יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ ל ו ַ יַּ רְ א :הַ יָּם שְׂ פַ ת עַ ל מֵ ת מִ צְ רַ יִ ם אֶ ת יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ ל ו ַ יַּ רְ א אֶ ת הָ עָ ם וַיִּירְ אוּ בְּ מִ צְ רַ יִ ם ‘ה עָ שָׂ ה אֲ שֶׁ ר הַ גְּ דֹלָ ה הַ יָּד אֶ ת (לא ל ,יד) :עַ בְ דּוֹ וּבְמֹשֶׁה ‘בַּ ה וַיַּאֲמִינוּ ‘ה
And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great hand that Hashem had performed in Egypt, and the people revered Hashem, and they had faith in Hashem and in Moshe, his servant. (14:30-31)
At first glance, the Torah seems to repeat itself regarding the recognition of the Bnei Yisrael in the downfall of Egypt. Initially, it states: “And Israel saw Egypt dead upon the seashore,” and afterward, it reiterates the matter in a different wording: “And Israel saw the great hand that Hashem had performed in Egypt.” It is necessary to understand what the Torah intends to add with this repetition. Additionally, we must understand the significance of the Torah’s addition: “And the people feared Hashem.” After all, the very fact that this event led them to fear is self-evident—for who would not be overcome with awe upon witnessing firsthand how the G-d of vengeance had appeared, demonstrating that there is justice and a Judge? If, despite this, the Torah saw fit to explicitly state this idea, it must be that it seeks to impart a moral lesson for us in our service of Hashem.
Therefore, we must contemplate: what is the precise message that HaKadosh Baruch Hu wishes to convey to us through this?
To clarify these matters, we must examine the essence of the service that the Creator Baruch Hu desires. Let us bring the words of the Rambam (Hilchos Teshuva 10:1), which illuminate for us the proper intention required in performing deeds. Here are his words: ‘A person should not say, ‘I will fulfill the mitzvos of the Torah and engage in its wisdom so that I may receive all the blessings written in it, or so that I may merit life in the World to Come. Likewise, I will refrain from the transgressions that the Torah warned against so that I may be saved from the curses written in the Torah, or so that I will not be cut off from life in the World to Come.’ It is not fitting to serve Hashem in this manner, for one who serves in this way is serving out of fear. This is not the level of prophets, nor the level of the Chachamim. Only the unlearned, women, and children serve in this manner, for they are trained to serve out of fear until their knowledge increases, and then they will serve out of love.’
In these words, the Rambam seeks to encourage young people and accustom them to serving their Creator in a fitting manner. He delves into the mindset of youth, revealing what compels them to follow the path of righteousness, identifying the factors that their immature intellects grasp, which lead them to agree to serve their Creator. He also acknowledges that it is impossible to train them in mitzvot in any other way. However, he seeks to awaken the slightly older youth to direct their minds toward the true and desired intention in serving Hashem.
When a small child is informed that this world has a Master Who demands that all its inhabitants serve Him, and that He promises reward to those who obey Him while severely punishing those who do not, the child immediately reasons as follows: “I do not yet know this Master personally, but one thing I do know—there is no way to outsmart or deceive Him. His eyes roam everywhere, seeing every detail of a person’s actions. Therefore, there is no escape but to adhere to His words. From now on, I will not transgress any of His warnings. On the other hand, I will do everything in my power to please Him by fulfilling His commandments, for He rewards those who keep them...”
The child seems to be correct! And were it not for the words of the Rambam, he might continue with this perspective and perform many deeds based on it, all the way into old age. But then, the Rambam comes and stops him! The Rambam sharpens his understanding and reveals to him that Hashem is not pleased with this approach! It is true that if one commits sins, he will be punished, and if he performs mitzvos, he will be rewarded—but this is not the reason one should serve Hashem!
This reasoning is suitable only for those who, due to their immaturity, are unable to recognize the Master of the world. But this does not apply to you, who have grown and possess intellect! Therefore, you must seek out and come to know Hashem—contemplate His infinite goodness, recognize His immense power, and appreciate the greatness of His mercy! Then, your reverence for Him will deepen, and in addition to fear of sin, you will also attain awe of His greatness! Moreover, you will also merit love of Hashem!
Then your approach to serving Hashem will be entirely different. You will understand that it is a privilege for a person to serve Hashem, and logic itself dictates this. This is as elaborated further in the Rambam’s words (Halacha 2), where he states: ‘One who serves out of love engages in Torah and mitzvos and follows the paths of wisdom—not for any worldly gain, nor out of fear of punishment, nor in order to inherit goodness. Rather, he does what is true because it is true, and ultimately, goodness will come as a result. This level is a very great level, and not every wise person attains it. It is the level of Avraham Avinu, whom Hashem called ‘His beloved,’ because he served only out of love. And this is the level that Hashem commanded us through Moshe, as it is written (Devarim 6:4): ’ואהבת את ה‘ אלהיך‘ - ‘And you shall love Hashem, your G-d.’ When a person truly loves Hashem, he will immediately fulfill all the mitzvot out of love.’
Now, let us come to understand the posukim. At first, the Torah presents the matter plainly: “And Israel saw Egypt dead upon the seashore.” These words evoke fear of punishment, for previously, the Israelites had witnessed how the Egyptians acted wickedly and subjected them to severe and bitter suffering. Now, they see that there is judgment and a Judge—the Egyptians are paying for their cruelty with their lives. And as we have said, this level of fear does not need to be explicitly mentioned in the Torah, for it is self-evident.
However, the Bnei Yisrael understood that Hashem did not demand from them only the fear of punishment. HaKadosh Baruch Hu did not perform such wondrous signs merely for this purpose! Rather, Hashem desired that through these miracles, they would awaken to love Him and to the awe of His greatness! Therefore, the Bnei Yisrael began to contemplate the greatness of the miracles they had experienced, and how He had elevated their honor in the eyes of all the nations by parting the sea for them, with the waters standing as walls on either side. They also recognized that His vengeance against the nations was tempered with compassion, for, in contrast to their wickedness, they deserved much harsher punishment than what they received.
And then “Israel saw”—the eyes of understanding within Israel perceived “the great hand”, referring to the great kindnesses accompanied by the attribute of justice that was enacted against Egypt. [As is known, the word “great” signifies the attribute of kindness.] And they recognized that all of this was “what Hashem did”, referring to the merciful attribute of the name Hashem.
The Torah tells us that from this, Bnei Yisrael merited “and the people feared Hashem”, meaning the awe of His greatness. Here, we indeed see a new development: even those who were simple, referred to as the people, also merited this awe of greatness. In other words, the awe of Hashem’s greatness is not only the domain of the wise and understanding, but even the simple among the people—if they reflect deeply—will recognize and understand the greatness of Hashem and His abundant mercy and kindness. And they too will come to experience this exalted fear, so that both the small and the great will be united and together will sing praises to Hashem, as it is written in the posuk: “Then Moshe and the Children of Israel sang”...
