מַה־לְּךָ֣ הַ֭יָּם כִּ֣י תָנ֑וּס הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן תִּסֹּ֥ב לְאָחֽוֹר׃
Co ci to morze, że uciekasz? Jordanie, że się cofasz wstecz?
Ramban
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.”
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.”
Midrash BeChiddush
מַה־לְּךָ֣ הַ֭יָּם כִּ֣י תָנ֑וּס “What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled…” (Ps. 114:5) The Sages state in the Midrash, when Moses went to the sea and told it to split its waters so that Israel could pass through, it said, “I don’t want to!” Moses turned to God and said, “The sea doesn’t want to split its waters.” What did the Holy One do? God placed His right hand on the right hand of Moses and showed it to the sea. Immediately upon seeing this, the sea fled before God. Moses then said, “What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled?” The sea answered, “It is not because of you but because of the God of Jacob!” At first glance it might appear that Moses was mocking the sea. Heaven forbid that a person like Moses was speaking harshly to any creature in the world. Further, what other reason is there to say, “Jordan, that you ran backward…”
אמנם: However, it is fitting to note that two holy names (of God) are connected here at the sea. The first is the name of 72 letters which is derived from three verses: וַיַּסַּ֨ע (Ex 14:19) 311“The angel of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them,”, וַיָּבֹ֞א (Ex. 14:22)312“And it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it cast a spell upon the night, so that one could not come near the other all through the night.”, וַיֵּט֩ (Ex. 14:27)313“Moses held out his arm over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state, and the Egyptians fled at its approach. But HaShem hurled the Egyptians into the sea.”. And the second is the name of 42 letters that were inscribed on the staff of God that was in the hand of Moses through whose power he brought the plagues on the Egyptians in Egypt. The mnemonics of the plagues was Detza”kh, Ada”sh Ba’acha”v. In Gematria their small number (Mispar katan) is 42.314Mispar Katan (Heb: מספר קטן) is the value of the letters but without the zeros after large numbers. (ex. "Yud" is 1 instead of 10, "Tav" is 4 instead of 400). The staff was in the right hand of Moses. When Moses told the sea to split and to let the Israelites pass through, it refused, as was mentioned. Moses didn’t want to command the sea as Pinchas ben Yair commanded the River Ginai to split its waters,315BT Hulin 7a out of respect for Israel. Moses wanted the sea to respond honorably and part for them according to the commandment. Then, Moses went to God and said to Him, the water refuses to part. What did the Holy One do? God placed His right hand, which is the name of 72 letters, the name of Hesed (lovingkindness) on the name of 42 letters which was the right hand of Moses, and when the sea saw this it fled before it. Moses wanted to publicize how great the power of these names was, causing the sea to split. Therefore he asked, “What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled.” The sea answered, “It is the God of Jacob אֱל֣וֹהַּ יַעֲקֹֽב.” Eloah אֱל֣וֹהַּ in Gematria is forty two to teach us that the great name of God… For God separates one thing from another just as happened in creation; with his power the waters were separated , half of them above and half below. Similarly when a person does the body and soul are separated and differentiated. God then gives each wings with this name as a means of merit. A sign of this, “Each of them had six wings:” (Is 6:2) Each name is made up of six letters. The psalm says Eloah Ya’akov and not eloah Israel because eloah ya’akov counting the words is seventy two316It is not clear to me what system of Gematria he is using here to reach the number 72. Possibly this is based on the Mispar Siddur in which each letter is given a value from 1 to 22 - eloah Yaakov then comes to 71 place the words if we add one is 72 or 73. See Explanations of Gematria Methods with Charts when combined with the words and it was to save Israel because it represents Hesed. It is found that the two names together are on the right side. Regarding this Scripture states, “Your right hand, HaShem, glorious in power, Your right hand, HaShem, shatters the foe!” (Ex 15:6)
אמנם: However, it is fitting to note that two holy names (of God) are connected here at the sea. The first is the name of 72 letters which is derived from three verses: וַיַּסַּ֨ע (Ex 14:19) 311“The angel of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them,”, וַיָּבֹ֞א (Ex. 14:22)312“And it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it cast a spell upon the night, so that one could not come near the other all through the night.”, וַיֵּט֩ (Ex. 14:27)313“Moses held out his arm over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state, and the Egyptians fled at its approach. But HaShem hurled the Egyptians into the sea.”. And the second is the name of 42 letters that were inscribed on the staff of God that was in the hand of Moses through whose power he brought the plagues on the Egyptians in Egypt. The mnemonics of the plagues was Detza”kh, Ada”sh Ba’acha”v. In Gematria their small number (Mispar katan) is 42.314Mispar Katan (Heb: מספר קטן) is the value of the letters but without the zeros after large numbers. (ex. "Yud" is 1 instead of 10, "Tav" is 4 instead of 400). The staff was in the right hand of Moses. When Moses told the sea to split and to let the Israelites pass through, it refused, as was mentioned. Moses didn’t want to command the sea as Pinchas ben Yair commanded the River Ginai to split its waters,315BT Hulin 7a out of respect for Israel. Moses wanted the sea to respond honorably and part for them according to the commandment. Then, Moses went to God and said to Him, the water refuses to part. What did the Holy One do? God placed His right hand, which is the name of 72 letters, the name of Hesed (lovingkindness) on the name of 42 letters which was the right hand of Moses, and when the sea saw this it fled before it. Moses wanted to publicize how great the power of these names was, causing the sea to split. Therefore he asked, “What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled.” The sea answered, “It is the God of Jacob אֱל֣וֹהַּ יַעֲקֹֽב.” Eloah אֱל֣וֹהַּ in Gematria is forty two to teach us that the great name of God… For God separates one thing from another just as happened in creation; with his power the waters were separated , half of them above and half below. Similarly when a person does the body and soul are separated and differentiated. God then gives each wings with this name as a means of merit. A sign of this, “Each of them had six wings:” (Is 6:2) Each name is made up of six letters. The psalm says Eloah Ya’akov and not eloah Israel because eloah ya’akov counting the words is seventy two316It is not clear to me what system of Gematria he is using here to reach the number 72. Possibly this is based on the Mispar Siddur in which each letter is given a value from 1 to 22 - eloah Yaakov then comes to 71 place the words if we add one is 72 or 73. See Explanations of Gematria Methods with Charts when combined with the words and it was to save Israel because it represents Hesed. It is found that the two names together are on the right side. Regarding this Scripture states, “Your right hand, HaShem, glorious in power, Your right hand, HaShem, shatters the foe!” (Ex 15:6)
Ibn Ezra
"the animals of the earth" - they are in the unsettled wilds [lit. - fields]. The final vav of the word hayto (animals) is added [i.e., extra], like l'may'no mayim Psalm 114:8, b'no b'or Numbers 24:3.