrelated to the statutes and ordinances that He set before them. Why did Rashi not explain that it refers to the mitzvos He gave them, to test them if they will accept the mitzvos with joy? And that would fit better with what follows: “If you vigilantly obey. . .” The answer [to Re”m’s objection] is: If “There he tested them” referred to the mitzvos He gave them, it should have simply said: “There He set before them statutes and ordinances, and He tested them.” Why does it say, “And there He tested them”? The word “there” implies it is a new point. Thus Rashi explains that it refers to the people’s complaint.

Es ist ganz evident, dass die "Grundlegung von Gesetz und Recht" an die Versüßung der bittern Wasser durch das von Gott gelehrte Ingredienz anknüpft, und diese Erfahrung den Wert und die Bedeutung des Gottesgesetzes für unser irdisches Dasein veranschaulichen sollte. Dafür bürgt das שם, dort gab Er ihnen die Grundlagen von Gesetz und Recht, und ebenso der Inhalt der Rede, in welcher sich sofort Gott selbst über den Wert seines Gesetzes ausspricht, das Er als die prophylaktische Arznei für alle irdischen Übel erklärt. Daher auch das Wort ר׳ בן יוחאי's: דבר מן התורה הראהו שנאמר ויורהו ד׳ עץ ויראהו אינו אומר אלא ויורהו כענין שנאמר ויורני ויאמר לי וגו׳ nichts, als den klaren wirklichen Inhalt des Vorganges ausspricht.

שם שם לו חק ומשפט, “there He made for them a statute and an ordinance; according to Rashi, one of them was the law of the red heifer, although in practice it could not be practiced until the second year of their wanderings. [There is no earlier source for Rashi’s saying that this law was revealed at Marah. Ed.]

ושם נסהו, the Torah recorded that G’d deliberately led the people into regions which lacked basic survival needs, and when He brought them to a place that had water, the water turned out to be unfit to drink. All this is part of “being tested.” Moses referred to this at the end of forty years, when he said: ויענך וירעיבך, “He subjected you to oppressive conditions and He starved you.” (Deut. 8,3) G’d did so in order that the people should better appreciate how He responded to their complaints, and provided constant comforts for them.

חק: Zunächst Bestimmungen des dem geistig-leiblichen Wesen des Menschen Angemessenen und Nichtangemessenen, Schranken der individuellen Willkür, wie עריות und משפט .מאכלות אסורות: die soziale Ordnung regelnde Gesetze. Wenn nach Raschi darunter פרה ,שבת und דינין verstanden sind, so erkennen wir in פרה die Grundlage aller die sittliche Freiheit bedingenden חקים, da פרה selbst die symbolische Proklamierung des Prinzips der sittlichen Freiheit, der טהרה ist. Statt פרה ist Sanhedrin 56 b. כבוד אב ואם genannt, das in seiner Unterordnung unter den elterlichen Willen die Erziehung zum freien Gehorsam, somit eben zur sittlichen Freiheit begründet. דינין sind ohne weiteres die Grundprinzipien des sozialen Rechts: משפט, und es bliebe nur zu erwägen, in welchem Teile des Textes eine Andeutung des שבת zu finden wäre. Vielleicht liegt dies in dem Worte שם, der Grundlegung selbst. Die Basis der ganzen sittlichen und sozialen Gesetzgebung ist die Anerkennung des מלכות שמים, der Gottesherrschaft, d. i. der Hörigkeit der Welt und des Menschen mit seinen in die Welt eingreifenden Kräften an Gott, die Unterordnung des Menschen unter Gott überhaupt, und dieser Basis aller "Gesetzlichkeit" des Menschen ist die Institution des שבת geweiht. (Über פרה siehe Jeschurun I. 301 ff.)

