Midrash Tehillim turns to Pharaoh Among the Heavenly Host.
Rabbi Abba Bar Acha, citing Rabbi Chanin, offers an even more visceral image: extracting a fetus from an animal's womb. That's how intimately and forcefully God removed Israel from Egypt. As we find in (Leviticus 1:3), "And he shall bring it close," and in (Exodus 7:5), "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord." This teaches us, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) emphasizes, the difficulty of being cast off, of being wrenched from a place you've been embedded within. (Deuteronomy 4:20) tells us, "He took you out of the iron crucible." It was like extracting pure gold from a fiery furnace without even tongs or a scoop – an impossible task, yet God accomplished it.
Rabbi Avin, quoting Rabbi Simon, adds another layer, drawing on (Psalm 124:3): "They would have swallowed us alive." The Israelites were not merely living alongside the Egyptians; they were, figuratively, being consumed by them. If you doubt that "men" refers to Egypt here, (Psalm 124:2) says, "If the Lord had not been for us when men rose up against us," which is clarified by (Isaiah 31:3), "And Egypt is man and not God."
What about the splitting of the Red Sea? The Midrash doesn’t just gloss over it. Oh no. It explodes with imaginative detail. We’re told that God performed ten miracles at the sea!
First, picture this: Walls upon walls of water, each wall topped with a tower, and each tower guarded by ministering angels protecting the Israelites! Moses tells them to cross, but they balk. "How can we cross between these walls," they ask, "as it is said (Exodus 14:22-29), 'And the waters were a wall unto them?'"
Then, the sea freezes, filling all its depths. Imagine someone floating with their arms outstretched – that's how God froze the heart of the sea. And then, the water transforms into arched bricks, referencing (Habakkuk 3:14): "You pierced with his own arrows the head of his warriors."
But the Israelites are still hesitant! "When the waters were two below and one above, we could not cross, and now that they are two above and one below, how much less can we cross?" So, the water morphs again, this time into flat bricks, like the "apple" of God’s eye, as described in (Zechariah 2:8-9): "For he that touches you touches the apple of his eye… And I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants."
And that's not all! Sweet water springs forth from the salty depths, quenching their thirst, echoing (Psalm 78:16): "And he brought streams also out of the rock." The water then becomes clay, evoking (Habakkuk 3:15): "Thou didst walk through the sea with thy horses, through the heap of great waters."
Next, towering columns of water rise up, "The floods stood upright as a heap," (Exodus 15:8), like a stack of straw between two piles. Then, the water breaks into separate drops, as (Psalm 74:13) states, "Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength."
Finally, valleys appear, grass grows, and the Israelites graze like sheep in a pasture, a scene reminiscent of (Isaiah 33:9): "The land mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits."
This isn’t just a story about crossing a sea. It's a story about relentless divine intervention, a complete reshaping of reality to liberate a people from bondage. The Midrash Tehillim, through these vivid images, helps us understand the Exodus not just as a historical event, but as a powerful demonstration of God's unwavering commitment to His people. It makes you wonder, doesn't it, what seemingly impossible transformations are possible with faith and divine assistance?
Another thing regarding the exodus of Israel from Egypt. See what is written (Deuteronomy 4:34): "Or has God ever tried to go and take a nation for Himself from the midst of another nation?" Rabbi Chiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmiya: This can be compared to a warrior who goes out to battle, either to conquer or to be victorious. Therefore it is said (in the same verse): "in battles." Rabbi Abba Bar Acha said in the name of Rabbi Chanin: What is "a nation from the midst of another nation"? It is like a person who removes a fetus from the belly of an animal. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, took Israel out of Egypt, as it is said: "a nation from the midst of another nation." This is similar to what is said (Leviticus 1:3): "And he shall bring it close," and (Exodus 7:5): "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord." We learn from here the difficulty of being cast off. How do we know that they were cast off? As it is said (Deuteronomy 4:20): "He took you out of the iron crucible." It is like a person who takes gold from a furnace without tongs or a scoop. So it was with Israel. Rabbi Avin said in the name of Rabbi Simon: What is meant by "from the midst of another nation"? They were absorbed within their bellies, as it is said (Psalm 124:3): "They would have swallowed us alive." And if a person wishes to darken the matter and not mention Egypt in that context, behold, it says (Psalm 124:2): "If the Lord had not been for us when men rose up against us." And "men" refer to none other than Egypt, as it is said (Isaiah 31:3): "And Egypt is man and not God." And the Holy One, blessed be He, performed ten miracles for them at the sea. One is that He made walls upon walls, and there was not a wall that did not have a tower, and there was not a tower that did not have a guard, and the ministering angels guarded Israel so that they would not be harmed. Moses said to them, "Come and cross." They said to him, "How can we cross between these walls, as it is said (Exodus 14:22-29), 'And the waters were a wall unto them?'" The sea froze and rose up, filling all its depths. Just as a person floats with both arms, one up and one down, so too did God freeze the heart of the sea and fill all its depths. Then they made the water into the form of arched bricks, as it is said (Habakkuk 3:14), "You pierced with his own arrows the head of his warriors." Moses said to them, "Come and cross." They said, "When the waters were two below and one above, we could not cross, and now that they are two above and one below, how much less can we cross?" Then they made the water into the form of flat bricks, as it is said (Zechariah 2:8), "For he that touches you touches the apple of his eye." And there is no "apple" but bricks, as it is said (Zechariah 2:9), "And I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants." Then they took sweet water out of the salty water and drank it, as it is said (Psalm 78:16), "And he brought streams also out of the rock." Then they made the water into the form of clay, as it is said (Habakkuk 3:15), "Thou didst walk through the sea with thy horses, through the heap of great waters." Then they made the water into the form of columns, as it is said (Exodus 15:8), "The floods stood upright as a heap." Like a heap of straw between two piles. Then they made the water into the form of separate drops, as it is said (Psalm 74:13), "Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength." Then they made the water into the form of valleys and caused grass to grow, and Israel grazed therein, as it is said (Isaiah 33:9), "The land mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits."
