The parashah is discussed in these
rabbinic sources from the era of the
Mishnah and the
Talmud:
Exodus chapter 13 The
Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael interpreted the words "God led them not by the way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was near" in Exodus 13:17 to indicate that God recognized that the way would have been nearer for the Israelites to return to Egypt. A midrash compared the words of Exodus 13:17, "God led the people about," to a merchant who bought a cow for use in his home and not for slaughter. As the merchant's house was near the slaughterhouse, he thought to himself that he had better lead the new cow home by another route, for if he led the cow past the slaughterhouse and it saw the blood there, it might turn tail and flee. Similarly, as the inhabitants of
Gaza,
Ashkelon, and the land of the Philistines were ready to rise against the Israelites on their departure from Egypt, God thought that the Israelites must not see the battle, lest they return to Egypt, as God says in Exodus 13:17, "Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt." So God led them by another route. Rabbi
Jose ben Ḥanina taught that God did not lead the Israelites by the way of the land of the Philistines (as reported in Exodus 13:17) because
Abimelech's grandson was still alive, and God did not want the Israelites to violate Abraham's oath of
Genesis 21:23–24 not to deal falsely with Abimelech, his son, or his grandson. The Rabbis taught in a
baraita that on the days of the 8-day Passover holiday, Jews read the various passages in the Torah relating to Passover. Thus, on the seventh day of Passover, Jews read Exodus 13:17–15:26 and as haftarah
2 Samuel 22:1–51. A midrash employed a fanciful translation of Exodus 13:18 to imagine God's response to the Israelites' complaints in the wilderness. The midrash taught that God asked the Israelites whether when a mortal king went into the wilderness, the king found there the same ease, the same food, or the same drink that he enjoyed in his own palace. The midrash taught that the Israelites, however, were slaves in Egypt, and God brought them out of there and caused them to recline on lordly couches. In support of this, the midrash reread Exodus 13:18, "But God led the people about, (,
vayaseiv) by the way of the wilderness," reading ,
vayaseiv, to mean God caused them "to recline" (using the same root ,
svv) in the manner of kings reclining upon their couches. The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael interpreted the word translated as "armed" (,
chamushim) in Exodus 13:18 to mean that only one out of five (,
chamishah) of the Israelites in Egypt left Egypt; and some say that only one out of 50 did; and others say that only one out of 500 did. The
Jerusalem Talmud explained the same word to imply that the people departed Egypt with some 15 types of weaponry at their disposal. The Mishnah cited Exodus 13:19 for the proposition that Providence treats a person measure for measure as that person treats others. And so because, as Genesis 50:7–9 relates, Joseph had the merit to bury his father
Jacob and none of his brothers were greater than he was, so Joseph merited the greatest of Jews, Moses, to attend to his bones, as reported in Exodus 13:19. And Moses, in turn, was so great that none but God attended him, as Deuteronomy 34:6 reports that God buried Moses. Similarly, the
Tosefta cited Exodus 13:19 for the proposition that as Joseph had the merit of burying Jacob, so it was that only Moses took the trouble to care for Joseph's bones. The Tosefta deduced from this that the rest of the Israelites were occupied with plunder, but Moses occupied himself with performing a commandment. When the Israelites saw Moses caring for Joseph's bones, they concluded that they should let Moses do so, so that Joseph's honor would be greater when his rites were taken care of by great people instead of unimportant people. Citing Exodus 13:19, the Tosefta taught that just as "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him" into the Levites' camp, so one who was impure by reason of corpse contamination—and even a corpse—could enter the Temple Mount. A midrash illustrated a precept to finish what one starts by citing how Moses began performing a commandment by taking the bones of Joseph with him, as Exodus 13:19 reports, but failed to complete the task. Reading Deuteronomy 30:11–14, "For this commandment that I command you this day . . . is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart," a midrash interpreted "heart" and "mouth" to symbolize the beginning and end of fulfilling a precept and thus read Deuteronomy 30:11–14 as an exhortation to complete a good deed once started. Thus Rabbi
Hiyya bar Abba taught that if one begins a precept and does not complete it, the result will be that he will bury his wife and children. The midrash cited as support for this proposition the experience of
Judah, who began a precept and did not complete it. When Joseph came to his brothers and they sought to kill him, as Joseph's brothers said in Genesis 37:20, "Come now therefore, and let us slay him," Judah did not let them, saying in Genesis 37:26, "What profit is it if we slay our brother?" and they listened to him, for he was their leader. And had Judah called for Joseph's brothers to restore Joseph to their father, they would have listened to him then, as well. Thus because Judah began a precept (the good deed toward Joseph) and did not complete it, he buried his wife and two sons, as Genesis 38:12 reports, "Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died," and Genesis 46:12 further reports, "
Er and
Onan died in the land of
Canaan." In another midrash reading "heart" and "mouth" in Deuteronomy 30:11–14 to symbolize the beginning and the end of fulfilling a precept, Rabbi Levi said in the name of Hama bar Hanina that if one begins a precept and does not complete it, and another comes and completes it, it is attributed to the one who has completed it. The midrash illustrated this by citing how Moses began a precept by taking the bones of Joseph with him, as Exodus 13:19 reports, "And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him." But because Moses never brought Joseph's bones into the Land of Israel, the precept is attributed to the Israelites, who buried them, as Joshua 24:32 reports, "And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in