נסה ,נסהו, verwandt mit נצח ,נצה ,נשה, denen allen der Begriff: jemanden zu einer Leistung auffordern zu Grunde liegt, und ebenso mit נסע, das das Weiterschreiten zu einem andern Standpunkt bedeutet, heißt daher sowohl jemanden oder etwas auf die Probe stellen, prüfen, versuchen, als auch: üben. Ist ja jede Übung nichts anderes, als das Versuchen einer Kraft an der Lösung einer bis dahin noch nicht, oder noch nicht hinlänglich gelösten Aufgabe. So: כי לא נסיתי באלה (Sam. I. 17, 39). In diesem letztern Sinne kann der Ausdruck נסה hier und im ganzen Verlauf der Wanderung durch die Wüste, wie im folgenden Kap. V. 4 u. f. dahin verstanden sein, dass Gott durch die prüfungsvollen Lagen, in welche er Israel gebracht, sein Volk für die Erfüllung seines Gesetzes üben wollte. Und so kann es auch hier verstanden sein. Allein da es hier nach שם שם לו וגו׳ steht, so kann es auch in der gewöhnlichern Bedeutung: erproben, verstanden werden, und zwar so, dass das Volk Subjekt und das Gesetz das Objekt in נסהו ist, nämlich: dort gab ihm Gott die Grundlagen seines Gesetzes und dort erprobte es dasselbe, lernte es, durch die Versüßung der bittern Wasser, die Kraft der treuen Erfüllung des göttlichen Willens kennen.

אם שמע תשמע IF THOU WILL DILIGENTLY HEARKEN — this implies acceptance — that they should take upon themselves the duty of performing God’s commands.

IF ‘SHAMO’A TISHMA’ TO THE VOICE OF THE ETERNAL THY G-D. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that “[shamo’a tishma here] means ‘to understand’²⁶²Now ordinarily, shamo’a tishma would mean “surely listen” or “diligently hearken,” but wherever this expression is followed by the letter lamed — as in this case, [shamo’a tishma l’kol] — or a beth, it means ‘understanding.’ This is why Ibn Ezra explained it here to mean “if you will have a full understanding of His commandments.” the purport of that which He has commanded you to do. And thou wilt do that which is right in His eyes — this implies the positive commandments — and wilt give ear to His commandments — this implies the negative commandments.” [Thus the language of Ibn Ezra.] And in the Mechilta, the Rabbis have said:²⁶³Mechilta on the verse here. “And thou wilt do that which is right in His eyes, this means in business dealings. This teaches us that if a person is honest in his business dealings, and the spirit of his fellow creatures finds pleasure in him, it is accounted to him as though he had fulfilled the entire Torah.”²⁶⁴This is based upon the following phrases, and thou wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes. The sense thereof is thus: “If you will do that which is right in G-d’s eyes, meaning if you will be honest in your business dealings, it will be accounted to you as though you had given ear, etc.” I will further explain this when I come to the verse ‘And thou shalt do that which is upright and good,’ if the good G-d will show me goodness.²⁶⁵See Ramban Deuteronomy 6:18.

אם שמוע תשמעו לקול ה׳ אלוקיך, "if you will carefully listen to the voice of the Lord your G'd, etc." This means that if the Israelites would hearken to the statutes and social legislation Moses introduced in the name of G'd immediately after this experience and they would observe them, they would also merit to listen to His other commandments and hear these commandments directly from G'd's mouth. [the reference is to the impending revelation at Mount Sinai. Ed.] In Deut. 4,33 Moses reminded the Israelites of their experience when he asked rhetorically: "Has any nation ever heard the sound of G'd's voice out of the fire and remained alive as you have done?" According to Sanhedrin 56 G'd gave the Israelites some of the Sabbath legislation as well as the laws of דינים, jurisprudence, while they were at Marah. The words שם ניסהו, "there He tested them," must be understood as a trial preceding the revelation at Mount Sinai. If the Israelites would prove receptive to the laws revealed at Marah there was reason to believe they would accept the entire Torah at Sinai when the time came.

(1) ANY OF THE DISEASES THAT I BROUGHT UPON THE EGYPTIANS. That I turned their waters into blood (Ps. 105:29), and they did not have water to drink.

ויאמר אם שמוע תשמע, “He said: ‘if you will surely listen, etc.” According to Ibn Ezra this formulation means: “if you will endeavour to understand the rationale underlying the legislation, etc.”

And if I do bring it, it will be as if it were not brought — for “I am Hashem, Who heals you.” Rashi is answering the question: If He will not bring sickness, what is the meaning of, “I am Hashem, Who heals you”? Thus Rashi explains, “And if I do bring it. . .” means as follows: “If you vigilantly obey,” then I will not bring sickness. But if you do not obey, then I will bring it upon you. However, “It will be as if it were not brought. . .”

