Plagues, parting of the Red Sea, freedom! But the details…they’re wild.
Imagine the scene: the Egyptians, fresh from the devastation of the tenth plague, practically shoving the Israelites out the door. According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, Pharaoh and his people didn't even bother burying their dead, they were so eager to get the Israelites gone! And not just gone, but loaded down with gifts. Pharaoh, desperate for a prayer to escape death himself, even forced his nobles to apologize for all the suffering they inflicted.
It’s a complete reversal! The Egyptians, who once hated the Israelites, now showered them with affection, friendship, and…stuff. Lots of stuff. Clothes, jewels, gold – all thrust upon them, even before the Israelites had a chance to return the borrowed items from earlier.
Why this sudden generosity? Well, Ginzberg suggests a touch of Egyptian vanity. They wanted to appear incredibly wealthy to the world, showing off the riches of their former slaves. But the sheer amount of treasure was staggering. It's said that a single Israelite could have paid for the entire Tabernacle with their share! And that was just the private wealth. When they reached the Red Sea, they gained access to the PUBLIC treasure too, since Pharaoh, like any good king, carried the state funds with him on campaign.
Now, you might be thinking: "Were the Israelites just being greedy?" But hold on. As Legends of the Jews points out, this wasn’t about avarice. They saw it as wages owed for centuries of unpaid labor, and as compensation for the immense suffering they endured. They were, in a way, righting a wrong. And even then, Ginzberg argues, it was a far smaller affliction than the Egyptians had inflicted upon them. The plagues, after all, didn't stop the cruelty until the very end.
There's a poignant little story tucked in here, too. On the very day of the Exodus, a woman named Rachel gave birth while working in the brickyards. The baby fell into the clay and disappeared. But the angel Gabriel, we're told, molded a brick from that very clay, child and all, and placed it as a footstool before God’s throne. It was that night that God looked upon the suffering of Israel and struck down the firstborn of Egypt.
This night, in fact, is so significant it's one of four nights inscribed in the Book of Memorial. The others? The night God created the world, the night God appeared to Abraham at the Covenant of the Pieces, and the future night when final redemption will come, with Moses and the Messiah leading their flocks together. According to tradition, this future redemption will also occur on the fifteenth of Nisan, the very night of the Exodus!
The actual deliverance may have happened at night, but the Israelites didn’t leave until the next day. And even as God punished the Egyptians, He ensured no one missed the spectacle. Everyone was home that night, and the night itself was as bright as the summer solstice. Even the angels in heaven paused their songs to listen to the Israelites' cries of freedom.
Ironically, as Legends of the Jews suggests, the Egyptians were even more overjoyed than the Israelites! They were finally rid of the dread of death that had been hanging over them. It's likened to a donkey rejoicing more than its rider when a long, uncomfortable journey ends.
But the Israelites themselves? They were exhausted. The sudden shift from slavery to freedom took its toll. It wasn’t until they heard the angel hosts singing songs of praise, celebrating the redemption of Israel and the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence), that they truly began to recover. After all, when Israel is in exile, so too is the Shekhinah, who dwells among them. God then sent a healing fragrance to cure all their diseases.
They began their journey from Raamses, and despite the forty-day distance to Moses’ location in Mizraim, they heard his call to leave. They then covered the three-day journey from Raamses to Succoth in an instant! In Succoth, God enveloped them in seven clouds of glory, protecting them from the elements and even preparing the way before them, leveling mountains and valleys. These clouds, and the pillar of fire that guided them at night, were solely for the Israelites, not for the "mixed multitude" that went with them.
This "mixed multitude," by the way, vastly outnumbered the Israelites themselves! The Israelites, numbering six hundred thousand families on foot, each with five children on horseback, followed Moses into the wilderness without even bringing provisions. Their only food was the unleavened bread and bitter herbs, not for sustenance, but as a cherished connection to God’s command. They carried these meager provisions themselves, unwilling to entrust them to beasts of burden.
So, what do we take away from all this? The Exodus wasn't just a simple escape. It was a chaotic, miraculous, and deeply human event. It was a story of reversal, divine intervention, and the enduring hope for redemption. It was a story that reminds us that even in the darkest of times, liberation, in its fullest and most unexpected form, can be just around the corner. And maybe, just maybe, we all carry a little bit of that "mixed multitude" within us, yearning for that same freedom.