PHARAOH’S REGRET
After Pharaoh expels the Jewish slaves from his land, God does not lead them along a direct route to the Promised Land, because a confrontation with the enemy at this early stage would drive them back to Egypt. HaShem instead leads them along the desert road to the east, guiding them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. God then commands the Jews to camp along the Sea of Reeds. It seems to Pharaoh that the Jews are lost in the desert, and he decides to chase after them and corner them at the seashore. When the Jews see the Egyptians arriving with their army, they panic and yell at Moshe. “Are there not enough graves in Egypt (alluding perhaps to the pyramids that were already famous at that time) that you have brought us to die in the desert?”. “Do not be afraid,” Moshe said to them. “You will see God’s salvation today… God will wage war for you.”.
THE SEA OPENS
HaShem instructs Moshe: “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to advance…!” The Jews need to cross to the other side of the sea. “And so the Egyptians will know I am God when Pharaoh and his armies glorify me.” Meanwhile, the pillar of the cloud that led the Jews moved behind them, separating the Jews from their enemies and preventing the Egyptians from advancing toward the Jews. Moshe stretches out his staff, and the sea splits into two columns. The Jews crossed the sea, walking in dry Land, leaving Egyptian territory towards their definitive freedom.
SALVATION AND GRATITUDE
The Egyptians decide to pursue the Jews, and their army advances toward the open waters. Moshe extends his hand over the sea, and the waters collapse and close on the Egyptians, drowning them in the sea. Seeing this, and already on the other side of the sea, Moshe and the Hebrews begin to sing, praising God for the wonderful miracle they had witnessed. Moshe’s sister, Miriam, leads the women in singing and dancing, using musical instruments.
WATER and MANA
The Jews now begin their journey through the desert and spend three days walking without finding water. When they reach Mara, they find salted water. HaShem sweetens the water, and the people are now able to drink. After a while, the food that the Jews had brought from Egypt began to run out. They complain to Moshe, saying they miss the tasty Egyptian food they left behind. God assures them that a special food will descend from heaven. In the morning, food called “manna” falls from the sky, hidden in the morning dew. Moshe tells the Hebrews to collect a limited portion of manna (approximately 1.5 lbs) for each family member and warns them again to accumulate and store extra manna. Those who ignored this indication found that the manna was infested with worms the following day. On Friday, by Divine instruction, everyone collected two portions of “manna”: the second portion was to be set aside and reserved for Shabbat since no manna would descend on the Seventh Day. Once again, some Jews ignored Moshe’s directive and went out to collect manna on Shabbat.
God commands Moshe to take a jar of manna and place it in the Holy Ark as a testimony of this miracle for all future generations. The Israelites continue their journey in the desert, and when they reach Refidim, they run out of water again. They complain to Moshe. God commands the Jewish leader to strike a rock with his rod, and water begins flowing from the rock so the people can drink.
SURPRISE ATTACK
The Amaleqites –desert nomads– attack the Jews. Moshe orders his disciple Yehoshua to gather an army and fight Amaleq. Yehoshua follows Moshe’s command, and the Jews, with Divine assistance, emerge victorious from this battle. God instructs Moshe to write that HaShem will erase Amaleq from the earth and that we Jews can never forget that Amaleq will always be there, ready to cause harm.
