When Israel left Egypt (Psalm 114)

Four Questions

What is "Egyptian Hallel"?
Why do we say Psalms 113-118 on special occasions?
What does Psalm 114 mean on its own?
What light does the context of Psalm 114 shed on this psalm?

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אַקְרְיוּן הַלֵּלָא מִצְרָאָה בְּחֶלְמָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: נִיסֵּי מִתְרַחְשִׁי לָךְ.

Rava said to him [a dream interpreter]: The Egyptian hallel, the hallel that celebrates the Exodus, was read to me in a dream. He said to him: Miracles will be performed for you.

רש"י על ברכות נ״ו א:ט״ז:ה׳

הללא מצראה – הלל שאנו קורין בפסח לפי שיש הלל אחר הקרוי הלל הגדול קורין לזה הלל המצרי:

Rashi on Berakhot 56a:16:5

Egyptian Hallel - The Hallel that we recite on Pesach. Since there is another Hallel called "the Great Hallel" (Ps. 136), this one is called "Egyptian Hallel."

פסחים קי״ז א:ז׳

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: שִׁיר שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, מֹשֶׁה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֲמָרוּהוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעָלוּ מִן הַיָּם. וְהַלֵּל זֶה מִי אֲמָרוֹ? נְבִיאִים שֶׁבֵּינֵיהֶן תִּקְּנוּ לָהֶן לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁיְּהוּ אוֹמְרִין אוֹתוֹ עַל כׇּל פֶּרֶק וּפֶרֶק, וְעַל כׇּל צָרָה וְצָרָה שֶׁלֹּא תָּבֹא עֲלֵיהֶן. וְלִכְשֶׁנִּגְאָלִין, אוֹמְרִים אוֹתוֹ עַל גְּאוּלָּתָן.

Pesachim 117a:7

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The song in the Torah, i.e., the Song at the Sea (Exodus 15:1–19), Moses and the Jewish people recited it when they ascended from the sea. The Gemara asks: And who said this hallel mentioned in the mishna, Psalms 113–118? The Gemara answers: The Prophets among them established this hallel for the Jewish people, that they should recite it on every appropriate occasion; and for every trouble, may it not come upon them, they recite the supplications included in hallel. When they are redeemed, they recite it over their redemption, as hallel includes expressions of gratitude for the redemption.

פסחים קי״ח א:י״ד

וְכִי מֵאַחַר דְּאִיכָּא הַלֵּל הַגָּדוֹל, אֲנַן מַאי טַעְמָא אָמְרִינַן הַאי? מִשּׁוּם שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה דְבָרִים הַלָּלוּ: יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, קְרִיעַת יַם סוּף, וּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה, וּתְחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים, וְחֶבְלוֹ שֶׁל מָשִׁיחַ.

Pesachim 118a:14

The Gemara asks: And since there is the great hallel, which contains the special praise of “Who gives food to all flesh” (Psalms 136:25), as explained above, what is the reason that one also recites this hallel of Psalms 113–118, the section recited on every joyous occasion? The Gemara answers: The reason is because the regular hallel contains these five matters: The remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Torah, the resurrection of the dead, and the pangs of the Messiah. Since it mentions these key concepts, this hallel is also considered important.

תהילים קי״ד

בְּצֵ֣את יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם בֵּ֥ית יַ֝עֲקֹ֗ב מֵעַ֥ם לֹעֵֽז׃ הָיְתָ֣ה יְהוּדָ֣ה לְקׇדְשׁ֑וֹ יִ֝שְׂרָאֵ֗ל מַמְשְׁלוֹתָֽיו׃ הַיָּ֣ם רָ֭אָה וַיָּנֹ֑ס הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן יִסֹּ֥ב לְאָחֽוֹר׃ הֶ֭הָרִים רָקְד֣וּ כְאֵילִ֑ים גְּ֝בָע֗וֹת כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן׃ מַה־לְּךָ֣ הַ֭יָּם כִּ֣י תָנ֑וּס הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן תִּסֹּ֥ב לְאָחֽוֹר׃ הֶ֭הָרִים תִּרְקְד֣וּ כְאֵילִ֑ים גְּ֝בָע֗וֹת כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן׃ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י אָ֭דוֹן ח֣וּלִי אָ֑רֶץ מִ֝לִּפְנֵ֗י אֱל֣וֹקַּ יַעֲקֹֽב׃ הַהֹפְכִ֣י הַצּ֣וּר אֲגַם־מָ֑יִם חַ֝לָּמִ֗ישׁ לְמַעְיְנוֹ־מָֽיִם׃

Psalms 114

NJPS Translation

When Israel went forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech, Judah became His holy one,^-a [NJPS note: or 'sanctuary'],
Israel, His dominion. The sea saw them and fled,
Jordan ran backward, mountains skipped like rams,
hills like sheep. What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled,
Jordan, that you ran backward, mountains, that you skipped like rams,
hills, like sheep? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool of water,
the flinty rock into a fountain.

פסחים קי״ח א:ט״ו

יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, דִּכְתִיב: ״בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם״. וּקְרִיעַת יַם סוּף, דִּכְתִיב: ״הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנוֹס״. מַתַּן תּוֹרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״הֶהָרִים רָקְדוּ כְאֵילִים״. תְּחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים, דִּכְתִיב: ״אֶתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵי ה׳״.

Pesachim 118a:15

The Gemara elaborates: The exodus from Egypt, as it is written: “When Israel came forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language” (Psalms 114:1). And the splitting of the Red Sea, as it is written: “The sea saw it and fled; the Jordan turned backward” (Psalms 114:3). The giving of the Torah, as it is written: “The mountains skipped like rams” (Psalms 114:4), which is similar to the description of the giving of the Torah found elsewhere in the books of the Prophets. The resurrection of the dead, as it is written: “I will walk before the Lord in the lands of the living” (Psalms 116:9), which follows the verse: “For you have delivered my soul from death.” After mentioning death, the psalm describes the resurrection in the lands of the living.

רד"ק על תהילים קט״ו:א׳:א׳

לא. יש ספרים שאין זה תחילת המזמור, אמר כמו שעשית חסד עם אבותינו והוצאתם ממצרים כן תעשה עמנו בכל דור ודור ואף על פי שאין אנו ראוים אל תעשה לנו, כי אם לשמך כי גם הם לא היו ראוים לולי כבוד שמך וברית האבות: ואמר לא לנו. שתי פעמים לחזק הענין:

Radak on Psalms 115:1:1

Commentary by Rabbi David Kimchi, Radak (1160–1236) of Provence.

There are manuscripts [of the book of Psalms] in which this verse [115:1] is not the beginning of the psalm. [In other words, those manuscripts join together Psalms 114 and 115.]. [The Psalmist] said that, just as You have performed acts of lovingkindness for our ancestors by taking them out of Egypt, so may you do for us in every generation. Even though we are not worthy, do not do so 'for us' (115:1) but for your Name's sake. For they [the generation of the Exodus] likewise would not have been worthy had it not been for the glory of Your name and [Your] covenant with the Fathers. He says "not for our sake" twice in order to emphasize the point.

Rabbi Menachem Meiri (1249-1315), Perpignan (now part of France; then part of Catalonia), Commentary to Psalms (Psalm 115:1)
לפי הפשט וענינו אמרו על צרת הגלות והתפלל לא-ל שיושיענו מצרינו ויפדנו מבית עבדותנו...
According to the simple contextual meaning, [the Psalmist] addressed [this psalm] to the troubles of Exile and prayed to God that He should save us from our enemies and redeem us from our house of bondage...