Shechem." Joshua 24:32 does not say, "Which
Moses brought up out of Egypt," but "Which
the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt." And the midrash explained that the reason that they buried Joseph's bones in Shechem could be compared to a case in which some thieves stole a cask of wine, and when the owner discovered them, the owner told them that after they had consumed the wine, they needed to return the cask to its proper place. So when the brothers sold Joseph, it was from Shechem that they sold him, as Genesis 37:13 reports, "And Israel said to Joseph: 'Do not your brothers feed the flock in Shechem?'" God told the brothers that since they had sold Joseph from Shechem, they needed to return Joseph's bones to Shechem. And as the Israelites completed the precept, it is called by their name, demonstrating the force of Deuteronomy 30:11–14, "For this commandment that I command you this day . . . is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart." Rabbi
Jose the Galilean taught that the "certain men who were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day" in Numbers 9:6 were those who bore Joseph's coffin, as implied in Genesis 50:25 and Exodus 13:19. The
Gemara cited their doing so to support the law that one who is engaged on one religious duty is free from any other. The Tosefta read Exodus 13:22, "the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people," to teach that the one who served by day completed the work of the one who served by night, and the one who served by night completed the work of the one who served by day. The Tosefta also taught that God gave the Israelites seven clouds in the wilderness—one on their right, one on their left, one before them, one, behind them, one over their heads, and one among them. And the seventh pillar of cloud went ahead of them and would kill snakes and scorpions; burn off thorns, brambles, and prickly bushes; and level down high places and raise up low places, making for them a straight path, as Numbers 10:33 says, "the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them." The Gemara told that
Rav Joseph's wife used to kindle the Sabbath lights late (just before nightfall). Rav Joseph told her that it was taught in a baraita that the words of Exodus 13:22, "the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not," teach that the pillar of cloud overlapped the pillar of fire, and the pillar of fire overlapped the pillar of cloud. So she thought of lighting the Sabbath lights very early. But an elder told her that one may kindle when one chooses, provided that one does not light too early (as it would not evidently honor the Sabbath) or too late (later than just before nightfall).
Exodus chapter 14 Reading Isaiah 43:12, "I have declared, and I have saved, and I have announced," a midrash taught that God "declared" to Egypt that the Israelites had fled, so that they would hear, pursue after them, and be drowned in the sea, as Exodus 14:5 reports, "And it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled." God "saved," as Exodus 14:30 reports, "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day." And God "announced" to the rest of the world, as Exodus 15:14 says, "The peoples have heard, they tremble." A midrash taught that a slave's master wept when slaves escaped, while the slaves sang when they had thrown off bondage. So the Egyptians wept when the Israelites escaped (as Exodus 14:5 reports). The Israelites, however, chanted a song when they were released from bondage. Reading Exodus 14:6, "And he made ready his chariot," to indicate that Pharaoh prepared his chariot personally, a midrash remarked that surely, he had plenty of slaves who could have done so for him. The midrash concluded that the intensity of Pharaoh's hate thus upset the natural order. A baraita in the Jerusalem Talmud noted that Exodus 14:6, "With three on all of them," reported chariots with three horses, while Genesis 41:43, "And he made him ride in his double chariot," reported chariots with two horses. The baraita deduced that at first, though the time of Joseph, only two horses pulled chariots, but a later Pharaoh made chariots drawn by three horses. And the baraita further reported that the
Roman Empire made chariots drawn by four horses. Rabban
Gamaliel said that the Egyptians pursued after the Israelites as far as the Reed Sea and encamped behind them. The enemy was behind them, and the sea was in front of them. The Israelites saw the Egyptians and became greatly afraid. The Israelites cast away all their Egyptian abominations, repented sincerely, and called upon God, as Exodus 14:10 reports, "And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes." Moses saw the Israelites' anguish and prayed on their behalf. God replied to Moses in Exodus 14:15, "Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward." In a baraita, Rabbi Judah taught that the Israelites tried God with ten trials: two at the sea, two with water, two with the manna, two with the quail, one with the
Golden Calf, and one in the
wilderness of Paran. The Gemara explained that of the two at the sea, one was in Exodus 14:11, when the Israelites said, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this you have done to us, to take us out of Egypt." The Jerusalem Talmud noted that in Exodus 14:13–14, Moses made four responses to the complaining Israelites: "(1) Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which God will work for you today; (2) for the Egyptians you have seen today, you shall never see them again. (3) The Lord will fight for you, and (4) you be quiet." The Jerusalem Talmud taught that at the sea, the Israelites divided into four groups. One group said, "Let us throw ourselves into the sea." A second group said, "Let us go back to Egypt." A third group said, "Let us fight against them." And a fourth group said, "Let us cry out against them." To the group that said, "Let us throw ourselves into the sea," Moses said (in Exodus 14:13), "Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." To the group that said, "Let us go back to Egypt," Moses said (in Exodus 14:13), "the Egyptians you have seen today, you shall never see them again." To the group that said, "Let us fight against them," Moses said (in Exodus 14:14), "The Lord will fight for you." And to the group that said, "Let us cry out against them," Moses said (in Exodus 14:14), "You be quiet."
