פרשת בשלח תש"ל - קריעת ים סוף

"And the Lord said to Moses, 'Why do you cry out to Me; tell the Israelites to go forward.'"

מה תצעק אלי, "why are you crying out to Me, etc.?" The word "to Me" is difficult. Who else was Moses supposed to cry out to if not to G'd? We find both in Jonah 2,3 and in Psalms 118,5 that in times of distress one is supposed to cry out to G'd as did both Jonah and David successfully. If G'd meant that Moses indulged in too much prayer that would seem an unjustified criticism as long as Moses' prayer had not yet been answered. Besides, we see from G'd's instructions in verse 16 that Moses was to raise his staff that G'd did answer his prayer. If so, why did G'd ask Moses: "why do you cry out to Me? What is G'd's answer "speak to the children of Israel so that they will move on" supposed to mean? Where were they supposed to move to? The Egyptians were behind them and the sea was in front! If G'd meant that they should move after they would observe the sea split, G'd should first have told Moses to raise his staff and afterwards have given the command that the Israelites were to move into the bed of the sea!

מה תצעק אלי?; G’d’s question seems at first glance redundant, seeing that Moses’ outcry could have been perceived as part of the nation’s outcry in verse 10, i.e. ויצעקו בני ישראל וגו'. However, Moses’ outcry had nothing to do with being afraid of the pursuing Egyptians. He had already predicted the downfall and death of Pharaoh and his army as being so decisive that Egypt as a world power would never again pose a serious threat to the Jews. (verse 13-14) He had also told the people that G’d would do the fighting for them and that all they had to do was to remain silent. Moses’ outcry was one of concern with the rebellious attitude of the people who not only were afraid, something that could be forgiven, but who had dared to be sarcastic in their hour of danger, ridiculing Moses’ leadership to the point where he was afraid that they would refuse to enter the sea when told to. G’d told Moses that he had no right to assume such a thing, that in fact he was suspecting innocent people of lack of faith.

דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, G’d is challenging Moses to issue the order to move forward, assuring him that he will see immediately that the people will respond positively.

עבר לפני העם PASS BEFORE THE PEOPLE and see whether they will stone you! (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 23) Why have you uttered a slander against My children?

"And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it"

R. Simon said, "There is a [relevant] parable about the owner of a branch who was walking outside with the branch in his hand. They said, 'If it were not for the branch in his hand, he would not be honored.' The king heard [this] and said to him, 'Divest yourself of the branch and go outside; and I will have the head of anyone who does not ask of your welfare [to honor you].' So too did the Egyptians say, 'Moses would not have been able to do anything without the rod: He hit the Nile with it; he brought all of the plagues with it.' When the Israelites came into the Sea and the Egyptians were standing behind them, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, 'Cast your rod away, so that they not say, "Were it not for the rod, he would not have been able to split the Sea'"; as it is stated, 'lift up your rod.'"

"And the Israelites went into the sea onto dry ground" - If "into the sea," then why [does it state], "onto dry land?" And if "onto dry land," they why [does it state], "into the sea?" Rather from here you learn that the sea was not split for them until they come into it up to their noses. And [only] afterwards was it made into dry land for them.

"and there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet gave it light by night there; and the one came not near the other"

“And the song went throughout the camp” (I Kings 22:36). Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina says: The fact that the verse states “the song,” and not a song, indicates that it is referring to a song mentioned elsewhere. Accordingly, the verse: “When the wicked perish, there is song,” alludes to this episode: When Ahab ben Omri perished, there was song. The Gemara asks: But is the Holy One, Blessed be He, gladdened by the downfall of the wicked? Isn’t it written in the verse describing the victory of the Jewish people in battle: “He appointed them that should sing unto the Lord, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say: Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (II Chronicles 20:21). And Rabbi Yonatan says: For what reason is it not stated in this praise: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever,” as is stated elsewhere, e.g., Psalms 118:1? This is because the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not gladdened by the downfall of the wicked. The Gemara comments: As Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says that Rabbi Yonatan says: What is the meaning of that which is written in the passage describing the splitting of the Red Sea: “And the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus 14:20)? At that time the ministering angels desired to recite a song before the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: My handiwork, i.e., the Egyptians, are drowning in the sea, and you are reciting a song before Me?

R. Yochanan said, "The angels requested to recite song before the Holy One, blessed be He, the night that Israel crossed the Sea; but the Holy One, blessed be He, did not let them. He said to them, ' My legions are found in distress, and you are reciting song in front of Me?' This is that which is written, 'And the one came not near the other all the night.'"

S.v. And the waters were a wall for them: For the waters congealed, and it is written (15:8), "stood up like a wall of liquid." But after most of Israel passed through, the waters that were a wall for them, melted. And this is [the meaning of] (14:26), "and the waters will return upon Egypt." And they separated between the Egyptians and the dry land...

S.v. And the Children of Israel went: The explanation of mentioning this another time is because Pharaoh was drowning while there were still Israelite people crossing. And this was a wonder within a wonder. For in the place that Israel was crossing the Sea, there was an eastern wind drying [the water]; but in the place where Pharaoh and his army were, God brought a different wind to melt the waters that had congealed and become walls. But behold, the two winds were [both] in the Sea and the two places [within it] were close [to each other]. And the testimony for this understanding is that it is written in the Song [of the Sea] (15:8), "With the wind of Your anger, the waters piled up" – and that is the wind that was with Israel; but it is [also] written (15:10), "You made Your wind blow, the sea covered them" – and that is the one that drowned the Egyptians.

And the Lord drove back the Sea...: It is appropriate that you should know that when God does miracles, He makes efforts to find causes for them, such that they will reduce some of [the miracles'] divergence from nature – as was [discussed] earlier. And we have already explained this in the sixth [section] of the Wars of the Lord. And for the cause here, God found to put a strong easterly wind in the way of the miracle – which would dry up and displace the water to the western side in such a way that a [dry] place would newly reveal itself to them. And the waters of the Sea were on its right and on its left, since that [dry] place was higher. And because of that, it became perfectly revealed, while water remained to its right and its left. And this is what was intended about them when it stated (14:29), "and the waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left" – not that the waters were high to their right and to their left, and that they [no longer] flowed. As if the matter were like that, He would not bring an easterly wind to create this miracle. And nevertheless, the waters were higher on the western side, since the wind displaced them there and would constantly prevent them from flowing. And that is why God brought a strong easterly wind the whole night. And behold, it called the waters, "a wall" – even though they were not high - because they prevented the Egyptians from coming against them from their right or left. And they could only go behind them. And the cloud was [similarly] a wall between them from behind [the Israelites].