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מלחמה לד' בעמלק מדר דר

A war against Amalek from generation to generation. (17:16)

Hashem will continue the war against Amalek from generation to generation – literally, forever, until the memory of that evil nation will be expunged. The Melitzer Rebbe, Shlita, of Ashdod derives from here the profound difference between the Jewish People and the offspring of Amalek. Dor l’dor yeshabach maasecha, “Generation to generation will praise Your deeds” (Tehillim 145:4). The very essence of the Jewish People is dependent upon their mesorah, tradition transmitted throughout the generations, from father to son. Dor l’dor, generation to generation. The lamed connects the first dor, generation, to the next. There is a filial bond that…

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אז ישיר משה ובני ישראל את השירה הזאת לד'

Then Moshe and Bnei Yisrael sang this song to Hashem. (15:1)

The verb yashir, he sang [will sing] is written in the future tense, although it is clearly a reference to an event which had already taken place. Rashi explains that the future tense is related to a past occurrence, the time that Moshe Rabbeinu first considered singing. In an alternative exposition, he quotes Chazal, who interpret yashir as referring to an event which will yet take place in the future. This pasuk is a remez, allusion, that the axiom, Techiyas HaMeisim min haTorah, the Resurrection of the Dead, is referenced in the Torah. Indeed, Moshe and all Yisrael sang then,…

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מה תצעק אלי ד' ילחם לכם ואתם תחרשון

Hashem will fight for you. And you shall be silent. Hashem said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me?” (14:14,15)

Moshe Rabbeinu told the people that crying was not the correct response to the present situation. Hashem asked Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me?” Apparently, this was a situation which did not call for prayer (cry out to me). It was a time for action, for an affirmation of one’s devotion to Hashem. In other words, when one is up against the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army bringing up the flank, one jumps into the water. Horav Shalom Arush, Shlita, explains that, on a deeper level, Hashem is actually teaching Moshe and Bnei Yisrael: “You do not…

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ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם

It happened when Pharaoh sent the nation. (13:17)

In the Talmud Megillah 10b, Chazal state that the word vayehi, “and it was”, implies sadness. The Midrash says that Vayehi is a combination of two words: Vay – woe; and v’hi, as in nehi, which means mourning. These two words describe anything but joy. This brings us to ask: What about the Exodus engendered sadness? This was Klal Yisrael’s finest moment; surely nothing about it would provoke sadness. Furthermore, the phrase beshalach Pharaoh, “when Pharaoh sent (the people),” raises a question: When did Pharaoh send out the people? He had nothing to do with it! It was Hashem throughout…

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