Rabbi Meir taught that when the Israelites stood by the sea, the tribes competed over who would go into the sea first. The
tribe of Benjamin went first, as Psalm 68:28 says: "There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them (
rodem)," and Rabbi Meir read
rodem, "ruling them," as
rad yam, "descended into the sea." Then the princes of
Judah threw stones at them, as Psalm 68:28 says: "the princes of Judah their council (
rigmatam)," and Rabbi Meir read
rigmatam as "stoned them." For that reason, Benjamin merited hosting the site of God's
Temple, as Deuteronomy 33:12 says: "He dwells between his shoulders."
Rabbi Judah answered Rabbi Meir that in reality, no tribe was willing to be the first to go into the sea. Then
Naḥshon ben Aminadab stepped forward and went into the sea first, praying in the words of Psalm 69:2–16, "Save me O God, for the waters come into my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing . . . . Let not the water overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up." Moses was then praying, so God prompted Moses, in words parallel those of Exodus 14:15, "My beloved ones are drowning in the sea, and you prolong prayer before Me!" Moses asked God, "Lord of the Universe, what is there in my power to do?" God replied in the words of Exodus 14:15–16, "Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward. And lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground." Because of Naḥshon's actions, Judah merited becoming the ruling power in Israel, as Psalm 114:2 says, "Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion," and that happened because, as Psalm 114:3 says, "The sea saw [him], and fled." Similarly, a midrash taught that Naḥshon was called that name because he was the first to plunge into the wave (,
naḥshol) of the sea. And Rabbi
Simeon bar Yochai said that God told Moses that because Naḥshon sanctified God's Name by the sea, he would get to be the first to present his offering in the newly constructed Tabernacle, as reported in Numbers 7:12. Similarly,
Rabbi Akiva said that the Israelites advanced to enter the Reed Sea, but they turned backwards, fearing that the waters would come over them. The tribe of Judah sanctified God's Name and entered the sea first, as Psalm 114:2 says, "Judah became his sanctuary (in order to sanctify God), Israel his dominion." The Egyptians wanted to follow the Israelites, but they turned back, fearing that the waters would return over them. God appeared before them like a man riding on the back of a mare, as it is said in
Song of Songs 1:9, "To a steed in Pharaoh's chariots." Pharaoh's horse saw the mare of God, and it neighed and ran into the sea after it. Rabbi (
Judah the Prince) taught that in Exodus 14:15, God was saying that the Israelites' faith in God was sufficient cause for God to divide the sea for them. For notwithstanding their fear, the Israelites had believed in God and followed Moses that far. Rabbi Akiva taught that for Jacob's sake God divided the sea for Jacob's descendants, for in Genesis 28:14, God told Jacob, "You shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east." Rabbi Eliezer said that on the third day of creation, when God said in Genesis 1:9, "Let the waters be gathered together," the waters of the Reed Sea congealed and were made into twelve valleys (or paths), corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. And they were made into walls of water between each path, and between each path were windows. The Israelites could see one another, and they saw God walking before them, but they did not see the heels of God's feet, as Psalm 77:19 says, "Your way was in the sea, and your paths in the great waters, and your footsteps were not known." Rabbi Eliezer said that a maidservant at the sea saw what Isaiah and Ezekiel and the prophets never saw. The midrash taught that the six days of darkness occurred in Egypt, while the seventh day of darkness was a day of darkness of the sea, as Exodus 14:20 says: "And there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet it gave light by night there." So God sent clouds and darkness and covered the Egyptians with darkness, but gave light to the Israelites, as God had done for them in Egypt. Hence Psalm 27:1 says: "The Lord is my light and my salvation." And the midrash taught that in the
