It all starts with the verse, "Then Moses…sang" (Exodus 15:1). The Rabbis connect this to Proverbs 31:26, "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." But the real kicker? From the moment God created the world, until that very moment at the Red Sea, no one sang a song to God!
Think about that for a second. Adam, the first human? Silent. Abraham, rescued from the fiery furnace? No song. Isaac, spared from sacrifice? Nope. Jacob, delivered from the angel and Esau? Still nothing. According to this Midrash, all these monumental events passed without a song of gratitude bursting forth. Why?
The Midrash implies that there was something unique about the moment at the Sea. Something that finally unlocked the human capacity for true, unbridled praise. What was it?
Shemot Rabbah continues, noting that God was waiting for these people, the Israelites, to sing. The text then delves into the meaning of the Hebrew word az (אָז), which appears in the verse, "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang." Az, we’re told, signifies rejoicing. As it says in Psalms 126:2, "Then [az] our mouth will be filled with laughter."
But Rabbi Yehuda ben Pazi takes it a step further. He asks, what did Israel see that made them sing with az?
Their answer is powerful: "Initially, this sea was dry land." The generation of Enosh, they explain, angered God with az, as in, "Then [az] they began profaning the name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26). Because of their actions, God turned the dry land into a sea, enacting retribution. As Amos 5:8 and 9:6 state, "Who calls the waters of the sea and pours them on the face of the earth."
Now, think about that for a moment. The very sea that was a punishment for earlier transgressions, that very sea was transformed back into dry land, but this time for them, for the Israelites! "The children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea" (Exodus 14:29). They would laud God with az because He transformed the sea into dry land.
The Midrash goes on to say that az also means security, referencing Proverbs 3:23: "Then [az] you shall walk on your path securely."
So, what does it all mean? The Israelites weren't just singing about a miraculous escape. They were singing about redemption, about the reversal of a curse, about the promise of security on their path forward. They were singing because they understood, perhaps for the first time, the depth of God's unwavering commitment to them.
The Song of the Sea wasn't just a song; it was a testament. A testament to a people who had finally found their voice, a voice of gratitude, of joy, and of unwavering faith in the face of impossible odds. And perhaps, in finding their voice, they inspired us to find ours as well. How do we sing our thanks, our az, for the miracles in our own lives? That, I think, is the question this Midrash leaves us with.