Weekly Portion "Be-Shelach"
"Be-Shelach" Literally means "In the Sending Forth." Pharoah 'had let go' [the people] of Israel by sending them forth out of Egypt. This Parashah encompasses Exodus 13:17-20, and chs.14, 14, 16, 17. It speaks of the Cleaving of Red Sea in Sunder with the waters forming walls on the right and left sides with a dry pathway between them. The Hebrews were thus enabled to pass through the sea on dry land. They reached the other side. The Egyptians who pursued after them were all drowned when the waters came back to how they had been and covered them over. In Early American and Anglo-Saxon traditions the Hebrews passing through the Red Sea on Dry Land was representative of the struggle for Liberty. Benjamin Franklin wished to make it the main theme on the Great sea of the USA! He- was overruled but the possibility had been considered.
The Israelites when they came up out of Egypt were headed for the land of Canaan. The Amighty led them to the coast of the Red Sea. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him to bring them into Canaan as Joseph had requested. God led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.
Exodus (MEV)
13:
17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearby. For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt. 18 Therefore, God led the people around, through the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up prepared for war out of the land of Egypt.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel solemnly swear, saying, God will surely attend to you, and you shall carry my bones away from here with you.
20 They took their journey from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. 22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
Crossing the Red Sea
Exodus 14:
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, so that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. Opposite it you shall camp by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are confused in the land. The wilderness has shut them in. 4 So I will harden Pharaohs heart, so that he shall pursue them. And I will be honored because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, so that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
Pharaoh the King of Egypt with all his horses and chariots and 600 select ones pursued after Israelites and overtook them.
14: 5 When it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled, the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 And he took six hundred select chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and officers over every one of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel. However, the children of Israel went out with confidence. 9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and indeed, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were extremely terrified, so the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
When the Israelites saw the Egyptians pursuing them they were afraid. There those among them who wanted to return to Egypt and live in servitude.
14: 13 But Moses said to the people, Fear not! Stand firm! And see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD shall fight for you, while you hold your peace.
15 The LORD said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel, so that they go forward. 16 And as for you, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it; then the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 As for Me, surely, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, so that they shall follow them, and I will be honored through Pharaoh, through all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
The Pillar of cloud moved to the back of the Israelite camp concealing them from the Egyptians.
14: 19 Then the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud moved before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and there was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night. Therefore, the one did not come near the other the entire night.
Moses stretched his hand over the sea. A strong east wind blew all night long.
Nachmanides says that God wanted the Egyptians to attribute the splitting of the Sea to natural causes i.e. the blowing of the wing. They would thus rationalize the miracle and mislead themselves to deny the Intervention of God on behalf of Israel. A person who wishes NOT to believe in God will always find some reason or other not do so.
The Sea was split into two walls of water and a dry path emerged between the two walls of water. The children of Israel crossed the sea passing over the dry path.
14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, so that the waters were divided. 22 The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. They followed the Israelites into the dry be of the sea. The Almighty caused the wheels of the Egyptian chariot s to fall off. The Egyptians panicked and tried to flee, attempting to turn back.
14: 23 Then the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, even all Pharaohs horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and threw the camp of the Egyptians into confusion. 25 He removed their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and their horsemen. 27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal place when the morning appeared, while the Egyptians fled against it, so the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them.
Moses was commanded to stretch his hand over the sea. He did so. The Israelites were walking through the sea bed on dry land. The Sea returned to be was it was in the Egyptian section and drowned the Egyptians.
14: 29 But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea. And the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power which the LORD used upon the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.
The Israelites later found the bodies of the dead Egyptians washed up on the Sea shore. They sang a song of exultation, 'The Song of the Sea.'
A Song of Moses
15:
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD and spoke, saying:
I will sing to the LORD,
for He has triumphed gloriously!
He has thrown the horse and his rider
into the sea!
2 The LORD is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my fathers God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is His name.
4 Pharaohs chariots and his army
He has thrown into the sea;
his chosen captains also
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them;
they sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O LORD,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
shatters the enemy.
7 In the greatness of Your excellence,
You overthrow those who rise up against You.
You send out Your wrath;
it consumes them like stubble.
8 With the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together.
The flowing waters stood upright as a heap;
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said,
I will pursue. I will overtake.
I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.
