출애굽기 14:6의 미드라쉬

(Deut. 12:29:) When the Lord God has cut off the nations.” A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To a king who planted a vineyard within his field, but within [that field] were great cedars and thorns. The king went and cut down the cedars and left the thorns. His servants said to him, “Our lord king, the thorns which catch our clothes you have left [standing]; but you have cut down the cedars?” He said to them, “If I had left the cedars and cut down the thornbushes, how should I have fenced in my vineyard. So also Israel is the vineyard of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Is. 5:7), “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the House of Israel.” He brought Israel into the land and cut down the cedars that were in it, as stated (in Amos 2:9), “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before you, whose stature was like the cedars in height.” But he left their children and their children's children so that Israel would observe the Torah, as stated (in Jud. 3:1), “Now these are the nations which the Lord left to test Israel,” “whether they are keeping the commandments of the Lord” (Jud. 2:22). So when the vineyard stands in its place in the service of the Torah, then (according to Is. 33:12) “The peoples shall become burnings of lime, thorns cut down that are burned in the fire].” It is also written (in Is. 40:17), “All the nations are as nothing before Him….” And so do you find when Israel left Egypt. Look at what Pharaoh did. “He took six hundred choice chariots…” (Exod. 14:6). Thirty men went out against each and every one of Israel. See how many multitudes³Gk.: ochloi. went out with Pharaoh! When Israel saw them, they were terrified before them. What is written (in Exod. 14:19)? “And the angel of God traveled.” And Israel was saying, “Who can stand against these?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “By your lives, all these are as unimportant before Me as [if they were only] a single man or a single chariot, as stated (in Exod. 15:19), “When the horse (in the singular) of Pharaoh came….” And [so] they all died in a single breath (rt.: nshp), as stated (in Exod. 15:10), “You blew (rt.: nshp) with Your wind, and the sea covered them.” Similarly Gog and Magog are going to come against Israel in the future, and all of them will also all be burnt with one burning, as stated (in Ezek. 38:22), “I will enter into judgment against him with pestilence and with blood […].” At that time (according to Ezek. 38:23), “And I will be magnified, be sanctified, and be made known before the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

When you go out to war and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you (Deuteronomy 20:1): This is what is stated in the verse (Proverbs 21:31), "The horse is readied for the day of battle, but the salvation comes from the Lord." What is [the meaning of] "The horse is ready?" At the time that Israel left Egypt, what is written there? "And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled" (Exodus 14:5). Immediately, "And he tied his chariot, and he took his people with him. And he took six hundred of his picked chariots" (Exodus 14:6-7). Pharaoh stood and dressed all of the horses - and even the common ones - with precious stones and pearls. "And Egypt gave chase to them, etc. all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army" (Exodus 14:9). [This] teaches that not one of them fell ill and not one of them died, and not one of them got tired. Hence it is stated, "all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, etc." "As Pharaoh drew near, the Children of Israel raised their eyes" (Exodus 14:10). At that time, the Children of Israel began to cry out to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated (Exodus 14:10) "and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "O My dove, in the cranny of the rocks, hidden by the cliff" (Song of Songs 2:14). To what was Israel comparable at that time? To a dove that fled from in front of a hawk, and came to [hide] behind a rock, but a snake was within [that space already. If] it sought to exit, behold the hawk is at the opening. So [too] was Israel. The sea was increasingly storming against them, the enemy was giving chase behind them and the [wild] animals [were closing in] from the wilderness, and [so] they were surrounded on four sides. And from where [do we know] that there were animals from the wilderness? Since it is stated (Exodus 14:3), "the wilderness enclosed (sagar) them." And "enclosed" is only an expression [indicating] wild animals, as it is stated (Daniel 6:23), "My God sent His angel, who closed (sagar) the mouths of the lions." What did they do? They lifted their eyes to their Father in the heavens and yelled out, as it is stated, "As Pharaoh drew near, the Children of Israel raised their eyes, etc. and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord." Hence it is written, "O My dove, in the cranny of the rocks."

...And Avraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey (Genesis 22:3). Rabbi Simeon b. Yohai said: Love upsets the natural order, and hate upsets the natural order. Love upsets the natural order: "And Avraham rose early in the morning, etc".: surely he had plenty of slaves? But the reason was that love upset the natural order. Hate upsets the natural order: "And Bilam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey" (Num. 22:21): surely he had plenty of slaves? Hate, however, upsets the natural order. Love upsets the natural order: "And Yosef made ready his chariot, etc." (Gen. 46:29): yet surely Yosef had plenty of slaves? But love upsets the natural order. Hate upsets the natural order: "And he made ready his chariot" (Ex. 14:6); yet surely he had plenty of slaves? Thus hate upsets the natural order. Rabbi Simeon b. Yohai said: Let saddling counteract saddling. Let the saddling done by our father Avraham in order to go and fulfill the will of the One at whose word the world came into existence counteract the saddling done by Bilam in order to go and curse Israel. Let preparing counteract preparing. Let Yosef’s preparing [of his chariot] to meet his father counteract Pharaoh’s preparing to go and pursue Israel. Rabbi Ishmael taught: Let the sword of the hand counteract the sword of the hand. Let the sword taken in the hand of our father Avraham, as it says, "And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son" (Gen. 22:10), come and counteract the sword grasped by Pharaoh’s hand when he said, "I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them" (Ex. 15:9). "And took two of his young men with him, and Itzchak his son." (Gen. 22:3) Rabbi Abbahu said: Two people behaved with derech eretz (decency), Avraham and Saul: Avraham, as it says, "And took two of his young men with him"; Saul, as it says, "And Saul … went, he and two men with him" (I Sam. 28:8). "And he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering," (Gen. 22:3) Rabbi Hiyya b. Rabbi Yosei said in the name of Rabbi Meyasha, and it was also repeated in the name of Rabbi Benaiah: As a reward for the two cleavings with which our father Avraham cleaved the wood of the burnt-offering, he earned that God should cleave [divide] the Sea before his descendants, as it says, And the waters were divided (Ex. 14:21). Said Rabbi Levi: Enough of this! In truth Avraham acted according to his powers an the Holy One of Blessing according to His powers. "And he rose up, and went to the place." (Gen. 22:3) Avraham was rewarded for rising up and for going.