Moses Says Fear Not and Israel Is the Dove in the Clefts of the Rock

"And Moses said to the people, Fear not" (Exodus 14:13). To make known the wisdom of Moses, who stood and pacified all those thousands and all those myriads; and of him it is explained in the tradition, "Wisdom gives strength to the wise" (Ecclesiastes 7:19). "Stand firm and see." Standing, in every place, refers to none other than the Holy Spirit, as it is said, "Call Joshua, and present yourselves [stand] in the tent of meeting" (Deuteronomy 31:14); and it says, "And the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel" (I Samuel 3:10); and it says, "and bring them to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you" (Numbers 11:16); and it says, "and behold, the LORD stood above him" (Genesis 28:13); and it says, "I saw the LORD standing upon the altar" (Amos 9:1). To what were Israel like at that hour? To a dove that fled from a hawk and entered a cleft of the rock, and a serpent was coiled within it. To enter further she could not, because of the serpent; to go out she could not, because of the hawk. She kept crying and beating her wings, that the owner of the dovecote might hear and come. So when Israel saw the sea closing in and the enemy pursuing, they lifted their eyes in prayer; and of them it is explained in the tradition, "O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet" — in prayer — "and your face is comely" (Song of Songs 2:14) — in good deeds. Another interpretation: "Stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD." They said to him: When? He said to them: Today. They said to him: We have no strength to endure. Moses prayed at that hour, and the Omnipresent showed them troops upon troops of ministering angels passing before them, as it is said, "And the servant of the man of God rose early to get up and go out, and behold, a host surrounded the city with horses and chariots. And his lad said to him, Alas, my master, how shall we do? And he said, Fear not, for those with us are more than those with them. And Elisha prayed and said, LORD, open his eyes that he may see; and the LORD opened the eyes of the lad, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (II Kings 6:15-17). So too Moses prayed, and the Omnipresent showed them troops upon troops of ministering angels passing before them. And so it says, "Out of the brightness before him his clouds passed" (Psalms 18:13) — his clouds, against their troops; "hail," against the stones of the catapult; "and coals of fire," against the firebombs; fire, against their naphtha. "The LORD thundered from heaven" — against the clashing of their shields; "and the Most High gave forth his voice" — against their war-cries; "and he sent out his arrows and scattered them" — against their arrows; "and lightnings in abundance, and confounded them" — against the flashing of their weapons. Another interpretation: "and he sent out his arrows and scattered them, and lightnings in abundance and confounded them" — for the arrows scattered them and the lightnings gathered them, and he confounded them, threw them into confusion, mixed them up; he took away the officers among them, and they did not know what they were doing. Another interpretation: confusion means none other than plague, as it is said, "and he shall confound them with a great confusion until they are destroyed" (Deuteronomy 7:23). "For as you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them again forever" (Exodus 14:13). In three places the Holy One, blessed be He, warned Israel not to return to Egypt: here; and it says, "and the LORD said to you, You shall not return that way again" (Deuteronomy 17:16); and it says, "by the way of which I said to you, You shall not see it again" (Deuteronomy 28:68). In all three they returned, and in all three they came to ruin.