Komentarz do Wyjścia 15:1

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.”

(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."