Messianic Age, as well, God will bring darkness to sinners, but light to Israel, as Isaiah 60:2 says: "For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but upon you the Lord will shine." The
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer recounted that Moses cried out to God that the enemy was behind them and the sea in front of them, and asked which way they should go. So God sent the angel
Michael, who became a wall of fire between the Israelites and the Egyptians. The Egyptians wanted to follow the Israelites, but they are unable to come near because of the fire. The angels saw the Israelites' misfortune all the night, but they uttered neither praise nor sanctification, as Exodus 14:20 says, "And the one came not near the other all the night." God told Moses (as Exodus 14:16 reports) to "Stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it." So (as Exodus 14:21 reports) "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea," but the sea refused to be divided. So God looked at the sea, and the waters saw God's Face, and they trembled and quaked, and descended into the depths, as Psalm 77:16 says, "The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid: the depths also trembled." Rabbi Eliezer taught that on the day that God said Genesis 1:9, "Let the waters be gathered together," the waters congealed, and God made them into twelve valleys, corresponding to the twelve tribes, and they were made into walls of water between each path, and the Israelites could see each other, and they saw God, walking before them, but they did not see the heels of God's feet, as Psalm 77:19 says, "Your way was in the sea, and Your paths in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known." Rabbi Hama ben Hanina deduced from Exodus 1:10 that Pharaoh meant: "Come, let us outwit the Savior of Israel." Pharaoh concluded that the Egyptians should afflict the Israelites with water, because as indicated by Isaiah 54:9, God had sworn not to bring another flood to punish the world. The Egyptians failed to note that while God had sworn not to bring another flood on the whole world, God could still bring a flood on only one people. Alternatively, the Egyptians failed to note that they could fall into the waters, as indicated by the words of Exodus 14:27, "the Egyptians fled towards it." This all bore out what Rabbi Eleazar said: In the pot in which they cooked, they were themselves cooked—that is, with the punishment that the Egyptians intended for the Israelites, the Egyptians were themselves punished. from the 1860
Die Bibel in Bildern) Reading the words, "there remained not so much as one of them," in Exodus 14:28, Rabbi Judah taught that not even Pharaoh himself survived, as Exodus 15:4 says, "Pharaoh's chariots and his host has He cast into the sea."
Rabbi Nehemiah, however, said that Pharaoh alone survived, teaching that Exodus 9:16 speaks of Pharaoh when it says, "But in very deed for this cause have I made you to stand." And some taught that later on Pharaoh went down and was drowned, as Exodus 15:19 says, "For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea."
Rabbi Simon said that on the fourth day, the Israelites encamped by the edge of the sea. The Egyptians were floating like skin-bottles upon the surface of the waters, and a north wind cast them opposite the Israelites' camp. The Israelites saw the Egyptians and recognized them, saying that these were officials of Pharaoh's palace, and those were taskmasters. The Israelites recognized every one, as Exodus 14:30 says, "And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." Rabbi Jose the Galilean reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in Exodus 8:15 referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" (translated "the great work") in Exodus 14:31 (in connection with the miracle of the Reed Sea) must refer to 50 plagues upon the Egyptians, and thus to a variety of cruel and strange deaths.