(Exodus 15:26) "And He said: If pay heed, you shall pay heed": From here it was derived: If a man paid heed to one mitzvah, he is caused to pay heed to many mitzvoth, it being written "If pay heed, you shall pay heed." If a man forgot one mitzvah, he is caused to forget many mitzvoth, viz. (Devarim 8:19) "If forget, you shall forget." "to the voice of the L rd": This refers to the Ten Commandments, which were from Mouth to mouth through the medium of "voices." "and you do what is just in His eyes": These are select aggadoth, which are "heard" in the ears of all men. "and you give ear to His mitzvoth" — Mishnayoth. "and you keep all His statutes" — halachoth. "all of the illness which I placed in Egypt I will not place upon you." But if I do place it upon you — "for I am the L rd who heals you." These are the words of R. Yehoshua. R. Elazar Hamodai says: "hear": I might think that this is optional; it is, therefore, written "you shall hear": It is mandatory and not optional. "you shall pay heed": This is the rule which is the underpinning of Torah. "to the voice of the L rd your G d": We are hereby apprised that if one hears (Torah) from the mouth of his teacher, it is accounted to him as if he stood and paid attendance upon Him who lives and endures forever and ever. "and you do what is just in His eyes": This refers to (integrity) in one's dealings (with others). We are hereby apprised that if one deals faithfully (with others), men take pleasure in him, and it is accounted to him as if he fulfilled the entire Torah. "and you give ear to His mitzvoth" — laws. "and you keep all His statutes" — (those pertaining to) illicit relations. "all of the illness which I placed in Egypt I will not place upon you": And what is the intent of "for I am the L rd who heals you"? The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Tell Israel that the words of Torah which I gave to you are healing for you, are life for you. As it is written (Mishlei 4:22) "for they are life to him who finds them", and (Ibid. 3:8) "It is healing to your navel and marrow to your bones." R. Yitzchak says: If they have no illness, why do they need healing? But (the intent is:) "All of the illness which I placed upon Egypt, I will not place upon you" in this world; (and if I do place it upon you, it is as if I have not placed it upon you) "for I am the L rd who heals you" (in the world to come.) Shimon b. Azzai says: (If it is already written ) "heed," why is it (also) written "you shall heed"? I might think that if one wishes to heed, he is caused to heed later; to forget, he is caused to forget later; it is, therefore, written "heed, you shall heed," "forget, you shall forget." How so? If he wishes to heed, he is caused to heed at once; (if he wishes) to forget, he is caused to forget at once. He was wont to say: If a man wishes to heed, of his volition, he is caused to heed (even) against his volition. To forget, of his volition, he is caused to forget (even) against his volition. "Permission (to exercise one's free will) is given" — (Mishlei 3:34) "If (men would be) scoffers, He will (enable them to) scoff; and to (men who would be) humble, He will grant (them the) grace (to be so)." Others say (homiletically, on Exodus 22:25): "If chavol, tachbol" — If you cause (one) injury, you shall suffer (many) injuries.