10 You blew with Your wind,
and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like You,
glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises,
doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 In Your mercy You have led
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them by Your strength
to Your holy dwelling.
14 The peoples have heard and are afraid;
sorrow has taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were amazed;
the mighty men of Moab, trembling takes hold of them;
all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
16 Fear and dread fall upon them;
by the greatness of Your arm
they are as still as a stone,
until Your people pass over, O LORD,
until the people whom You have purchased pass over.
17 You shall bring them in, and plant them
on the mountain of Your inheritance,
in the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your dwelling,
in the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.
18 The LORD will reign
forever and ever.
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.
The Song of Miriam
Miriam, Aharon, and Moses were siblings.
Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aharon. Miriam was also a prophetess just like Moses and Aharon were prophets. They were from the Tribe of Levi. Miriam took a timbrel in her hand and led the women out with a dance and song of their own celebrating their deliverance from the Egyptians.
15: 20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. 21 Miriam answered them,
Sing to the LORD,
for He triumphed gloriously!
The horse and his rider
He has hurled into the sea.
The Waters of Marah and Elim
The Israelites came to a place called Marah. The waters were bitter i.e. 'mar,' in Hebrew. That is why the place was called 'Marah.' The Hebrew word 'mar' meaning 'bitter' could be related to our English word 'mar' meaning 'blemish.'
The etymology given for the English word 'mar' is Old English "merran" i.e. 'hinder, damage', Old Frisian meria, Old High German marren "to hinder, obstruct."
We have here two possibilities: Is the English word 'Mar' meaning 'blemish' closer in meaning to:
1. The Hebrew ' mar' meaning 'bitter,' or 'embitter.'
Or
2. Other words pronounced a little differently (e.g. 'merran') and connoting 'hinder.'
God showed Moses a tree. They cut the tree down and three it into the waters that immediately became drinkable.
15: 22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. 24 So the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he had thrown it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. 26 He said, If you diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I have afflicted the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.
God promised the Israelites that if they obey HIM and keep the commandments they would be saved from all the sicknesses with which the Egyptians were afflicted. Exodus 15: 26 For I am the LORD who heals you.
After that the Israelites came to Elim where there were 12 wells of water and 70 plam trees. The 12 wells of water parallel the 12 Tribeas of Israel. The 70 palm trees parallel the 70 elders who were to be chosen for the first Sanhedrin or Convocation of Judges.
15: 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.
Exodus 16 (MEV)
Exodus 16:1 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 Now the children of Israel said to them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, Indeed, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.
Bread and Quail
From Elim they came to the Wilderness of Sin. The People lacked food and cried out from hunger.
Exodus 16: 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, At evening, you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because He hears your murmurings against the LORD. And what are we that you murmur against us? 8 Then Moses said, This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy, for the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against Him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your murmurings.
10 So as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and indeed, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, In the evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.
In the evening a type of bird named 'slav' in Hebrew, believed to a kind of Quail, came up and covered the camp. In the morning they received the MANNA which was a natural apparently vegetable type substance. This was to be their nourishment for the 40 years of Wandering in the Wilderness. The manna would be delivered fresh every day for six days of the week, for 40 years. On Shabat no manna was available but the portion of the previous day (i.e. the sixth day of the week, every week) was a double portion.
16: 13 So in the evening the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was surrounding the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, on the surface of the wilderness there lay a small flaky thing, as fine as the frost on the ground. 15 When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, What is it? For they did not know what it was.
And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded, Every man is to gather of it according to what he will eat, an omer for every man, according to the number of your people. Every man should take for them for whoever lives in his tent.
17 The children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing left over, and he that gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according what he could eat.
19 Moses said to them, Let no man leave any of it until the morning.
20 However, they did not listen to Moses, and some of them left part of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank, and Moses was angry with them.
21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to what he could eat. And when the sun got hot, it melted. 22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers per man, and then all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 He said to them, This is what the LORD has said, Tomorrow is the Sabbath, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake that which you will bake today, and boil that you will boil, and all that which remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.
24 So they laid it up until the morning, just as Moses commanded, and it did not stink, nor was there any worm in it. 25 Moses said, Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.
27 It happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found nothing. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? 29 See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Every man remain in his place. Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
They were forbidden to go out of the camp on the Sabath to search for manna. Despite this a few recalcitrant types did go out to search for manna. They found nothing.
