ספר שמות

We may understand the word ‎אתם‎ better when comparing with Exodus 14,4 “I have ‎reinforced Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue you, etc.” You will note that during the ‎entire song of thanksgiving after the drowning of the Egyptians, in spite of frequent ‎repetitions of the many aspects of this miracle, Moses did not for a single time refer to the fact ‎that the Israelites had been saved, although he extols the annihilation of Egypt’s armed might. ‎This was in spite of the fact that the major aspect of the miracle was the saving of the ‎Israelites who had been between a “rock and a hard place,” completely helpless before that ‎miracle.The Talmud in Pessachim 118 is at pains to point out ‎that the Israelites of that generation were very weak in their level ‎of faith in G’d, so much so that they reasoned that just as they ‎themselves had been able to climb out of the sea bed on one side, ‎the Egyptians might have been able to do the same on the ‎opposite side of the shore. Why would such a thought be ‎justification to describe the Israelites as lacking in faith? ‎Furthermore, what does the Talmud mean by the words: ‎כשם שאנו ‏עולים‎, “just as we climbed out, etc.?” How could they compare ‎their situation to that of the Egyptians? Besides when had they ‎posed a threat to the Egyptians? In order to understand this ‎better we must remember that there are two different levels of ‎faith. The first and highest level is called ‎אמונה שלמה‎, “absolute ‎unshakable faith.” It includes that one believes absolutely ‎without reservation in the G’d of our forefathers, reveres Him and ‎loves Him. The second level of “faith,” is not “self generated,” but ‎is the result of experiencing mind-boggling events, such as the ‎miracles the Israelites had experienced both in Egypt and in even ‎greater measure at the sea of reeds. A look at what the Sifssey ‎chachamim has to say on Rashi’s explanation of Yitro’s ‎words in Exodus 18,11 ‎עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה' מכל האלוקים‎, “now I ‎know that Hashem is greater than any other deity.” ‎‎Rashi had interpreted this line to mean that in the past ‎Yitro had not left any religion untried until he had found it ‎wanting. The Sifssey chachamim points out that Rashi ‎had come to this conclusion from the apparent contradiction of ‎the word ‎עתה‎, ”now,” and the word ‎ידעתי‎, “I was familiar with,” in ‎the past tense. Yitro therefore meant that although in the past ‎he had been familiar with every deity, by now he had convinced ‎himself of Hashem’s absolute superiority.‎However, the Egyptians, far from reacting positively to the ‎performance of G’d’s miracles reacted negatively by becoming ‎ever more obstinate. This is indicated clearly in Exodus 15,4 when ‎Moses describes the choicest of the Egyptians’ captains being ‎flung into the sea to drown. (15,4) The expression ‎ובמבחר‎, “and ‎from the choice(st)” instead of ‎ומטוב‎ “and from the best,” is a ‎double entendre, and hints at the choice the Egyptians had made ‎to rather drown than acknowledge the superiority of ‎‎Hashem. Watching G’d perform miracles had left open the ‎choice for them to do teshuvah even though G’d had ‎performed one or two acts designed to give them confidence that ‎they could defeat the Israelites and their G’d. The same miracles ‎which had brought the Jewish people closer to G’d, had the ‎opposite effect on the Egyptians, confirming them in the belief ‎that their deity Baal Tzefon had proved superior to the ‎Jewish G’d.‎