V. 26. אם שמעה וגו׳ bis תעשה scheint ein zusammengehöriger Satz zu sein. Die Verdoppelung des שמוע תשמע bezeichnet das ausschließliche Hinhören auf die Stimme Gottes, um das zu vernehmen, was in seinen Augen das Gerade, d. h. dasjenige ist, was in einem vorliegenden Falle das Entsprechende, das Rechte ist. Dadurch wird משפט, die von Gott bestimmte soziale Ordnung, bewirkt. Zu "hören", d. h. dir zu sagen oder sagen zu lassen, was in dem vorliegenden Falle zu tun ist, dir ein Urteil über das in gegenwärtigem Falle "Rechte" zu bilden oder zu verschaffen, bist du schon ohnehin durch den Fall veranlasst, und die Forderung ergeht an dich nur, aus Gottes Wort dir das Urteil zu holen. Anders ist es bei מצות, bei den dir von Gott auf deinem von ihm dir angewiesenen "Posten" erteilten Geboten der positiven Förderung des eigenen und des Heiles des Nächsten, der Selbstveredelung, der Nächstenliebe usw. Hinsichtlich ihrer würdest du, ohne Gottes Gebot, in den meisten Fällen gar nicht zu einer den Willen bestimmenden Tätigkeit des geistigen "Ohres" dich angeregt fühlen. Daher heißt es hier: והאזנת: und wirst dein Ohr in Tätigkeit setzen, למצותיו für seine Gebote, zu vernehmen was Er von dir fordert. שימור ,ושמרת כל חקיו: in Beziehung auf die göttlichen Gesetze ist immer ein zweifaches. Dieses Wort legt uns die göttlichen Gesetze als ein anvertrautes Gut in Händen, hinsichtlich dessen wir die Pflicht der Hut haben. Diese Hut ist eine zweifache: die Sorge für die theoretische Kenntnis: "Lernen"; denn ein Gesetz, das dem Bewusstsein der Verpflichteten entrückt ist, ist "verloren". Sodann die Sorge für die praktische Erfüllung: die sich selbst kontrollierende Gewissenhaftigkeit, aus welcher die das Gesetz "schützenden" גזירות und תקנות resultieren. Diese "Hut" wird hier zunächst für חוקים gefordert, die, unsere Sinnlichkeit und Willkür beschränkend, am meisten Gefahr laufen, theoretisch außer acht und praktisch außer Übung zu kommen. In den allermeisten Fällen, wo das göttliche Wort die einzelnen Teile des Gesetzes aufzählt, werden חקים zuerst, vor משפטים genannt. Denn eben die Erziehung und Heiligung der Sinnlichkeit innerhalb der mit den חקים gezogenen Schranken lässt erst Menschen hervorgehen, die den Anforderungen der Gerechtigkeit und der Liebe, wie Gott sie begreift und ausspricht, in ganzem Umfange und ganzer Höhe zu genügen vermögen. So ja auch oben שם לו חק ומשפט. Hier aber stehen משפטים und מצות im Vordergrunde, weil hier auf die in Mizrajim geschaute und erfahrene Entartung gegensätzlich hingeblickt wird und dort eben die soziale Entartung zunächst am Tage lag und Israel insbesondere fühlbar geworden, die in tieferem Grunde jedoch ebenfalls nur aus der individuellen sittlichen Entartung hervorgewuchert war.

כי אני, ה' רופאך, “for I, the Lord, am your physician.” The Torah here speaks of preventive medicine. It tells us that G–d, i.e. His Torah, teaches us how to forestall sickness. Physicians are in the habit of telling their patients what to eat and what not to eat so that that they will not become victims of certain common diseases. This is why the verse commences with the warning to pay heed to what your Physician tells you before you become a victim to these diseases. We are to consider the performance of the Torah’s commandments as preventive medicine. Our author also quotes Isaiah 17,11 as support for his interpretation. The prophet wrote: נד קציר ביום נחלה וכאב אנוש, “on the day that you plant you see it grow.” He also quotes proverbs 4,22, where the author concludes his advice in verse 20 by stating: ולכל בשרו מרפא, “and healing for all his flesh.” (Attributed to Rabbi Joseph Kara). The words: כל המחלה in our verse above is interpreted as having the same meaning as the same word in Samuel II 12,2: ולרש אין כל, “and the poor man does not have anything,” and as in Psalms 78,38: ולא יעיר כל חמתו, “and He did not give full vent to His fury,” i.e. “any of the different kinds of disease I will not inflict upon you.”

ויאמר, “he said;” the subject is Moses. 'אם שמוע תשמע וגו, “if you will surely listen etc.;” Moses quotes what G-d had said to him to tell the people. 'כל המחלה אשר שמתי במצרים וגו, “every disease with which I have afflicted the Egyptians in Egypt, etc.” לקול ה' אלוקיך, the letter ל in the word לקול, has a “crown”. [something exceptional for that letter. Ed]

תעשה AND IF THOU WILT DO — this implies the performance of the commands.