16: 31 The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed and was white, and its taste was like wafers made with honey. 32 Then Moses said, This is what the LORD has commanded, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations to come, so that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33 Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put an omer full of manna in it, and place it before the LORD, to be kept for generations to come.
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony, to be kept. 35 The children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Exodus 17:
1 All the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin, from place to place, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, Give us water so that we may drink.
And Moses said to them, Why do you contend with me? Why do you test the LORD?
3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why is it that you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, What shall I do to this people? They are almost ready to stone me.
From the Wilderness of Sin they came to Rephidim. The people thirsted for water and were rebellious. Moses was told to 'take your rod with which you struck the Nile' and to smite the rock which was in a place called 'Horeb.'
Rabbi David Tsvi Hofman, in his commentary on 'Shemoth' (i.e. Exodus) points out (Exodus 17:5-6) that in Exodus 7:19 we see that not Moses, but rather Aharon struck the Nile.
Cf.
Exodus 7:
19 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, so that they may become blood. And there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
20 Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. And he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
Since Aharon struck the rock at the order of Moses it is possible to say that it was Moses who struck it.
This place (near Rephidim) was later known as 'Maasah and Meribah' connoting 'Argument and Contentioness.'
17: 5 The LORD said to Moses, Pass over before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. And take in your hand your rod with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Indeed, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and there water shall come out of it, so that the people may drink. Then Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the contending of the children of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
The Amalekites Defeated
The Amalekites came to Rephidim and attacked the Israelites. Joshua was told by Moses to choose men and go out to war against Amalek.
Moses with his rod in his hand stood on top of a hill overlooking the scene of conflict. When Moses raised his hands the Israelites would be winning. When he lowered his hands the Israelites would lose. Moses was already more than 80 years old at this time. His hands would become heavy and he had difficulty to keep his hands raised. Aharon and Hur (from the Tribe of Judah) took a rock for Moses to sit on. Aharaon stood on one side and hur on the other each supporting one of the arms of Moses. Joshua defeated Amalek and decimated the Amalek people.
The Amalekites were of the Stock of Esau, also known as 'Edom.' Joshua was from the Tribe of Ephraim and a descendant of Joseph.
In the End Times the Messiah son of Joseph will go to war against the Edomites.
According to the Malbim the Messiah son of Joseph will lead the Ten Tribes defeat the Edomites, and re-unite with Judah.
In the present instance Moses (from the Tribe of Levi) represents Judah whereas Joshua is a prototype of the Messiah son of Joseph.
Obadiah 1:
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
but the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivors
from the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
17: 8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought against Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses hands became heavy. So they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua laid low Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, Write this as a memorial in a book and rehearse it to Joshua, for I will utterly wipe out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
15 Then Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner; 16 for he said, For the LORD has sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
The LORD Is My Banner, literally 'HaShem Nisi.' Several cities of the Scythians were known as 'Nis.'
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Splitting the Sea and Belief in the God of Israel
Moses stretched his hand over the sea (Exodus 14:19). A strong east wind blew all night long.
Nachmanides says that God wanted the Egyptians to attribute the splitting of the Sea to natural causes i.e. the blowing of the wing. They would thus rationalize the miracle and mislead themselves to deny the Intervention of God on behalf of Israel. A person who wishes NOT to believe in God will always find some reason or other not do so.
There had been 10 plagues on Egypt:
1. Water into blood ( ): Ex. 7:14-24
2. Frogs: Ex. 7:25-8:15
3. Lice (or Fleas): Ex. 8:16-19
4. Mixture of Wild Animals : Ex. 8:20-32
5. Diseased livestock -: Ex. 9:1-7
6. Boils: Ex. 9:8-12
7. Brimstone and hail: Ex. 9:13-35
8. Locusts: Ex. 10:1-20
9. Darkness for three days : Ex. 10:21-29
10. Death of the firstborn: Ex. 11:1-12:36
Towards the end of these plagues the Egyptians had described Egypt as in ruins (Exodus 10:7). The Israelites left and a large number of other peoples described as a Mixed Multitude left with them (Exodus 12:38). Pharaoh got his men together and pursued the Israelites. The Hebrews went through the Red sea which had split in two for them. The Egyptians followed after them. The Israelites had safely passed through the Sea on dry land. The Sea then returned to its former state, catching the Egyptians who were still travelling over the dry bed. Consequently the pursuing Egyptians were drowned (Exodus ch. 15).
