Another matter, “it was when Pharaoh let the people go” – that is what is written: “Our soul, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the trappers” (Psalms 124:7). This is analogous to a dove that was sitting in its nest. A wicked serpent saw it and sought to ascend to it. It fled from it to another place. [The serpent] ascended and sat in its nest.
The nest caught fire and the serpent was burned. The bird flew and sat on the roof. When the serpent and the nest were burned, they said to the bird: ‘How long will you fly from place to place?’ It went and found itself a fine, excellent nest and settled in it.
So it was for Israel in Egypt. Pharaoh the serpent was seeking to outsmart them, as it is stated: “Come, let us deal wisely with them” (Exodus 1:10), and he is likened to a serpent, as it is stated: “Prophesy concerning Pharaoh, the great serpent.”10This is a paraphrase of Ezekiel 29:2-3. Israel fled from him, as it is stated: “They will come trembling like a bird from Egypt” (Hosea 11:11). When Israel departed from Egypt, Pharaoh was burned in fire, as it is stated: “You send your wrath, it consumes them like straw” (Exodus 15:7).
Israel settled in a different place, as it is stated: “I have become like a bird alone on the roof” (Psalms 102:8). Then they fled like a bird from place to place, as it is stated: “Like a bird that wanders from its nest, so is a man who wanders from his place” (Proverbs 27:8). When they came to the Land of Israel, they found a nest, as it is stated: “The bird, too, has found a house” (Psalms 84:4).
Likewise, David said: “Until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty of Jacob” (Psalms 132:5). That is why it says: “Our soul, like a bird, has escaped.”