I WILL PUT NONE OF THE DISEASES UPON THEE, WHICH I HAVE PUT UPON THE EGYPTIANS; FOR I AM THE ETERNAL THAT HEALETH THEE. Rashi wrote: “I will put none of the diseases upon thee, and if I do place them [because you will not hearken to My voice], they will be as though they had not been placed, for I am the Eternal that healeth thee. This is the homiletic exposition. But according to the plain meaning of Scripture, the verse is to be understood in the sense of a person who says, ‘I am the physician who warns you not to eat certain things which might bring a man back to his state of disease.’” Thus far the language of Rashi.
But according to the plain meaning of Scripture, rophecha is not an adjective, [or more precisely, a noun-adjective, as Rashi would have it, meaning “Thy physician Who teaches thee how disease should not befall thee.” Instead, the meaning of the verse is “that I am the One Who heals thee.”] Besides, it is not customary that a master should assure his servants that “if you will do all my will and desire, I will not slay you with sore diseases.” None of the Divine assurances of the Torah are expressed in that way! Rather, the verse here constitutes an admonition by which He warned them not to be among those that rebel against Him as the Egyptians had been. By hearkening to His voice, they will be saved from all sickness, since that sickness deservedly comes upon all those who rebel against His will, even as it befell the Egyptians when they did not hearken to Him. This is similar to that which He said that He will put upon thee all the diseases of Egypt which thou wast in dread of, and they shall cleave unto thee.²⁶⁶Deuteronomy 28:60. And He further said, For I am the Eternal that healeth thee. This constitutes a promise “that I will remove from you sickness that comes in the natural course of events, even as I healed the waters [at Marah].”
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that this sign, [i.e., making the bitter waters sweet], which was the first one done for them in the wilderness, was in contrast to the first plague that came upon the Egyptians. The waters of the [Nile] river were sweet and He changed them to be of evil effect, while these waters of Marah were bitter and He healed them. Thus it was shown that G-d does things which are contrary to each other, and therefore you should fear Him and not rebel against Him so that He should not afflict you as He did [afflict] them. You should love Him for He will bestow goodness upon you, even as He healed the waters for you. [Thus far Ibn Ezra’s comment.]
Now on the matter of Scripture making use here of two expressions, saying, “His commandments, His statutes,” and concluding, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, for I am the Eternal, [thus using the third-person and first-person pronouns in the same verse], I have already written you three times²⁶⁷Proverbs 22:20, according to Jonathan ben Uziel’s translation. Ramban uses the expression here in a figurative sense, meaning: “I have already elucidated this matter in other places.” See Vol. I, pp. 260-261. See also further, 24:2. on the explanation thereof. [Here] it can be understood from the word ‘l’kol’ (to the voice) and the word ‘ani’ (I), which convey the thought that if we shall listen to the voice of our G-d to keep G-d’s commandments and His statutes, the Glorious Name will be our healer. It is on the basis [of the verse] that the Sages instituted [the formula of] benedictions [which contain two different pronouns, thus: “Blessed art Thou O Eternal, our G-d, King of the universe,] Who hast sanctified us with His commandments and hast commanded us.” The benedictions contain an expression of acknowledgment of G-d’s Sovereignty, [saying as we do, “our G-d, King of the universe”], and the commandments have been given to us from everlasting even to everlasting.²⁶⁸I Chronicles 16:36. The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand.
And I will enlighten you [on this matter]. All benedictions which contain an expression of His Sovereignty are so formulated that they show respect to the Sovereign of the universe, Who has sanctified us [by His commandments] and Who has done [a certain deed] for us. But where a benediction follows another one, in which case the Sovereignty of G-d is not mentioned,²⁶⁹Such is an established rule in the prayers. The opening benediction starts: Baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu melech ha’olam (Blessed art Thou, O Eternal, King of the universe…), the Sovereignty of G-d thus being acknowledged in the second person, i.e., as the One directly addressed. But the benediction concludes with a reference to that Sovereign in the third person, thus concluding, “Who has sanctified us by His commandments.” The following benedictions do not open with a reference to G-d’s Sovereignty, but instead continue throughout in the second person. For example, in the Grace after the meal, the first benediction begins: “Blessed art Thou, O Eternal our G-d, King of the universe, Who sustains the whole world with His goodness… He giveth food to all flesh….” The second benediction begins: “We thank Thee, O Eternal our G-d, for the goodly and ample land of our desire which Thou gavest….” It should be noted that this rule applies only where a number of benedictions relate to one unit of prayer, such as the Grace after the Meal, or the Morning Sh’ma, the Evening Sh’ma, etc. Where the benedictions consist of short unrelated statements, such as the blessings of thanksgiving with which the Morning Service begins, each benediction contains an expression of G-d as the Sovereign of the universe. it is formulated in the second-person, such as [the benedictions beginning]: “Thou art Mighty,” “Thou art Holy,”²⁷⁰These are the second and third benedictions of the Sh’moneh Esreh [literally: the “Eighteen” Blessings — the central prayer around which the regular daily services are built]. They do not begin with a reference to G-d’s Sovereignty, and therefore are formulated in the second person: “Thou art Mighty;” “Thou art Holy.” It should be noted that in the first benediction of the Sh’moneh Esreh, although there is no reference to G-d as the Sovereign of the universe, the expression “G-d of Abraham” is deemed equivalent to “King of the universe,” since Abraham was the first to acknowledge His Sovereignty over the whole universe. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 361. and so all the others. The prayer of Aleinu l’shabei’ach (“It is for us to praise the Lord of all things,” a prayer which begins the three special sections of the New Year Additional Service], was designated in the third-person [even though it is not preceded by a benediction in which G-d’s Sovereignty is mentioned], because we mention therein, “And we bend the knee and bow low and offer thanks before the Supreme King of kings.”²⁷¹When one stands in His very presence, it is not proper to address prayer to Him in the second person. Hence the Aleinu prayer is designated in the third person. (Ricanti). See my Hebrew commentary, p. 361. Understand this.

