Chasidut к Шмот 14:2
דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְיָשֻׁ֗בוּ וְיַחֲנוּ֙ לִפְנֵי֙ פִּ֣י הַחִירֹ֔ת בֵּ֥ין מִגְדֹּ֖ל וּבֵ֣ין הַיָּ֑ם לִפְנֵי֙ בַּ֣עַל צְפֹ֔ן נִכְח֥וֹ תַחֲנ֖וּ עַל־הַיָּֽם׃
'Скажи сынам Израилевым, чтобы они повернули назад и разбили лагерь перед Пи-Хахиротом, между Мигдолом и морем, перед Ваал-Зефоном; против него вы станете у моря.
Kedushat Levi
14,20. “Hashem said: ‘I have forgiven according to your word.’” In his commentary on this verse Rashi amends the word דברך, “your word” (singular), to דבריך “your words.” He does so, in order that we understand that Moses’ “word” which G’d referred to would be understood clearly as the “words” מבלתי יכולת ה', “that G’d had killed His people because he was not able to make good on His promise to dispossess the Canaanites in their favour,” and surely G’d would not wish to create such an impression. At first glance we do not see what Rashi’s commentary added to the understanding of this verse.
I believe that what Rashi had in mind was that the principal concern in Moses’ prayer at this time was to avoid that the Israelites’ sin would result in a public desecration of G’d’s name, i.e. the impression being created that G’d was not omnipotent. Moses specifically pointed to the reaction the destruction of the Jewish people would cause in Egypt, the Egyptians being able to point out that the Israelites had been far better off while they had been slaving for them before their Exodus. Surely this is a very weak argument seeing that G’d is able to mislead human beings in the conclusions they draw when observing certain events.
[There comes to mind an example cited by the Torah itself in Exodus 14,2 when G’d commanded the Israelites to encamp at פי החירות for the express purpose of making the Egyptians think that they had lost their way. Ed.] Seeing that G’d is free to do this, Moses’ argument appears to be very feeble.
We must however remember that the mere words uttered by G’d make an indelible impression. [The author quotes Job 22,28 “You will decree and it will be fulfilled” in support of this. Ed.] It would follow from the above that the mere mention of the possibility of an act by G’d that would result in His name being desecrated worldwide, would undermine a subsequent reversal when the decree is not carried out.
I believe that what Rashi had in mind was that the principal concern in Moses’ prayer at this time was to avoid that the Israelites’ sin would result in a public desecration of G’d’s name, i.e. the impression being created that G’d was not omnipotent. Moses specifically pointed to the reaction the destruction of the Jewish people would cause in Egypt, the Egyptians being able to point out that the Israelites had been far better off while they had been slaving for them before their Exodus. Surely this is a very weak argument seeing that G’d is able to mislead human beings in the conclusions they draw when observing certain events.
[There comes to mind an example cited by the Torah itself in Exodus 14,2 when G’d commanded the Israelites to encamp at פי החירות for the express purpose of making the Egyptians think that they had lost their way. Ed.] Seeing that G’d is free to do this, Moses’ argument appears to be very feeble.
We must however remember that the mere words uttered by G’d make an indelible impression. [The author quotes Job 22,28 “You will decree and it will be fulfilled” in support of this. Ed.] It would follow from the above that the mere mention of the possibility of an act by G’d that would result in His name being desecrated worldwide, would undermine a subsequent reversal when the decree is not carried out.
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Flames of Faith
Baal Tzefon: An Egyptian idol that symbolized a hidden and intransigent opposition to Israel and Judaism (see Exod. 14:2).
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 16:1 “He flung horse and its rider high into the sea.” We need to understand why Moses described the “tossing” of the Egyptian cavalry into the sea by using a word referring to an upward motion of G’d’s arm, instead of simply writing הפיל בים, “He dropped them into the sea.” Besides, seeing that in verse 4 Moses describes Hashem as מרכבות פרעה וחילו ירה בים, “G’d threw (same word as “he shot,”) the chariots of Pharaoh and his army into the sea,” why did Moses choose the word רמה in verse 1? Since the only kind of shooting in those days was the shooting of arrows, it was mandatory that the trajectory first involve the rising of the arrow before it could descend and hit its target, so that there was no reason for Moses not to have used the customary word for “shooting.”
