The Torah records a transformation at the Red Sea: "And the people feared the Lord" (Exodus 14:31). The Mekhilta notes the significance of the word "feared." In the past, the Israelites had not feared God — not during the plagues, not during the departure from Egypt, not even as the sea split before their eyes. Fear of God, true awe, arrived only when they saw the Egyptians destroyed on the shore. Witnessing the full consequences of opposing God is what finally produced genuine reverence.
The verse continues: "And they believed in the Lord and in Moses, His servant." The Mekhilta identifies an apparent redundancy. If the Israelites believed in God, it goes without saying that they believed in Moses. Moses is merely the servant — if you trust the master, you trust the servant even more easily. So why does the verse mention belief in Moses separately?
The answer establishes a foundational principle in Jewish thought. The verse is teaching a lesson in reverse. One who believes in the "faithful shepherd" — meaning Moses — believes in the pronouncement of Him who spoke and brought the world into being. Faith in the prophet is a pathway to faith in God. The Torah is not simply saying that faith in God includes faith in Moses. It is saying that faith in Moses constitutes faith in God, because Moses and the Torah he transmits are inseparable from the divine will. To trust the teacher is to trust the One who sent him.