Behold I Stand Before You There Upon the Rock

"Behold, I stand before you" (Exodus 17:6) (it is written in the verse "and wash your feet"). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Every place where you find the mark of a man's feet, there I am before you. "And you shall strike the rock" (Exodus 17:6). From here Rabbi Yose ben Zimra used to say: This staff was of sapphire, as it is said, "and you shall strike the rock" [literally, in the rock]. Of the rock it does not say so, but rather "and you shall strike in the rock." "And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah" (Exodus 17:7). Rabbi Joshua says: Moses called it Massah and Meribah, as it is said, "And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah." Rabbi Eleazar of Modiin says: The Holy One, blessed be He, called it Massah and Meribah, as it is said, "And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah." From here we learn that the Great Court is called "the Place." "Because of the quarreling of the children of Israel" (Exodus 17:7). Rabbi Joshua says: Israel said, If He is the Master of all worlds, then just as He is Master over us we will serve Him, and if not, we will not serve Him. Rabbi Eliezer says: They said, If He supplies our needs we will serve Him, and if not, we will not serve Him. Therefore it is said, "because of the quarreling of the children of Israel." It is written, "Strike the scorner and the simple will become prudent" (Proverbs 19:25). "Strike the scorner" refers to Amalek; "and the simple will become prudent" refers to Jethro. When Amalek came to make war with Israel, what is written? "And Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim" (Exodus 17:8), because they had let their hands grow slack from the Torah and the commandments, for Scripture says, "And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah." The Holy One, blessed be He, began to cry out over the quarreling of the children of Israel and over their testing of the LORD. Rabbi Levi said: To what were Israel like? To a man who had a son and set him upon his shoulder and carried him through the marketplace. The son would see a desirable thing and say to his father, Buy it for me, and he would buy it for him, a first time, a second, and a third. The son saw a certain man and said to him, Have you seen my father? His father said to him: Fool, you are riding on my shoulder, and whatever you ask I buy for you, and yet you say to this man, Have you seen my father? What did the father do? He cast him down from his shoulder, and a dog came and bit him. So too when Israel went out of Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded them with seven clouds of glory, as it is said, "He encircled him, He cared for him" (Deuteronomy 32:10). They asked for manna, He gave it to them. Once He had given them all their needs they began to doubt and to say, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: You have doubted Me; by your lives I will make it known to you. Here the dog comes and bites you. And who is this? This is Amalek, as it is said, "And Amalek came." It flew like this swarm.