Chumashחומש

מה תצעק אלי. לִמְּדָנוּ שֶׁהָיָה מֹשֶׁה עוֹמֵד וּמִתְפַּלֵּל, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה, לֹא עֵת עַתָּה לְהַאֲרִיךְ בִּתְפִלָּה, שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל נְתוּנִין בְּצָרָה (מכילתא). דָּ"אַ – מַה תִּצְעַק אֵלָי, עָלַי הַדָּבָר תָּלוּי וְלֹא עָלֶיךָ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לְהַלָּן "עַל בָּנַי וְעַל פֹּעַל יָדַי תְּצַוֻּנִי" (ישעיהו מ"ה):

מה תצעק אלי WHEREFORE CRIEST THOU UNTO ME? — there is no mention that he prayed to God concerning this, but this teaches us that Moses stood in prayer. Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “It is no time now to pray at length, when Israel is placed in trouble”. Another explanation of מה תצעק אלי (taking it in the sense of “Wherefore criest thou? אלי it is to Me — concerns Me”) — upon Me rests this matter and not upon thee. The idea contained in this explanation is similar to what is expressed elsewhere: (Isaiah 45:11) “Concerning My sons and concerning the work of My hands will ye command Me?” (Mekhilta)

דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו. אֵין לָהֶם אֶלָּא לִסַּע, שֶׁאֵין הַיָּם עוֹמֵד בִּפְנֵיהֶם, כְּדַאי הוּא זְכוּת אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם וְהָאֱמוּנָה שֶׁהֶאֱמִינוּ בִי וְיָצְאוּ, לִקְרֹעַ לָהֶם הַיָּם (מכילתא):

דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT THEY JOURNEY ONWARDS — There is nothing for them to do but to journey on, for the sea will not stand in their way: their ancestors’ merits and their own, and the faith that they placed in Me so that they left Egypt will suffice to divide the sea for them (cf. Mekhilta; Shemot Rabbah 21:8).

וילך מאחריהם. לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַחֲנֵה מִצְרַיִם וּבֵין מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וּלְקַבֵּל חִצִּים וּבָלִיסְטְרָאוֹת שֶׁל מִצְרַיִם. בְּכָל מָקוֹם הוּא אוֹמֵר מַלְאַךְ ה' וְכָאן מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים, אֵין אֱלֹהִים בְּכָל מָקוֹם אֶלָּא דַּיָּן, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל נְתוּנִין בַּדִּין בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה אִם לְהִנָּצֵל אִם לְהֵאָבֵד עִם מִצְרַיִם (שם):

וילך מאחריהם AND WENT BEHIND THEM to divide the camp of Egypt from the camp of Israel and to receive the arrows and the missiles of the Egyptians. Everywhere it says “The Angel of the Lord (ה׳)” whilst here we have The Angel of God (אלהים).”! The name אלהים really denotes, wherever it occurs, “Judge” (lit., “judgment”). Therefore the use of this term here teaches us that Israel was, at that moment, arraigned in judgment, whether to be saved or to be destroyed together with Egypt (Mekhilta).

ויסע עמוד הענן. כְּשֶׁחָשְׁכָה וְהִשְׁלִים עַמּוּד הֶעָנָן אֶת הַמַּחֲנֶה לְעַמּוּד הָאֵשׁ, לֹא נִסְתַּלֵּק הֶעָנָן כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיָה רָגִיל לְהִסְתַּלֵּק עַרְבִית לְגַמְרִי, אֶלָּא נָסַע וְהָלַךְ לוֹ מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם לְהַחֲשִׁיךְ לְמִצְרַיִם:

ויסע עמוד הענן AND THE PILLAR OF CLOUD WENT [FROM BEFORE THEM] — When it became dark and the pillar of cloud handed over the camp to the pillar of fire, the cloud did not go away as it was accustomed to go away altogether in the evening, but it went and betook itself behind them to make it dark for the Egyptians.

