Cytowanie Komentarza do Wyjścia 14:23

It says, “When Pharaoh’s horse approached.” Why does Rashi not cite the verse (Shmos 14:23) “כל סוס פרעה (lit. every horse of Pharaoh’s)” which precedes it? The answer is that he does not cite this previous verse because it is written,כל סוס , “every horse,” and כל comes to cite something additional, so that it is as if it had written “each and every horse of Pharaoh.” Therefore he cites the verse “when Pharaoh’s horse approached” which cannot be explained in this manner. It seems to me that this [verse cited by Rashi] is a textual error; Sifrei cites the verse (ibid. 15:1), סוס ורוכבו רמה בים" (horse and its rider He threw into the sea).” (Nachalas Yaakov)

5. “The Egyptians came in pursuit…” (Ex. 14:23) Siftei Kohen¹⁸⁹Possibly Shabbatai ben Meir HaKohen (1621–1662) a noted 17th century talmudist and halakhist. He was known as the Shakh, an abbreviation of his most important work, Siftei Kohen on the Shulchan Aruch. Shabbatai HaKohen - Wikipedia . However this would mean that he was extremely young at the time. Possibly there was another work with a similar name. writes, The Egyptians tried to overcome Israel with all their might but were unable to do so. They were very distressed to see Israel moving slowly along; the Egyptians were running yet they could not overtake them. They tried to cut them off in order to get ahead of them. But they were unable to do so because the water was a wall to their right and left. Therefore, Scripture states, “came in pursuit after them.” (Ex. 14:23) Did we not know all this; yet it comes to teach that the Egyptians were behind them against their own will and desire. There was further trouble (for the Egyptians): The Egyptians recognized their silver and gold that had been in their hands. There is an allusion to this in the words כֹּ֚ל ס֣וּס פַּרְעֹ֔ה “Every horse of Pharaoh;” The abbreviation of these words is kesef כֶּ֣סֶף. In other words, they chased the Israelites for the money that Israel had taken from them. Further, they tripped as they chased the Israelites and fell on their faces. For the sea became a smooth highway for the Israelites, as Scripture states, “He led them through the deep as through a wilderness.” (Ps. 106:9) This was because the sea was higher than the land, “He summons the waters of the sea, And pours them over the land” (Am. 9:6) But it was also deep like an abyss. This was because part was high above them like a tent, as Scripture states, “You have pierced the skull with war,” (Hab 3:14) ¹⁹⁰Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael 14:15:2 Also the abbreviation of, אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם לֶחָרָבָ֑ה “He turned the sea into dry ground,” (Ex. 14:21) is ,אֹ֖הֶל, ohel, tent. There was the water (above them) that was not frozen and beneath the sea, the ground turned hardened and frozen, as Scripture states, “The deeps froze in the heart of the sea.” (Ex. 15:8) It would appear that the Israelites had water at their sides and above them, and beneath them they had a road of ice like a straight pathway. When the Israelites passed over it it broke into pieces but when the Egyptians traveled on it they were injured by the blocks of ice and were broken. As a result there were a number of plagues here: they were running but they couldn’t catch up to the Israelites, they were unable to cut the Israelites off, they saw their wealth as mentioned, they fell while running and they stumbled.

6. “The horses of Pharaoh, with his chariots and horsemen, went into the sea;” (Ex. 14:23) We must say that the Egyptians were not yet in water for afterwards, Scripture states, “Then Moses held out his arm over the sea and HaShem drove back the sea,” (Ex. 14:21) This implies that until that time the waters did not return. If so, it must have appeared to them as if they were drowning in the sea in the way that we shall explain, with God’s help. At first, they knew that they would be walking on dry land just like the Israelites. Then it seemed to everyone that the water had come back and covered the entire Egyptian encampment except for Pharaoh; they thought everyone else had drowned. That is how Scripture reads, “The Egyptians came in pursuit and they came after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen, into the sea.” (Ex. 14:23) “Into the sea,” are superfluous, and should be interpreted according to what is written before. “All of Pharaoh’s horses,” is attached to what is stated before, “They came after them,” that is, after the Israelites. It appeared to Pharaoh that he alone was still pursuing the Israelites, and that the chariots and horses of the Egyptians were (drowning) in the sea. Similarly, to the chariots it appeared that the horses were (drowning) in the sea. So too : רִכְבּ֖וֹ, “His chariot,” appears to be separated from the other details But there is a zakef katon on the word, “Pharaoh,” as if it were attached to, “After them,” as was mentioned and the rest of the verse attached to, “Into the sea.” There is also a tipchah on the word רִכְבּ֖וֹ, “His chariot,” which is a separating cantillation as if it is connected to Pharaoh. The word, “His horse,” also, as has been mentioned.¹⁹¹It is not clear to me how Rabbi Foa is reading this verse - also there does not appear to be a zakef katan or a tipchah in the standard tikkun. However it would appear that he is reading the verse as follows: “The Egyptians came in pursuit, all of Pharaoh’s horsemen, into the sea; his (Pharaoh’s) chariot came after them” based on the grammar. All of the Egyptians were troubled and aggrieved: Pharaoh was grieved because he could not use witchcraft to control the events that happened when they left Egypt, saying, “Where will I carry my shame? (II Sam. 13:13) Behold every chariot driver and horse has died for me, similar to what God said of Sannherib!” Therefore, when he was the only one who was saved from the sea, he could not find it in his heart to return to Egypt because of the shame, and he went to Nineveh instead. His soldiers and chariot drivers were grieving because they heard that Pharaoh had pursued the Israelites and had said to them, “I will pursue, I will overtake.” (Ex. 15:9) “Certainly he saw this with his astrologers.” The soldiers overtook them in the sea,” (Ex. 14:23) thinking, I will overtake them and divide up the booty. They too were grieved when they saw the sons, and brothers, and friends drowned.