“And G-d detoured the nation by way of the desert to the Reed Sea, and the Children of Israel went up from Egypt armed.” (Shmos 13:18)
There are a number of seeming contradictions in this posuk and its understandings. The previous verse said Hashem didn’t let the Jews go through inhabited lands lest they see war, become afraid, and return to Egypt. Now, it says that they were armed, implying they were battle-ready.
The Yerushalmi says they had no less than fifteen types of weapons, and Rashi points out that they took the weapons from Egypt, as they were going to be in isolated areas (so it seems they knew they would not be going through inhabited lands.) The Ohr HaChaim suggests that they needed to have weapons not only for the future battles in conquering Canaan, but to feel comfortable in their travels so that if they did meet an enemy (such as Amalek) they would not flee back to Egypt.
All these ideas suggest that they had military might, yet Rashi also offers the explanation of “chamushim” which means they were 1/5 of what they had been previously, because 80% of the Jews were unworthy of the redemption and died during the plague of Darkness. This makes it sound like they now had much less manpower, and would have a disadvantage in battle. How can we approach this verse, and its various explanations, holistically?
Perhaps the best way to understand it is by recognizing the balance between “natural” occurrences and Divine Providence. How much does Hashem do in our lives, and how much do we accomplish through our own efforts? The Jews had weapons, but they lost 4/5ths of their fighting force. They were smaller in number, but that smaller number were people who were more worthy, by virtue of their trust and belief in Hashem.
In essence, Hashem does everything in our lives. The first of the Ani Maamins, the Thirteen Principles of Faith, says we firmly believe that, “...He alone did, does, and will do, all actions.” So wherein comes our effort? It is our willingness to be a tool for Hashem’s acts; to attempt to carry out His will. When we “do” things, we are not guaranteed the desired result. All we can do is let Hashem decide what He wants the outcome to be.
Our efforts are instead aligned towards partnering with Hashem in His will. Therefore, when the Jews left Egypt, as a smaller, but more spiritually-connected group, they had with them the weapons – the tools – they needed to take on the world. They were armed with the knowledge that Hashem, not they, would win the battles and wars, and conquer their enemies. The weaponry they brought with them was a means to share in that warfare, but it was not what brought them confidence. Instead, they were reassured by having Hashem in their midst, and they were ready to face whatever lay ahead.
The Maskilim of Brisk once put on a “Purim Shpiel,” in which they depicted a typical Jewish war. Before the war, the kohain announced all the various exemptions from war, as spelled out in the Torah. As each category was called out, more and more people left the ranks. In the end, only two people were left to fight the battle - the Gaon of Vilna and Rav Aryeh Leib, famed author of 'Sha'agas Aryeh'. They began to argue about who had the zechus to fire the first shot, and then curtain came down amid uproarious laughter.
Some people then went to the rabbi of Brisk and complained about the audacity of the maskilim to mock the Torah with a play of this nature. The Rav, however, said that it was a very good play, except that the final scene was left out - the scene in which the two remaining soldiers, the Vilna Gaon and the Sha'agas Aryeh, won the war.
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
