Nurturing Exodus

And when these women would become pregnant, they would come back to their homes, and when the time for them to give birth would arrive they would go and give birth in the field under the apple tree, as it is stated: “Under the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother was in travail with you; there was she in travail and brought you forth” (Song of Songs 8:5). And the Holy One, Blessed be He, would send from the heavens above an angel who would clean and prepare the newborns, just as a midwife prepares the newborn, as it is stated: “And as for your birth, on the day you were born, your navel was not cut nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all” (Ezekiel 16:4). This indicates that there were no midwives to take care of the Jews born in Egypt. And then, the angel would gather for them two round stones from the field and the babies would nurse from that which would flow out of them. One of the stones flowed with oil and one of the stones flowed with honey, as it is stated: “And He would suckle them with honey from a crag and oil from a flinty rock” (Deuteronomy 32:13). And once the Egyptians would notice them, realizing that they were Jewish babies, they would come to kill them. But a miracle would occur for them and they would be absorbed by the earth. And the Egyptians would then bring oxen and would plow upon them, as it is stated: “The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows” (Psalms 129:3). After the Egyptians would leave, the babies would emerge and exit the ground like grass of the field, as it is stated: “I caused you to increase even as the growth of the field” (Ezekiel 16:7).

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And when the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself at the Red Sea, these children recognized Him first, as it is stated: “This is my God, and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2). They recognized Him from the previous time that He revealed Himself to them in their infancy, enabling them to say: “This is my God.”

§ The Sages taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei HaGelili taught: At the time that the Jewish people ascended from the sea they resolved to sing a song of gratitude to God.
And how did they recite this song? If a baby was lying on his mother’s lap or an infant was nursing from his mother’s breasts, once they saw the Divine Presence, the baby straightened his neck and the infant dropped the breast from his mouth, and they recited: “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2).

As it is stated: “Out of the mouths of babies and sucklings You have founded strength” (Psalms 8:3). Rabbi Meir would say: From where is it derived that even fetuses in their mother’s womb recited the song at the sea? As it is stated: “In full assemblies, bless God, the Lord, you that are from the source of Israel” (Psalms 68:27), indicating that even children that are in the “source,” i.e., their mother’s womb, blessed God when they gathered at the sea. The Gemara asks: But the fetuses could not see, so how could they have honestly said: “This is my God and I will glorify him”? Rabbi Tanḥum says: Their mother’s stomach was transformed for them like luminous crystal [aspaklarya], and they saw through it.

(2) "This is my G d and I will extol Him": R. Eliezer says: From where do you say that a maid-servant saw at the Red Sea what was not seen by Ezekiel and the other prophets, of whom it is written (Hoshea 12:11) "And to the prophets I appeared (in various) guises," and (Ezekiel 1:1) "The heavens opened and I saw visions of G d"? An analogy: A king of flesh and blood comes to a province, a circle of guards around him, warriors at his right and at his left, armies before him and behind him — and all asking "Who is the king?" For he is flesh and blood as they are. But when the Holy One was revealed at the sea, there was no need for anyone to ask "Who is the King?" For when they saw Him, they knew Him, and they all opened and said "This is my God, and I will extol Him ("ve'anvehu," lit.: "I will 'host' Him")!"

NEITHER HAD THEY MADE FOR THEMSELVES ANY PROVISION for the journey. This is stated to praise Israel: that they did not say, “How can we go forth into the wilderness without provisions?” But they had faith and set forth. This it is that is referred to more explicitly in the prophets: (Jeremiah 2:1) “I remember for you the affection of your youth, your betrothing love, how you went after me in the wilderness in a land that was not sown”. What reward is afterwards set forth there? “Israel is holy to Hashem.” (Mekhilta).

(6) Or one could say, since "You made them all with wisdom", everything in the world was made with wondrous wisdom. Therefore,when the Holy Blessed One changes the orders of creation, it is as if They nullify Their wisdom, as if such a thing could be. This is like the way a father speaks to his young child. The father's love for his child leads him to contract (metzamtzem) his adult intellect and speak with the child according to his capabilities. Similarly, based on the greatness of Their love, the Blessed One performs for us signs and wonders and changes the orders of creation. This is "peh sach", the conversing mouth [discussed in point 5 above as an idea of Passover], from the language of the verse, (Habakkuk 3:6) "the age-old mountains are shattered ("sachu", double meaning 'to converse')" referring to when they descend from their level.