ויבא בין מחנה מצרים. מָשָׁל לִמְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וּבְנוֹ מְהַלֵּךְ לְפָנָיו, בָּאוּ לִסְטִים לִשְׁבּוֹתוֹ, נְטָלוֹ מִלְּפָנָיו וּנְתָנוֹ לְאַחֲרָיו, בָּא זְאֵב מֵאַחֲרָיו, נְתָנוֹ לְפָנָיו, בָּאוּ לִסְטִים לְפָנָיו וּזְאֵבִים מֵאַחֲרָיו, נְתָנוֹ עַל זְרוֹעוֹ וְנִלְחַם בָּהֶם, כָּךְ "וְאָנֹכִי תִרְגַּלְתִּי לְאֶפְרַיִם קָחָם עַל זְרוֹעֹתָיו" (הושע י"א) (מכילתא):

ויבא בין מחנה מצרים AND IT CAME BETWEEN THE CAMP OF EGYPT — A parable: it may be compared to one who is proceeding on a journey, his son walking in front of him. If, now, brigands come to capture him (the son), he takes him away from in front of him and places him behind himself. If a wolf then comes behind him he places him again in front. If brigands come in front of him and wolves behind him, he places him on his arm and fights against them. Thus did God do for Israel, as it says, (Hosea 11:3) “I led Ephraim — He took them upon His arms” (Mekhilta).

ויהי הענן והחשך. לְמִצְרַיִם:

ויהי הענן והחשך AND THERE WAS CLOUD AND DARKNESS to the Egyptians.

ויאר עַמּוּד הָאֵשׁ את הלילה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְהוֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם כְּדַרְכּוֹ לָלֶכֶת כָּל הַלַּיְלָה וְהַחֹשֶׁךְ שֶׁל עֲרָפֶל לְצַד מִצְרַיִם:

ויאר AND IT — the pillar of fire — ILLUMINATED the night for the Israelites, and went before them as was its way to go every night, whilst the darkness of the cloud was turned towards the Egyptians.

ולא קרב זה אל זה. מַחֲנֶה אֶל מַחֲנֶה (שם):

ולא קרב זה אל זה SO THAT ONE APPROACHED NOT ANOTHER — [This does not mean that one person did not approach another but]: this camp did not approach that camp (Mekhilta).

ברוח קדים עזה. בְּרוּחַ קָדִים שֶׁהִיא עַזָּה שֶׁבָּרוּחוֹת, הִיא הָרוּחַ שֶׁהַקָּבָּ"ה נִפְרָע בָּהּ מִן הָרְשָׁעִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, "כְּרוּחַ קָדִים אֲפִיצֵם" (ירמיה י"ח), "יָבוֹא קָדִים רוּחַ ה'" (הושע י"ג), "רוּחַ הַקָּדִים שְׁבָרֵךְ בְּלֵב יַמִּים" (יחזקאל כ"ז), "הָגָה בְּרוּחוֹ הַקָּשָׁה בְּיוֹם קָדִים" (ישעיה כ"ז):

ברוח קדים עזה BY A POWERFUL EAST WIND — i. e. by the east wind which is the most powerful of the winds. This is the wind by which the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts punishment from the wicked, as it is said, (Jeremiah 18:17) “I will scatter them as with an east wind”; (Hosea 13:15) “An east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord”; (Ezekiel 27:26) “The east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the sea”; (Isaiah 27:8) “He hath removed her with His rough blast in the day of the east wind” (cf. Mekhilta).

ויבקעו המים. כָּל מַיִם שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם:

ויבקעו המים AND THE WATERS WERE DIVIDED — all the waters in the world (Mekhilta).

כל סוס פרעה. וְכִי סוּס אֶחָד הָיָה? מַגִּיד שֶׁאֵין כֻּלָּם חֲשׁוּבִין לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם אֶלָּא כְּסוּס אֶחָד (מכילתא):

כל סוס פרעה (The word סוס is singular) — But was there only one horse? But the use of the singular teaches us that they were all accounted before the Omnipresent as only one horse (cf. Mekhilta).

באשמרת הבקר. שְׁלֹשֶׁת חֶלְקֵי הַלַּיְלָה קְרוּיִין אַשְׁמוּרָה, וְאוֹתָהּ שֶׁלִּפְנֵי הַבֹּקֶר קוֹרֵא אַשְׁמֹרֶת הַבֹּקֶר. וְאוֹמֵר אֲנִי, לְפִי שֶׁהַלַּיְלָה חָלוּק לְמִשְׁמְרוֹת שִׁיר שֶׁל מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, כַּת אַחַר כַּת, לִשְׁלֹשָׁה חֲלָקִים, לְכָךְ קָרוּי אַשְׁמֹרֶת, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁתִּרְגֵּם אֻנְקְלוֹס "מַטְּרַת":

באשמרת הבקר IN THE MORNING WATCH — The three divisions of the night are each called an אשמורה “a watch” (Berakhot 3b), and that which immediately precedes the morning is called “the morning watch”. I am of opinion that because the night is divided for the watches (משמרות) of the song of the ministering angels — company after company — into three divisions, therefore each division of the night is termed, for all purposes, an אשמרת (another form of משמר the angel’s watch), and this is what Onkelos has in mind when he translates אשמרת by מטרת.