Our sages in the Mishnah Sanhedrin 6,4 describe the platform or the “house,” בית הסקילה, from which the penalty of stoning to death was carried out as being two stories (the height of two average sized persons) high. From that platform the criminal or sinner convicted to death by stoning would be pushed down. The “stoning” would commence after the fall if it had not been fatal. The wording in the Torah is: סקול יסקל או ירה יירה, “he will surely be stoned or shot,” (Exodus 19,13). The word ירה alone therefore might have been misleading.
Another expression which poses a difficulty in our verse is: ומבחר שלישיו טבעו בים, “and the choicest of his officers drowned in the sea.” It would have sufficed to state that “his officers drowned;” that would have included both the junior and the senior officers.
The answer to these questions may be gleaned from the words of the Midrash (Yalkut Reuveni, B’shalach) where the protective angel, שר, of the Egyptians is quoted as having complained that seeing that both the Israelites and the Egyptians had been idol worshippers, why would the Egyptians be singled out for such harsh punishment.
We further need to understand why G’d resorted to the stratagem of encouraging the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites through commanding the Israelites to turn back at Baal Tzefon (Exodus 14,2), after they had already left Egypt and both politically and economically, the Super Power Egypt had suffered a lethal blow. Had G’d not found an excuse that misled the Egyptians to believe that their deity had frightened the Israelites, the entire pursuit of the Israelites and the resultant drowning of the Egyptian army would never have taken place. We must therefore conclude that G’d paid heed to the complaint of the protective angel of the Egyptians, and had to show him that his protégées were totally wicked, having reneged on their not only having released the Israelites but having expelled them. (Exodus 12,33 and 39). The words רמה בים, may be understood as a reference to the illusion that the Egyptians harboured that they might succeed due to favourable astrological constellations at the sea where they had failed on land. Secondly, the word מבחר, instead of being a reference to the choicest of the Egyptian officers, is an allusion to the freedom of choice, בחירה, that G’d gave the Egyptians at that time, i.e. they had brought their death upon themselves by having made the wrong choice in pursuing the Israelites, even after witnessing that the G’d of the Israelites had split the sea for them. After having seen this, even the protective angel of the Egyptians no longer had any complaint against G’d.
Our sages in the Mishnah Sanhedrin 6,4 describe the platform or the “house,” בית הסקילה, from which the penalty of stoning to death was carried out as being two stories (the height of two average sized persons) high. From that platform the criminal or sinner convicted to death by stoning would be pushed down. The “stoning” would commence after the fall if it had not been fatal. The wording in the Torah is: סקול יסקל או ירה יירה, “he will surely be stoned or shot,” (Exodus 19,13). The word ירה alone therefore might have been misleading.
Another expression which poses a difficulty in our verse is: ומבחר שלישיו טבעו בים, “and the choicest of his officers drowned in the sea.” It would have sufficed to state that “his officers drowned;” that would have included both the junior and the senior officers.
The answer to these questions may be gleaned from the words of the Midrash (Yalkut Reuveni, B’shalach) where the protective angel, שר, of the Egyptians is quoted as having complained that seeing that both the Israelites and the Egyptians had been idol worshippers, why would the Egyptians be singled out for such harsh punishment.
We further need to understand why G’d resorted to the stratagem of encouraging the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites through commanding the Israelites to turn back at Baal Tzefon (Exodus 14,2), after they had already left Egypt and both politically and economically, the Super Power Egypt had suffered a lethal blow. Had G’d not found an excuse that misled the Egyptians to believe that their deity had frightened the Israelites, the entire pursuit of the Israelites and the resultant drowning of the Egyptian army would never have taken place. We must therefore conclude that G’d paid heed to the complaint of the protective angel of the Egyptians, and had to show him that his protégées were totally wicked, having reneged on their not only having released the Israelites but having expelled them. (Exodus 12,33 and 39). The words רמה בים, may be understood as a reference to the illusion that the Egyptians harboured that they might succeed due to favourable astrological constellations at the sea where they had failed on land. Secondly, the word מבחר, instead of being a reference to the choicest of the Egyptian officers, is an allusion to the freedom of choice, בחירה, that G’d gave the Egyptians at that time, i.e. they had brought their death upon themselves by having made the wrong choice in pursuing the Israelites, even after witnessing that the G’d of the Israelites had split the sea for them. After having seen this, even the protective angel of the Egyptians no longer had any complaint against G’d.
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