Hagaddah for Shevii Shel Pesah

רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי RABBI Yossei HaGelili says: How can you know
that the Egyptians were struck with ten plagues in Egypt
and another fifty at the sea?
For in Egypt it is said,
“The astrologers said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God,’”
while at the sea it is said,
“When Israel saw the great hand
the LORD raised against the Egyptians,
the people feared the LORD,
and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.”
If a finger struck them with ten plagues,
conclude from this that
THEY WERE STRUCK WITH TEN PLAGUES IN EGYPT
AND WITH FIFTY PLAGUES AT THE SEA.

(1) ה' said to Mohe: (2) Tell Bnei Yisrael to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahirot, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. (3) Pharaoh will say of Bnei Yisrael, “They are astray in the land; the desert has closed in on them.” (4) Then I will strengthen Pharaoh’s heart and he will pursue them, that I may gain glory through Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am ה'. And they did so.

(5) When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his courtiers had a change of heart about the people and said, “What is this we have done, releasing Israel from our service?” (6) He ordered his chariot and took his force with him; (7) he took six hundred of his picked chariots, and the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in all of them. (8) ה' strengthened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he gave chase to the Israelites. As the Israelites were departing defiantly (9) the Egyptians gave chase to them, and all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, his riders, and his warriors overtook them encamped by the sea, near Pi-hahirot, before Baal-zephon.

(10) As Pharaoh drew near, Bnei Yisrael caught sight of the Egyptians advancing upon them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to ה'. (11) And they said to Moshe, “Were there not enough graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the desert? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? (12) Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us be, and we will serve the Egyptians, for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness’?” (13) But Moshe said to the people, “Have no fear! Stand by, and witness the deliverance which ה' will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. (14) ה' will battle for you; you hold your peace!”

(15) Then ה' said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell Bnei Yisrael to go forward. (16) And you lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that Bnei Yisrael may march into the sea on dry ground. (17) And I will stengthen the hearts of the Egyptians so that they go in after them; and I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his warriors, his chariots, and his riders. (18) Let the Egyptians know that I am ה', when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his riders.” (19) The messenger of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them, (20) and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it lit up the night, so that the one could not come near the other all through the night.

(21) Then Moshe held out his arm over the sea and ה' drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, (22) and Bnei Yisrael went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. (23) The Egyptians came in pursuit after them into the sea, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and riders. (24) At the morning watch, ה' looked down upon the Egyptian army from a pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. (25) God locked the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Bnei Yisrael, for ה' is fighting for them against Egypt.”

(26) Then ה' said to Moshe, “Hold out your arm over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians and upon their chariots and upon their riders.” (27) Moshe held out his arm over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state, and the Egyptians fled at its approach. But ה' hurled the Egyptians into the sea. (28) The waters turned back and covered the chariots and the riders—Pharaoh’s entire army that followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. (29) But Bnei Yisrael had marched through the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. (30) Thus ה' delivered Israel that day from the Egyptians. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. (31) And when Israel saw the wondrous power which ה' had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared ה'; they had faith in ה' and in God’s servant Moshe.

Rabbi Yehuda said to Rabbi Meir: That is not how the incident took place. Rather, this tribe said: I am not going into the sea first, and that tribe said: I am not going into the sea first. Then, in jumped the prince of Judah, Nahshon ben Amminadab, and descended into the sea first, accompanied by his entire tribe, as it is stated: “Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit, and Judah is yet wayward toward God [rad im El]” (Hosea 12:1), which is interpreted homiletically as: And Judah descended [rad] with God [im El]. And in this regard, the tradition, i.e., the Writings, explicates Nahshon’s prayer at that moment: “Save me, God; for the waters are come in even unto the soul. I am sunk in deep mire, where there is no standing…let not the water flood overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up” (Psalms 69:2–3, 16). At that time, Moses was prolonging his prayer. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: My beloved ones are drowning in the sea and you prolong your prayer to me? Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, but what can I do? God said to him: “Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward. And you, lift up your rod and stretch out your hand” (Exodus 14:15–16). For this reason, because Nahshon and the tribe of Judah went into the sea first, the tribe of Judah merited to govern Israel, as it is stated: “Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion. The sea saw it and fled” (Psalms 114:2–3). The baraita interprets the verses in this manner: What is the reason that Judah became His sanctuary and Israel came under His dominion? It is because “the sea saw it and fled.”

Another matter, “the waters will return” – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When the last of the Israelites ascended from the sea, the last of the Egyptians descended into it. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: For these and for those, the sea was closing in on them from [all] four directions. Moses said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘What should Israel do?’ He said to him: ‘You need not ask. Why? It is because I will perform a miracle on their behalf.’ At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He extended His hand and took them up from the sea, as it is stated: “He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters” (Psalms 18:17).
Rabbi Abbahu said: This is analogous to one who saw marauders coming against him and his son was with him. What did he do? He took his child in one hand and battled the marauders with the other. His son said to him: ‘Father, may I never be without these two hands, one that holds me and one that kills the marauders.’ So too, Israel said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Let there be peace upon your two hands; one that rescues us from the sea, and one that would toss the Egyptians,’ as it is stated: “Your right hand, Lord, glorious in power, Your right hand, Lord, [shatters the enemy]” (Exodus 15:6). “The sea will return” is not stated, but rather, “the waters will return” – from here [it is derived that] all the waters returned. “Upon the Egyptians” is not stated, but rather, “upon Egypt,” as the Holy One blessed be He took their angel first and drowned him in the sea, and then all of them descended after him. That is why it is stated: “The waters will return upon Egypt,” and then “upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.”

Rabbi Nechunia, son of Haḳḳanah, said: Know thou the power of repentance. Come and see from Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who rebelled most grievously against the Rock, the Most High, as it is said, "Who is the Lord, that I should hearken unto his voice?" (Ex. 5:2). In the same terms of speech in which he sinned, he repented, as it is said "Who is like thee, O Lord, among the mighty?" (Ex. 15:11). The Holy One, blessed be He, delivered him from amongst the dead. Where do we know that he died? Because it is said, "For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten you" (Ex. 9:15). He went and ruled in Nineveh.

And lift thou up thy rod (Exod. 14:16). Ten miracles were performed in their behalf at the sea. The sea was split asunder for them, and became a kind of vault, as it is said: Thou hast struck through with his own rods the heads, etc. (Hab. 3:14). It was divided into twelve paths, as it is said: And stretch out thy hand over the sea and divide it (Exod. 14:16). It was turned into dry land, as it is said: And the children of Israel walked upon dry land the midst of the sea (ibid., v. 29). It was converted into a kind of clay, as is said: Thou hast trodden the sea with thy horses, the mud of mighty waters (Hab. 3:15). The water was made into pieces, as it is said: Thou didst break the sea into pieces by Thy strength (Ps. 74:13). It was changed into rocks, as is said: Thou didst shatter the heads of the sea monsters in the waters (ibid.). It was torn asunder, as it is said: To him who divided the Red Sea asunder (ibid. 136:13). It was piled up into stacks, as it is said: And with the blast of Thy nostrils, the waters were piled up (Exod. 15:8). It was made into a heap, as is said: Stood upright like a heap (ibid.). Barrels of sweet water flowed out of the salt water for them, and the sea congealed and became like a glass vessel, as it is said: The deeps were congealed (ibid.).