Another matter, “the horse and his rider He cast into the sea” (Exodus 15:1) – “their horses and their riders” is not written, but rather, “the horse and his rider.” This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He took their angel first and cast him into the sea. “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him (Exodus 15:2).
“The Lord is my strength [ozi] and song” – He is my strength, and a crown21The letters zayin and dalet can sometimes be interchanged, as is common for words that appear otherwise identically in Hebrew and Aramaic. Thus ozi can be rendered adi, which means ornament or crown (Midrash HaMevoar). on my head, and He is my might. “And He has become my salvation.” “He will be [yehi] for me” is not written here, but rather, “he has become [vayhi] my salvation,” – He was for me and will be for me.
“This is my God, and I will glorify Him.” Rabbi Berekhya said: Come and see how great were those who descended into the sea. Moses, how much he prostrated himself and entreated before the Omnipresent, until he saw the image [of the glory of God], as it is stated: “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “You are unable to see My face” (Exodus 33:20).
Ultimately, He showed him indirectly, as it is stated: “It will be when My glory passes […You shall see My back but My face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:22–23). The beasts that bear the chariot do not recognize the image, and when the time arrives to recite song, they say: ‘Where is He? We do not know whether He is here, or whether He is elsewhere, rather, wherever He is: “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place”’ (Ezekiel 3:12).
Yet those who emerged from the sea, each and every one of them would point with his finger and say: “This is my God, and I will glorify Him.” The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘In this world, you said before Me once: “This [zeh] is My God,” but in the future you will say the same thing twice, as it is stated: “It will be said on that day: Behold, this [zeh] is our God, we waited for Him to save us. This [zeh] [is the Lord; for whom we waited. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation]” (Isaiah 25:9).