The Promise of Freedom Lives On
Parashat B’Shalach: Exodus 13:17–17:16
Ben Volman, UMJC Canadian Regional Director
The epic story of Israel’s rise from bondage to freedom has had an enduring, universal impact among nations where there is a vision for national and individual liberty. It still speaks as powerfully to the internet generation as it did when Thomas Jefferson, in his second inaugural address, told Americans of his need for guidance from “that Being . . . who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessities and comforts of life.”
The late British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks highlights the lasting appeal, particularly in American public life, of the story of Pesach, found in this week’s parasha. Alongside Jefferson, Rabbi Sacks quotes political speeches from across the centuries that celebrate the great themes of “exodus, redemption and the presence of God in history.” Reflecting on the terrible cost of the Civil War, President Lincoln at his second inauguration, might have been describing God’s presence during the Exodus when he quoted from the book of James, “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether” (James 1:27).
The tumultuous plagues that God imposed on the Egyptians and their gods might have climaxed after the plague of death upon the first-born of Egypt when Pharaoh told Moshe and Aaron to “get out of here! But bless me too” (Ex. 12:32). Yet God hardened Pharaoh’s heart one last time. He repented of letting Israel go free and called out his army to bring them back. God would deliver one last judgment in order that “the Egyptians will realize at last that I am Adonai” (Ex. 14:4).
Israel had marched boldly out of Egypt, but at the shore of the Red Sea we see them wailing in fear as Pharaoh’s horses and chariots filled the horizon. Moshe tried to rally the people with the assurance that God would surely fight for them, but God interrupts: “Why are you crying out to me? Lift your staff, reach out with your hand over the sea, and divide it in two . . . Isra’el will advance into the sea on dry ground” (Ex. 14:16).
A separate tradition tells us that while the immobilized Israelites feared the worst, one inspired Israelite, Nahshon ben Aminidav, leapt expectantly into the water. In order to save this faithful Israeli, God told Moshe to raise his staff over the sea. As a reward for Nahshon’s trust in God’s sovereignty, David, his descendant, would become king of Israel (Mekhilta deRabbi Yishmael, Beshalah, Mesekhta deVayhi 5).
With Pharaoh’s army in hot in pursuit, Rashi’s commentary suggests that Moshe was too engrossed with lengthy prayers. Meanwhile, the Angel of the Lord, who had been leading Israel as a great pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, turned back to place himself in front of the advancing Egyptians. Rashi says that the cloud descended as darkness on the enemy, and kept both the Israelites and Egyptians separated through the night.
A close reading of the biblical account provides details with hidden meaning. The powerful east wind which causes the waters to part appears numerous times in Scripture as a means to bring God’s punishment on the wicked, including Jer. 18:17, Ezek. 27:26, and Is. 27:8. The reference to the “morning watch” approximately between 2 and 6 a.m., just prior to the first light of dawn, is the traditional time when armies attack (v. 24). Using this detail, the text provides an almost cinematic tableau as the Egyptian chariots and cavalry pursue Israel into the sea, and God chooses this hour to deliver judgment.
As the enemy rushes forward, God within the pillar of cloud and fire descends into their midst. “Adonai looked out on the Egyptians and threw them into a panic” (v. 24). In Scripture, when those intent on evil receive this “look,” God is about to unleash lightning and thunder (see Amos 9:4; Ps. 104:32). Now it is the hardhearted warriors who reel in panic as chariot wheels and axles are locked in mud and shattered. Confused and blinded as if in a hurricane they cry out, “Adonai is fighting for Israel . . . Let’s get away from them!” (v. 25). It is too late, and the psalmist makes the fury of God’s power explicit: “Your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightning flashes lit up the world, the earth trembled and shook. . . . You led your people like a flock under the care of Moshe and Aaron” (Ps. 77:19).
From the safety of the far shore, God commands Moshe: “Reach your hand out over the sea, and the water will return . . .” (Ex. 14:26). This is the ultimate blow to Pharaoh’s power, a devastation that none will survive. According to the rabbis, God takes no joy in their suffering and when the angels raise their voices to celebrate, they are admonished, “My creatures are perishing, and you are ready to sing.” Did Pharaoh escape the fate of his army? Not all the rabbis agree, but in the Great Hallel, Ps. 136: 15, the psalmist says that he, too, was swept into the sea.
Although the next chapter has Moshe and Miriam leading Israel in songs of triumph, by the end of the parasha, in chapter 17, we learn that freedom, even freedom under God, brings no guarantee of security or peace. Even as Moshe builds an altar to mark their victory, we learn: “Adonai will fight Amalek generation after generation” (Ex. 17:16).
As history has told us, the universal impact of this story is far greater than a story about God’s power to do the miraculous. In the modern world, no text has spoken more profoundly to people about their potential to achieve freedom. Martin Luther King, Jr., framed this biblical truth as a principle that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The message to Israel for all time is clear. The God who has raised you up in fulfillment of his word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will not forget his promises to you.
All Scripture quotes are taken from the Complete Jewish Bible.