One opinion says that all, or nearly all, the original Egyptians had been wiped out. At all events Egypt was in shambles and would have taken a while to recover from the disasters that overtook them. God had hardened the heart of Pharoah and his servants so that they would be able to receive the plagues (Exodus 9:14, 16).
cf.
Exodus (NASB) 10:
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of Mine among them....'
7 Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?"
Exodus 12:
37 Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.
The Israelites experienced what had happened and they did believe because of that.
Exodus 14:
31 When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.
Jethro did hear of the miracles and did come and convert (Exodus 18:1).
It has been asked, why did they [i.e. the Egyptians] not convert to Judaism after such a clear display of 'the reality of the Jewish deity'? If Jethro could do it why could not they? If the Israelites believed because of what had happened why did the Egyptians not also do so?
Well, how do we know they did not? How many of them were left after all what happened? What condition were they in? What would they convert to? The Israelites had left and were wandering about the Wilderness.
Also people do not necessarily change, at least not all at once.
In our own time the German people followed Hitler into World War 2. They murdered millions of Jews and millions of other peoples and caused much suffering. Even after the war was already lost and there was no hope of anything else they kept on killing Jews.
Why did they do that?
We do not know, but they did.
So too with the Egyptians. Why had the Egyptians reacted in one way and not another is a matter for speculation and philosophical consideration.
The bottom line is that they were there. So were the Hebrews. Yehudah Ha-Levi, Maimonides, and others made the point that since millions of people were involved thus involving the whole nation of Israel then this in itself is testimony.
This is a proof in its own right since it was not an experience of a single individual but of the whole people. It could not have been invented since those concerned would not have accepted it unless they knew about it. Jews have always believed in this.
If there are those who do not wish to accept this then the onus of proof is on them. They have to explain why they deny it. They who believe do not have to explain anything since the testimony of Scripture and history is on their side.
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Stephen Phillips: The Gulf of Akaba is the Red Sea Crossed by the Israelites
http://hebrewnations.com/features/bhr/bhr108.html#a2
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1. New Book Announced About American Identification of National Self as Hebrews.
'American Zion,' by Haifa University historian Eran Shalev
http://hebrewnations.com/features/bhr/bhr122.html#a1
Benjamin Franklin famously wanted the Great Seal to include a portrayal of "Moses, standing on the Shore, extending his Hand over the Sea, thereby causing the same to overwhelm Pharaoh." Thomas Jefferson preferred the Children of Israel, led through the wilderness by pillars of cloud and fire. Congress ignored them both, opting for the Eye of Providence looking out over a pyramid and thus giving rise to generations of conspiracy theories about Freemason influence.
When Moses almost parted the Red Sea on the Great Seal of the United States
New book contends Hebrew prophets influenced the Puritans who established America and the patriots who led it to independence
By RICH TENORIO. Article in The Times of Israel, 16 th April 2017.
Depiction of a design as proposed by Benjamin Franklin for the US Great Seal. It shows the Israelites (standing on the shore) having passed through the Red Sea while the Egyptians are drowning.
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Maimonides and Parting the Red Sea
It may be that some kind of natural phenomenon may indeed have been responsible for parting the Red Sea. The miracle would then be in the exact timing of the even just when it was needed.
Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, so that the waters were divided.
MAIMONIDES AND MODERN SCIENTISTS ON THE MIRACULOUS PARTING OF WATERS
On Feb.05.16 , In Thoughts , by Israel Drazin
http://booksnthoughts.com/maimonides-and-modern-scientists-on-the-miraculous-parting-of-waters/
Extract:
In his Guide of the Perplexed 2:48, he [i.e. Maimonides] wrote that whenever the Bible reports that God caused a phenomenon to happen, it should be understood that the event was a natural occurrence. He explains that the Bible says that God caused the event although it happened according to the laws of nature because God was the ultimate cause since God created the laws of nature.
In 2:29, he wrote that he is certain that the rabbis taught the same idea in Genesis Rabba and Midrash Kohelet when they said that certain 'miracles' were created just before the first Sabbath. Maimonides explained that this statement meant that these items that many people think were disruptions of the laws of nature were actually parts of nature which God created during the six days of creation. He also discusses miracle in 2:25, 2:35, and 3:32.