(2) I WILL NOT BRING UPON YOU, FOR I THE LORD AM YOUR HEALER. In that I have "healed" the waters, as this expression is written with respect to Elisha, who "healed" the water. (II Kings 2:21)

והישר בעיניו תעשה, “and you will do what is right in His eyes, etc.” A reference to the positive commandments.

It will be healthful to your body. I.e., from here we learn that it is healthful and prevents sickness.

Actually, the Torah alludes to four distinct commandments here, ללמוד וללמד, לשמור ולעשות, to study the law, to teach it, to observe the prohibitions, and to carry out the aspects demanding action. The words: אם שמוע תשמע allude to the duty to study these laws. The repetition implies the demand that one should commit what one has learned to memory. It also suggests that one should grow fond of studying G'd's laws. One should not feel one has already done enough studying. The words: והישר בעיניו תעשה, "you will do what is right in His eyes," refer to the teaching of G'd's laws for free, similar to what we have been told in Nedarim 37 that just as Moses did not charge us for teaching the Torah, so we should not charge others for teaching them the Torah. The word ישר refers to G'd who in His goodness gave the Torah to His creatures expecting His creatures in turn to hand it on for free. The words: והאזנת למצותיו, imply carrying out positive commandments, whereas the words: ושמרת כל חוקיו imply not violating negative commandments.

מחלה ist nicht nur leibliche Krankheit, sondern jede Hemmung des Wohlbefindens, auch des Gemütes, wie: ואין חולה מכם עלי (Sam. I. 22, 8), des Gesamtdaseins, wie: ובל יאמר שכן חליתי (Jes. 33, 24), ואת תחלואיה אשר חלה ד בה (Dewarim 29. 21) insbesondere auch die zum Zwecke der Züchtigung hervorgerufene: הכית אותם ולא חלו (Jirmija 5. 3), הכוני בל חליתי (Prov. 23,. 35). Gott spricht: die Beobachtung meiner Gesetze schützt dich vor erziehenden Leiden, die ich sonst über dich wie über Mizrajim verhängen müsste. Gott lässt Menschen und Staaten nicht ohne Beachtung der מצות ,משפטים und הקים gedeihen, physisch und sozial gehen sie ohne dieselben zu Grunde, und so ist die Beachtung der göttlichen Gesetze die prophylaktische Arznei für alles physische und soziale Leid.

לא אשים עליך, “I will not afflict you with.” G-d implied that the reason He would not do so is that He would otherwise have to trouble Himself to cure the Israelites from these diseases.

והאזנת means THOU WILT INCLINE THE EAR to be punctilious in the practice of the details.

(3) ANY OF THE DISEASES. It refers to [those of] water, as it is written (Ex. 23:25), "He will bless your bread and your water. And I will remove sickness from your midst."

והאזנת למצוויו, “and you will give ear to His commandments;” a reference to the negative command-ments. In the Mechilta the words והישר בעיניו תעשה, are understood as a reference to “your business ethics,” the reason being that anyone who practices fair business ethics will be beloved both by his peers as well as by his G’d. He is perceived as having observed the entire Torah.

אשר שמתי במצרים, "which I put upon the Egyptians, etc." The reason G'd mentioned that He had brought diseases upon the Egyptians, something we are all aware of, is to prevent us from making an error. If G'd had not referred to the past we could have thought that He only promised not to inflict these diseases upon us, whereas if we contracted them without His active intervention we would not be protected against them. G'd reminds us that just as He made sure we were not infected by the diseases with which He struck the Egyptians so we would remain totally immune to any of the germs which caused these diseases in the Egyptians.