וישקף. וַיַּבֵּט, כְּלוֹמַר פָּנָה אֲלֵיהֶם לְהַשְׁחִיתָם. וְתַרְגּוּמוֹ "וְאִסְתְּכִי" אַף הוּא לְשׁוֹן הַבָּטָה, כְּמוֹ "שְׂדֵה צוֹפִים", (במדבר כ"ג) – חֲקַל סָכוּתָא:

‎ וישקף means HE LOOKED, as much as to say, He turned towards them to destroy them (cf. Rashi on Genesis 18:16), and its rendering in the Targum, ואסתכי, is also an expression denoting looking, just as he translates (Numbers 23:14), “the field of the watchers (צפים)” by “the field of ,סכותא” which denotes “looking”.

בעמוד אש וענן. עַמּוּד עָנָן יוֹרֵד וְעוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ כְּטִיט וְעַמּוּד אֵשׁ מַרְתִּיחוֹ, וְטַלְפֵי סוּסֵיהֶם מִשְׁתַּמְּטוֹת (מכילתא):

בעמוד אש וענן THROUGH THE PILLAR OF FIRE AND CLOUD — viz., the pillar of cloud descended and made it (the bed of the sea) like clay, and the pillar of fire made it boiling hot so that the horses’ hoofs fell off (Mekhilta).

ויהם. לְשׁוֹן מְהוּמָה, אשדורד"ישון בְּלַעַז, עִרְבְּבָם, נָטַל סִגְנִיּוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶם. וְשָׁנִינוּ בְּפִרְקֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בְּנוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי: כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ מְהוּמָה הַרְעָמַת קוֹל הוּא, וְזֶה אָב לְכֻלָּן "וַיַּרְעֵם ה' בְּקוֹל גָּדוֹל וְגוֹ' עַל פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיְהֻמֵּם" (שמואל א ז'):

ויהם has the meaning of confusion. old French estordison. He cast them into confusion; He took away their ensigns. And we read in the Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi José, the Galilean: Wherever it speaks of מהומה (forms from the root המם) it signifies a thundering sound; and the following passage is the father of all of them (i. e. that from which this meaning is quite evident): (I Samuel 7:10) “And the Lord thundered with a great sound … upon the Philistines and discomfited them (ויהמם)”.

ויסר את אפן מרכבתיו. מִכֹּחַ הָאֵשׁ נִשְׂרְפוּ הַגַּלְגַּלִּים, וְהַמֶּרְכָּבוֹת נִגְרָרוֹת, וְהַיּוֹשְׁבִים בָּהֶם נָעִים וְאֵבָרֵיהֶן מִתְפָּרְקִין (מכילתא):

‎ויסר את אפן מרכבותיו AND HE REMOVED THEIR CHARIOT WHEELS — Through the power of the fire of the pillar of fire the wheels were burnt and the chariots were thus dragged along and those who were sitting in them were thrown about and their limbs were all put out of joint (cf. Mekhilta).

וינהגהו בכבדת. בְּהַנְהָגָה שֶׁהִיא כְבֵדָה וְקָשָׁה לָהֶם; בַּמִדָּה שֶׁמָּדְדוּ: "וַיַּכְבֵּד" לִבּוֹ הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו (שמות ט'), אַף כָּאן וַיְנַהֲגֵהוּ "בִּכְבֵדֻת":

וינהגהו בכבדות signifies: And He treated them with a treatment that was hard and harsh to them. In the measure that they (the Egyptians) had meted out to the Israelites was it meted out to them, for (9:34) “He hardened his heart, he and his servants”, and therefore here: “He treated them (the Egyptians) in a hard manner” (cf. Mekhilta).

נלחם להם במצרים. בַּמִּצְרִיִּים. דָּבָר אַחֵר בְּמִצְרָיִם – בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, שֶׁכְּשֵׁם שֶׁאֵלּוּ לוֹקִים עַל הַיָּם כָּךְ לוֹקִים אוֹתָם שֶׁנִּשְׁאֲרוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם (מכילתא):

נלחם להם במצרים FIGHTETH FOR THEM במצריים — means against the Egyptians. Another explanation of במצרים is: in the land of Egypt, for just as these were smitten at the Sea so, too, were smitten those who remained in Egypt (cf. Mekhilta).