<b>And the children of Israel lifted up their eyes … and they were sore afraid (Exod. 14:10).</b> They resorted to the practices of their fathers. It is written of Abraham: <i>And he called upon the name of the Lord</i> (Gen. 12:8), of Isaac it is stated <i>And Isaac went out to meditate in the field</i> (ibid. 24:63), and of Jacob it is stated: <i>And he lighted upon the place</i> (ibid. 28:11). The expression <i>lighted upon</i> (<i>vayifga</i>) is employed with reference to prayer, as it is said: <i>Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; neither make intercession</i> (<i>tifga</i>) <i>to Me</i> (Jer. 7:16).
Furthermore it says: <i>Fear not, thou worm Jacob</i> (Isa. 41:14). Why is Israel compared to a worm? To teach us that just as a worm has only a soft and tender mouth with which to strike at a hard cedar tree, so Israel has only its prayers. Idolaters are likened to a cedar, as Scripture states: <i>Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon</i> (Exod. 31:3). <i>And yea, the Lord breaketh in pieces the cedars in Lebanon</i> (Ps. 29:5). Whenever their enemies overpowered them, the Israelites would become penitent and would plead and pray. Hence it says: <i>I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren which I took out of the hand of the Amorites, with my sword and with my bow</i> (Gen 48:29). Did he actually seize it with his sword and his bow? Has it not already been said: <i>For I trust not in my bow, neither can my sword save me</i> (Ps. 44:7)? This implies that <i>my sword</i> refers to prayer and <i>my bow</i> to beseeching. Scripture says: <i>And this for Judah, and he said: “Hear Lord, the voice of Judah,”</i> etc. (Deut. 33:7). Similarly, David said: <i>Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast taunted</i> (I Sam. 17:45). It says also: <i>Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will make mention of the name of the Lord his God</i> (Ps. 20:8), and it is said: <i>There is none beside Thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength; help us, O Lord our God; for we rely on Thee, and in Thy name are we come against this multitude. Thou art the Lord our God; let not man prevail against thee</i> (II Chron. 14:10). Concerning Moses it states: <i>And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom … how our fathers went down into Egypt, and when we cried unto the Lord, He heard our voice</i> (Num. 20:14–15). He said to them: Ye exalt yourselves because of your fathers’ legacy to you, but <i>the voice is the voice of Jacob, and the hands are the hands of Esau</i> (Gen. 27:40). Thus the verse <i>The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord</i> indicates that they followed the practices of their fathers. After they cried out to Him, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them, as it is said: <i>But from thence ye will seek the Lord thy God; and thou shall find him</i> (Deut. 4:29).