כי אני ה' רופאיך, “for I, the Lord, am your physician.” I would have to act as your physician after you had decided to listen to My voice, having been afflicted with such diseases as I struck the Egyptians with. [If understand our author correctly, he means that these diseases would not be considered as “natural,” as the Israelites had learned while in Egypt that they were means of G-d punishing people as opposed to diseases that had not been inflicted upon the Egyptians. Ed.] G-d hints that no physician but He could have turned water into blood and reversed the process.

כל חקיו ALL HIS STATUTES — Matters which are only the decrees of the King (decrees of God imposed by Him, as King, upon us, His subjects) and which appear to have no reason, and at which the evil inclination cavils saying, “What sense is there in prohibiting these? Why should they be prohibited?” — For instance: the prohibition of wearing a mixture of wool and linen, and of eating swine’s flesh, and the law regarding the red heifer, and similar matters (cf. Yoma 67b).

כי אני ה' רופאך, “for I the Lord, am your healer.” According to Rashi the previous lines can be summed up as if a person would introduce himself to his patient as a doctor, and would tell him that as long as he would obey his warnings not to eat certain foods, etc., he would not need to be concerned about contracting certain illnesses. Nachmanides disagrees, saying that this is not the straightforward meaning of these verses at all. The reason why he disagrees is that it is not the nature of a master to assure his servants that if they perform their duties he would not strike them with a fatal disease. There cannot be found a single parallel in the entire Torah which substantiates that this is the type of assurance G’d hands out to His subjects. What our verse does portray is the assurance that if the Jewish people, as opposed to the Egyptians, will hearken to the instructions of G’d, they will not be struck down as had the Egyptians who had maintained a consistently rebellious posture against G’d. G’d confirms this with the words: “for I am the Lord your healer,” making the point that all the diseases which struck the Egyptians were not due to the caprice of natural forces, but to the active intervention of G’d against people who refused to obey His instructions. G’d goes beyond this, promising that in response to the people’s obedience He would even heal those afflictions which would be the result of the caprice of natural forces in the universe. Ibn Ezra writes that the first miracle confirming what G’d had just said was the changing of bitter water to drinkable sweet water, which was the exact reversal of the first of the ten plagues that had changed life-sustaining drinking water to blood. It is G’d’s ability to be effective both by doing one thing and by doing its opposite, which makes Him so unique. This is why you are well advised to always be in awe of Him, not rebel against Him so that He will not quarrel with you. Moreover, you have every reason to love Him, for He will prove benevolent to you, just as He did when He cured the bitter waters.

כי אני ה׳ רפאך, "For I the Lord am your Healer." The Torah here refers to diseases which are not due to Divine intervention such as the common cold contracted due to one's carelessness, etc. (compare Ketuvot 30). G'd undertakes to protect us even against such diseases which are not normally controlled by Him if we live according to His precepts.

לא אשים עליך I WILL NOT PLACE ON THEE — and if I do place them on thee because thou refusest to hearken to My voice, it will be as though they had not been placed on thee, for if thou repentest of thy disobedience I will remove them immediately, כי אני ה׳ רפאך BECAUSE I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE. This is its Midrashic explanation (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:15). But according to its literal sense the meaning is: For I am the Lord who healeth thee and teacheth thee the Law and Commandments in order that thou mayst be saved from them (these diseases) — like a physician who says to a man: Do not eat this thing lest it will bring you into danger from this disease. So, too, it states, (Proverbs 3:8) “It (obedience to God) will be wholesome to thy body” (implying that disease will not fall upon thee) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:15).

שתים עשרה עינת מים TWELVE SPRINGS OF WATER — A number corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel were ready for them (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:27).