Exodus chapter 15 Rabbis in the Talmud gave differing explanations of how, as Exodus 15:1 reports, the Israelites sang the song of Exodus 15:1–19 along with Moses. Rabbi Akiva taught that Moses sang the entire song, and the Israelites respond after him with the leading word, as where an adult read the
Hallel (Psalms 113–118) for a congregation and they responded after him with the leading word (or some say, with "
Hallelujah"). According to this explanation, Moses sang, "I will sing to the Lord," and the Israelites responded, "I will sing to the Lord"; then Moses sang, "For He has triumphed gloriously," and the Israelites once again responded, "I will sing to the Lord." Rabbi
Eliezer son of Rabbi Jose the Galilean taught that Moses sang the entire song, one verse at a time, and the Israelites respond after him by repeating the entire song, one verse at a time, as where a minor read the Hallel for a congregation and they repeated after the minor all that minor had said. According to this explanation, Moses sang, "I will sing to the Lord," and the Israelites responded, "I will sing to the Lord"; then Moses sang, "For He has triumphed gloriously," and the Israelites responded, "For He has triumphed gloriously." Rabbi Nehemiah taught that Moses sang the opening, the Israelites repeated the opening, and then Moses and the Israelites recited the balance together, as where a schoolteacher recited the
Shema in the Synagogue. The Gemara explained that each of the three interpreted Exodus 15:1: Rabbi Akiva held that the word "saying" in Exodus 15:1 refers to the first clause, "I will sing to the Lord," and that was the Israelites' only response. Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Jose the Galilean held that "saying" refers to every clause of the song. And Rabbi Nehemiah held that "and spoke" indicates that they all sang together, and "saying" indicates that Moses began first. The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael counted 10 songs in the
Tanakh: (1) the one that the Israelites recited at the first Passover in Egypt, as Isaiah 30:29 says, "You shall have a song as in the night when a feast is hallowed"; (2) the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15; (3) the one that the Israelites sang at the well in the wilderness, as Numbers 21:17 reports, "Then sang Israel this song: 'Spring up, O well'"; (4) the one that Moses spoke in his last days, as Deuteronomy 31:30 reports, "Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song"; (5) the one that Joshua recited, as
Joshua 10:12 reports, "Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the
Amorites"; (6) the one that
Deborah and
Barak sang, as
Judges 5:1 reports, "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of
Abinoam"; (7) the one that
David spoke, as 2 Samuel 22:1 reports, "David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul"; (8) the one that
Solomon recited, as Psalm 30:1 reports, "a song at the Dedication of the
House of David"; (9) the one that
Jehoshaphat recited, as
2 Chronicles 20:21 reports: "when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing to 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'"; and (10) the song that will be sung in the time to come, as Isaiah 42:10 says, "Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth," and Psalm 149:1 says, "Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of the saints." Rabbi Meir taught in a baraita that Exodus 15:1 provides a proof of the resurrection of the dead in the Torah. Exodus 15:1 says: "Then Moses and the children of Israel
will sing this song to the Lord." It does not say "sang" but "will sing," indicating that Moses will come back to life and sing the song in the future. Ben Avvai said that everything is judged according to the principle of measure for measure; just as the Egyptians were proud, and cast the male children into the river, so God cast the Egyptians into the sea, as Exodus 15:1 says, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed triumphantly; the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea." (Ben Avvai read the double expression of "triumphing" in Exodus 15:1 to imply that just as the Egyptians triumphed over the Israelites by casting their children into the sea, so God triumphed over the Egyptians by casting them into the sea.) A baraita taught that the words of Exodus 15:2, "This is my God, and I will adorn him," teach that one should adorn oneself before God in the fulfillment of the commandments. Thus, the Gemara taught that in God's honor, one should make a beautiful
sukkah, a beautiful
lulav, a beautiful
shofar, beautiful
tzitzit, and a beautiful Torah Scroll, and write it with fine ink, a fine reed pen, and a skilled penman, and wrap it about with beautiful silks.
Abba Saul interpreted the word for "and I will glorify Him" (, ''v'anveihu'') in Exodus 15:2 to mean "and I will be like Him." Thus, Abba Saul reasoned, we should seek to be like God. Just as God is gracious and compassionate, so should we be gracious and compassionate. Reading the words of Exodus 15:2, "This is my God and I will praise Him, ''my father's God'' and I will exalt Him," Rabbi Jose the Galilean taught that even newborn and suckling children all saw God's Presence (
Shechinah) and praised God. Rabbi Meir said that even fetuses in their mothers' wombs sang the song, as Psalm 68:27 says, "Bless the Lord in the Congregations, even the Lord, from the source of Israel." (And a person's "source" is the womb.) The Gemara asked how fetuses could see the Divine Presence. Rabbi Tanḥum said that the abdomen of pregnant women became transparent, and the fetuses saw. The
