Parshat Beshallach

As Bnai Yisrael faced the sea in front of them, Pharoah and his forces closed in from behind. The people panicked:

“And Pharoah drew near and Bnai Yisrael lifted up their eyes and behold the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were very much afraid, and Bnai Yisrael cried out to
G-d.” (Shemot 14:10)

They turned as well to Moshe, who gave them encouragement. Subsequently, however, G-d says to Moshe:

“Why are you crying out to me? Speak to Bnai Yisrael that they should go forward.” (Shemot 14:15)

One might imply from this verse that Moshe engaged at that time in prayer. Yet, the Torah does not record Moshe’s prayer, and, as Ibn Ezra points out, it would have been inappropriate for Moshe to pray at that point since G-d had already prepared Moshe for this scenario. Furthermore, Moshe had just told the people that they need not pray.

Ibn Ezra and Haketav Vehakabbalah suggest that the reference is actually to the previous cries of Bnai Yisrael, the implication being that Moshe bears some responsibility for their cries in that he did not do enough to prevent them.

Ramban rejects this interpretation and claims that Moshe did in fact turn to G-d in prayer, even though it is not recorded in the Torah. This opinion is adopted by Rashi as well. Ramban claims that, although Moshe had been prepared for the events that would take place at the sea, his prayer was a human emotional reaction to the difficulty of the situation.

Sforno offers a different perspective on Moshe’s prayer. He claims that Moshe was frustrated by the reaction of Bnai Yisrael and their continuous inability to have faith in G-d’s salvation. Thus his prayer was not to save them from Pharoah, but to help him deal with the people.

G-d’s response to Moshe (“speak to Bnai Yisrael that they should go forward”) can be understood according to all of the interpretations:

1. According to Ibn Ezra, G-d’s response is to the cries of Bnai Yisrael. He tells Moshe to move them beyond their initial reaction of fear and panic.
2. Rashi interprets G-d’s answer to be that prayer is not enough, that in this situation human action is required.
3. Sorno understands the answer as an assurance to Moshe: “You suspect those who are innocent. Tell Bnai Yisrael to move forward, and they will not rebel against your directives.” According to this interpretation, implied in G-d’s response is a rebuke of Moshe for not having enough faith in his people.

At the sea, Moshe was faced with another crisis of leadership. The various interpretations of this difficult verse offer sage advice – the need of the leader to act, to encourage his people to act, and to have faith in his people.

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