AND THERE WERE TWELVE SPRINGS OF WATER, AND THREE SCORE AND TEN PALM TREES. It is not such a significant matter that seventy palm trees are found in a certain place. In the lowlands, a thousand and more palm trees can be found in one location, and springs of abundant water are springing forth in valleys and hills,²⁷²Deuteronomy 8:7. and Scripture does not mention them at all! [Why then are these springs and palm trees singled out here?]
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that Scripture narrates that they came to a good place which was unlike Marah. In Elim, there were many springs, and the waters were sweet and good, since palm trees cannot thrive in soil where the waters are bitter. It is for this reason that Scripture says here and they encamped there, because on account of it, they stayed there for more days than in the other places they passed through. In the section of Eileh Mas’ei,²⁷³Numbers 33:1-49. A detailed listing is given there of all the places through which Israel passed on the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. however, Scripture does not relate anything about Marah, and yet it states, And they journeyed from Marah, and came unto Elim; and in Elim were twelve springs of water, and three score and ten palm trees, and they encamped there,²⁷⁴Ibid., Verse 9. Accordingly Ibn Ezra’s explanation that the springs and palm trees of Elim were mentioned here in order to contrast with Marah, where the waters were bitter, cannot be correct, because there in Eileh Mas’ei, Scripture states nothing about Marah and yet mentions the same about Elim as here. and a description of a place at such length is not found there about any of the places they traversed!
Now Rashi wrote: “Twelve springs of water, a number corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, were ready for them. And seventy palm trees — these corresponded to the seventy elders.” But I do not know the nature of this preparation, i.e., whether it was done for them by a miracle just for that time. I have however, seen here in the Mechilta: “Rabbi Eleazar of Modaim said: ‘On the very day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He created twelve springs corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees corresponding to the seventy elders.’” Scripture thus tells that each tribe encamped beside his spring and the elders sat in their shade praising G-d for them, because He had prepared for them [such a restful place] in a land of drought. Our Rabbis have yet another explanation in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah²⁷⁵Sefer Habahir, 161. Another name for this Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah is Sefer Habahir (Book of the Bright Light). It is one of the oldest books of the Cabala. See I. Weinstock, B’maglei Haniglah V’hanistar, pp. 15-20, on the origin of the names. on this verse, which is wonderful in our eyes.²⁷⁶See my Hebrew commentary, pp. 361-2, for further elucidation on this mystic matter.

שתים עשרה עינות מים, in spite of this, the people moved on from there.

ושם שתים עשרה עינות מים ושבעים תמרים, “and there were 12 wells of water there as well as 70 date palms.” Nachmanides holds that this was not something so special, as there are may oases in the desert where sweet water wells are found, wells that are surrounded by fruit-bearing palm trees. Rashi writes that the number 12 is allegorically significant, as it represents a separate well of water for each of the 12 tribes. The number 70, i.e. seventy palm trees, is a hint at the 70 elders. I do not know whether Rashi meant to imply that the wells, their number, and the palm trees, as well as their number were phenomena that came into being miraculously for that occasion. There is even a commentary on our verse in the Mechilta that both phenomena had been created during the six days of creation and that they had awaited being able to serve a useful purpose until that time. Ibn Ezra is of the opinion that our verse simply tells us that after having encountered an oasis that had first been disappointing, the waters having been bracken, now they found an oasis that offered all the advantages commonly associated with such places in the midst of a desert. When they saw the date palms they knew immediately that the wells provided drinking water, as otherwise the date palms could not have grown there successfully.

Corresponding to the twelve Tribes. Rashi is answering the question: Why does it mention the number?

Then they came to Eilim. This was close to Marah so they should not have needed to camp there. For this reason it is written “they came” rather than “they camped.” In fact, when they first arrived they did not intend to camp but only to avail themselves of the water from the springs. The twelve springs and seventy date palms signified that after receiving statutes and ordinances at Marah they were now to have appointed over them seventy elders and twelve tribal princes. Only after this are they referred to as “the community of the B’nei Yisrael,” for they are only a “community” when led by the elders.

(Exodus 15:27) "And they came to Eilim, and there (they found) twelve springs of water.": We are hereby apprised that it was (specially) favored above all other places. Know this to be so, for there were twelve springs there, which sufficed for (only) seventy palm trees; but when Israel came and sixty ten thousands encamped there, it sufficed for them (for one day) and twice and thrice over. "and they encamped there by the waters": R. Elazar Hamodai says: When the Holy One Blessed be He created His world, He created twelve springs, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Jacob, and seventy date-palms, corresponding to the seventy elders. What is the intent of "and they encamped there by the water"? They preoccupied themselves there with the study of the (sections of the) Torah which had been given to them at Marah.

ויחנו שם, “they encamped there.” The reason why they did so was to devote time to study the laws G-d had taught them, as we read about in verse 25.

ושבעים תמרים AND SEVENTY PALM-TREES — corresponding to the seventy elders (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:27).

Were made available to them. I.e., B’nei Yisrael found them. It does not mean they were created now, for it is written (Koheles 1:9), “There is nothing new under the sun.”