Tosefta deduced from Exodus 1:22 that the Egyptians took pride before God only on account of the water of the Nile, and thus God exacted punishment from them only by water when in Exodus 15:4 God cast Pharaoh's chariots and army into the Reed Sea. Abba Hanan interpreted the words of Psalm 89:9, "Who is a mighty one like You, O God?" to teach: Who is like God, mighty in self-restraint, that God heard the blaspheming and insults of the wicked
Titus and kept silent? In the school of Rabbi Ishmael, it was taught that the words of Exodus 15:11, "Who is like You among the gods (,
eilim)?" may be read to mean, "Who is like You among the mute (,
illemim)?" (For in the face of Titus's blasphemy, God remained silent.) A midrash taught that as God created the four cardinal directions, so also did God set about God's throne four angels—Michael,
Gabriel,
Uriel, and
Raphael—with Michael at God's right. The midrash taught that Michael got his name (''Mi-ka'el
, ) as a reward for the way that he praised God in two expressions that Moses employed. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, Moses began to chant, in the words of Exodus 15:11, "Who (mi
, ) is like You, o Lord." And when Moses completed the Torah, he said, in the words of Deuteronomy 33:26, "There is none like God (ka'el
, ), O Jeshurun." The midrash taught that mi
() combined with ka'el
() to form the name Mi ka'el'' (). Reading Exodus 15:11, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that the Israelites said to God that there is none like God among the ministering angels, and therefore all the angels' names contain part of a Name for God (,
Elohim). For example, the names Michael and Gabriel contain the word ,
El. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer noted that Exodus 15:11 does not employ the words "fearful in
praise," but "fearful in
praises." For the ministering angels sing praises on high, and Israel sings praises on earth below. Thus Exodus 15:11 says, "fearful in praises, doing wonders," and Psalm 22:4 says, "You are holy, O You Who inhabit the praises of Israel." A baraita taught that the words, "I will send My terror before you, and will discomfort all the people to whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you," in Exodus 23:27, and the words, "Terror and dread fall upon them," in Exodus 15:16 show that no creature was able to withstand the Israelites as they entered into the
Promised Land in the days of Joshua, and those who stood against them were immediately panic-stricken and lost control of their bowels. And the words, "till Your people pass over, O Lord," in Exodus 15:16 allude to the first advance of the Israelites into the Promised Land in the days of Joshua. And the words, "till the people pass over whom You have gotten," in Exodus 15:16 allude to the second advance of the Israelites into the Promised Land in the days of
Ezra. The baraita thus concluded that the Israelites were worthy that God should perform a miracle on their behalf during the second advance as in the first advance, but that did not happen because the Israelites' sin caused God to withhold the miracle. The Gemara counted Exodus 15:18, "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever," among only three verses in the Torah that indisputably refer to God's Kingship, and thus are suitable for recitation on
Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara also counted Numbers 23:21, "The Lord his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them"; and Deuteronomy 33:5, "And He was King in Jeshurun."
Rabbi Jose also counted as Kingship verses Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is One"; Deuteronomy 4:39, "And you shall know on that day and lay it to your heart that the Lord is God, . . . there is none else"; and Deuteronomy 4:35, "To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God, there is none else beside Him"; but Rabbi Judah said that none of these three is a Kingship verse. (The traditional Rosh Hashanah liturgy follows Rabbi Jose and recites Numbers 23:21, Deuteronomy 33:5, and Exodus 15:18, and then concludes with Deuteronomy 6:4.) The Gemara cited the language of Exodus 15:18, "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever," as a premier example of how Scripture indicates permanence. A baraita taught at the school of Rabbi
Eliezer ben Jacob said that wherever Scripture employs the expression ,
nezach; ,
selah; or , ''va'ed
; the process to which it refers never ceases. The Gemara cited these proofs: Using , nezach
, Isaiah 57:16 says, "For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always (, nezach
) angry." Using , selah
, Psalm 48:9 says, "As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God—God establish it forever. Selah." Using , va'ed
, Exodus 15:18 says, "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever (, l'olam va'ed'')." ) The Sages taught in a baraita in the Babylonian Talmud that seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. The Gemara identified them as
Sarah, Miriam,
Deborah,
Hannah,
Abigail,
Huldah, and
Esther. The Gemara explained that Miriam was a prophetess, as Exodus 15:20 says: "And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand." The Gemara asked why this verse mentions only Aaron and not Moses. Rav Naḥman said that Rav said that she prophesied when she was only Aaron's sister, before Moses was born, saying that her mother was destined to bear a son who would deliver the Jewish people to salvation. When Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light, and her father stood and kissed her on the head and told her that her prophecy had been fulfilled. But when Moses was cast into the river, her father patted her on the head, asking what had become of her prophecy, as it looked as though Moses would soon die. That is why Exodus 2:4 reports: "And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him," for Miriam wanted to know how her prophecy would be fulfilled. Similarly, the
Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, reading the words, "And Miriam the Prophetess," in Exodus 15:20, asked where Miriam had prophesied. The Mekhilta reported that Miriam had told her father that he was destined to have a son who would save Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. Then, after the events of Exodus 2:1–3, Miriam's father reproached her, asking what had become of her prediction. But she still held on to her prophecy, as Exodus 2:4 says, "And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him." For the Mekhilta taught that the expression "standing" suggests the presence the Holy Spirit, as in
Amos 9:1, "I saw the Lord standing beside the altar"; and in 1 Samuel 3:10, "And the Lord came and stood"; and in Deuteronomy 31:14, "Call Joshua and stand . . . ." The Mekhilta taught that the expression: "afar off" in Exodus 2:4 also suggests the presence of the Holy Spirit, as in Jeremiah 31:2, "From afar the Lord appeared to me." The Mekhilta taught that the expression "to know" in Exodus 2:4 also suggests the presence of Holy Spirit, as in Isaiah 11:9, "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord" and in
Habakkuk 12:14, "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." And the Mekhilta taught that the expression, "What would be done to him in Exodus 2:4 also suggested the Holy Spirit, as "doing" suggests the presence of the Holy Spirit in Amos 3:7, "For the Lord will do nothing, but God reveals God's counsel to God's servants the prophets." Rav Judah taught in Rav's name that the words of Deuteronomy 5:12, "Observe the Sabbath day . . . as the Lord your God
commanded you" (in which Moses used the past tense for the word "commanded," indicating that God had commanded the Israelites to observe the Sabbath before the revelation at
Mount Sinai) indicate that God commanded the Israelites to observe the Sabbath when they were at Marah, about which Exodus 15:25 reports, "There He made for them a statute and an ordinance." The Mishnah taught that all Jews have a portion in the world to come, for in Isaiah 60:21, God promises, "Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.' But Rabbi Akiva warned that one who whispered Exodus 15:26 as an incantation over a wound to heal it would have no place in the world to come. The Gemara deduced from Exodus 15:26 that Torah study keeps away painful sufferings. Rabbi
Simeon ben Lakish (Resh Lakish) deduced that painful sufferings keep away from one who studies the Torah from
Job 5:7, which says, "And the sons of ,
reshef, fly upward (,
uf)." He argued that the word ,
uf, refers only to the Torah, as
Proverbs 23:5 says, "Will you close (,
hataif) your eyes to it (the Torah)? It is gone." And ,
reshef, refers only to painful sufferings, as Deuteronomy 32:24 says, "The wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the fiery bolt (,
reshef). Rabbi Joḥanan said to Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish that even school children know that the Torah protects against painful disease. For Exodus 15:26 says, "And He said: 'If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in His eyes, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you that I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord Who heals you." Rather one should say that God visits those who can study the Torah and do not do so with ugly and painful sufferings which stir them up. For Psalm 39:3 says, "I was dumb with silence, I kept silence from the good thing, and my pain was stirred up." "The good thing" refers only to the Torah, as Proverbs 4:2 says, "For I give you good doctrine; forsake not My teaching." The Tosefta taught that those who superstitiously whisper over a wound and say the words of Exodus 15:26, "all of the diseases . . . ," and spit over the wound have no share in the world to come.
Exodus chapter 16 The Gemara asked how one could reconcile Exodus 16:4, which reported that manna fell as "bread from heaven"; with Numbers 11:8, which reported that people "made cakes of it," implying that it required baking; and with Numbers 11:8, which reported that people "ground it in mills," implying that it required grinding. The Gemara concluded that the manna fell in different forms for different classes of people: For the righteous, it fell as bread; for average folk, it fell as cakes that required baking; and for the wicked, it fell as kernels that required grinding. The Gemara asked how one could reconcile Exodus 16:31, which reported that "the taste of it was like wafers made with honey," with Numbers 11:8, which reported that "the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil." Rabbi Jose ben Ḥanina said that the manna tasted differently for different classes of people: It tasted like honey for infants, bread for youths, and oil for the aged. The Mishnah taught that the manna that Exodus 16:14–15 reports came down to the Israelites was among 10 miraculous things that God created on Sabbath eve at twilight on the first Friday at the completion of the creation of the world. Rabbi
Simeon ben Gamliel deduced from Exodus 16:14 that dew has been cursed. For in earlier times, when dew descended on straw and stubble, it whitened it, as Exodus 16:14 says, "And behold, on the face of the wilderness, was something thin, flaky, fine as frost upon the land." But now, dew blackens straw and stubble. A midrash read the words "but some of them left of it until the morning" in Exodus 16:20 to refer to the people who lacked faith. Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish identified them with
Dathan and
Abiram, reasoning that Numbers 16:26 uses the word "men" to refer to Dathan and Abiram, and thus the word "men" in Exodus 16:20 must also refer to them. Reading the words "and it bred worms and rotted" in Exodus 16:20, a midrash asked whether anything exists that first produces worms and then rots (implying that surely, rot precedes worms). Answering in the negative, the midrash taught that God wished to reveal to people the deeds of those who disobeyed and saved the manna, so God caused many worms to breed during that night so that the sinners should not be able to smell the staleness of the manna in the evening and throw it out. The midrash told that Moses became so angry with them that he forgot to tell them to gather two omers for each person on the sixth day. So when they went out and gathered on the sixth day and found a double portion, the princes told Moses, as Exodus 16:22 reports, "And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses." The midrash noted that Moses told them (in Exodus 16:23), "This is that which
the Lord has spoken," not "which
I have spoken," because Moses had forgotten. For this reason, the midrash taught, in Exodus 16:28, God asked, "How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?" including Moses among them (as Moses should not have given vent to his anger, thereby forgetting God's command). Reading the words "
See that the Lord has given you the Sabbath" in Exodus 16:29, a midrash asked why it says "see" when "know" would have been better. The midrash explained that God told them that when nonbelievers would come and question why the Israelites kept the Sabbath on the day that they did, the Israelites could tell the nonbelievers, "
See, the manna does not descend on the Sabbath." The
Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva taught that when God was giving Israel the Torah, God told them that if they accepted the Torah and observed God's commandments, then God would give them for eternity a most precious thing that God possessed—the
World To Come. When Israel asked to see in this world an example of the World To Come, God replied that the Sabbath is an example of the World To Come. A midrash asked to which commandment Deuteronomy 11:22 refers when it says, "For if you shall diligently keep all
this commandment that I command you, to do it, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him, then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves." Rabbi Levi said that "this commandment" refers to the recitation of the
Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9), but the Rabbis said that it refers to the Sabbath, which is equal to all the precepts of the Torah. Tractate
Eruvin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of not walking beyond permitted limits in Exodus 16:29. A baraita taught that
Josiah hid away the jar of
manna referred to in Exodus 16:33, the Ark referred to in Exodus 37:1–5, the anointing oil referred to in Exodus 30:22–33, Aaron's rod with its
almonds and blossoms referred to in Numbers 17:23, and the coffer that the Philistines sent the Israelites as a gift along with the Ark and concerning which the priests said in 1 Samuel 6:8, "And put the jewels of gold, which you returned Him for a guilt offering, in a coffer by the side thereof [of the Ark]; and send it away that it may go." Having observed that Deuteronomy 28:36 predicted, "The Lord will bring you and your king . . . to a nation that you have not known," Josiah ordered the Ark hidden away, as 2 Chronicles 35:3 reports, "And he [Josiah] said to the
Levites who taught all Israel, that were holy to the Lord, 'Put the Holy Ark into the house that Solomon the son of
David, King of Israel, built; there shall no more be a burden upon your shoulders; now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.'" Rabbi Eleazar deduced that Josiah hid the anointing oil and the other objects at the same time as the Ark from the common use of the expressions "there" in Exodus 16:33 with regard to the manna and "there" in Exodus 30:6 with regard to the Ark, "to be kept" in Exodus 16:33 with regard to the manna and "to be kept" in Numbers 17:25 with regard to Aaron's rod, and "generations" in Exodus 16:33 with regard to the manna and "generations" in Exodus 30:31 with regard to the anointing oil.
Exodus chapter 17 The
Avot of Rabbi Natan read the listing of places in Deuteronomy 1:1 to allude to how God tested the Israelites with ten trials in the Wilderness, and they failed them all, including at Exodus 17:3. The Avot of Rabbi Natan interpreted the words "On the plain" in Deuteronomy 1:1 to allude to how they complained about not having water, as Exodus 17:3 reports. In the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, Rabbi Eliezer said that the Israelites at Massah said that if God satisfied their needs, they would serve God, but if not, they would not serve God. Thus, Exodus 17:7 reports their "trying the Lord, saying: 'Is the Lord in our midst or not?'" The Mishnah reported that in synagogues at Purim, Jews read Exodus 17:8–16. A midrash taught that wherever Scripture uses the word "men," Scripture implies righteous people, as in Exodus 17:9, "And Moses said to Joshua: 'Choose us out
men"; in
1 Samuel 17:12, "And the man was an old man (and thus wise) in the days of Saul, coming among
men (who would naturally be like him)"; and in 1 Samuel 1:11, "But will give to Your handmaid seed who are
men." The Mishnah quoted Exodus 17:11, which described how when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed and asked whether Moses' hands really made war or stopped it. Rather, the Mishnah read the verse to teach that as long as the Israelites looked upward and submitted their hearts to God, they would grow stronger, but when they did not, they would fall. The Mishnah taught that the fiery serpent placed on a pole in Numbers 21:8 worked much the same way, by directing the Israelites to look upward to God. ==In medieval Jewish interpretation==