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Possible Answers for the Portion of Beshalach

1. Exodus ch. 13, v. 16-8, ch. 12, v. 51: Who took the Jews out of Egypt?

We all know that G-d took us out of Egypt. The ten commandments begin by telling us so. "I am the L-rd.. who took you out of the land of Egypt.." It is also quite evident that Pharaoh sent or chased us out of Egypt. The whole point of the ten plagues was to force Pharaoh to let the people go - or , more accurately, to send them out of Egypt. To a degree, these two facts are contradictory. Did Pharaoh send them or did G-d take them out? However, this needn't necessarily be seen as a contradiction, since sending out and taking out are not identical. Pharaoh sends them out and G-d takes them out.   The text is very careful to maintain the balance between Pharaoh's sending and G-d's taking out, throughout the narrative. When G-d first encounters Moshe, it is suggested that Moshe take the people out.

Perhaps due to Moshe's initial unwillingness, this notion is never again repeated. Besides, G-d is the redeemer, not Moshe.  Throughout the exodus narrative, from the burning bush to the splitting of the sea, G-d is portrayed as redeeming the people, 3 times as savior, twice as the one who lifts up, and 3 times during the plagues and 5 times during and after the exodus, he is spoken of as having taken them out. Additionally, he is referred to as intending to "redeem, take for Himself, and bring the people to Canaan".  Three times G-d predicts that Pharaoh will "send the people out", and our portion this week opens with the description of Pharaoh sending the nation out. Immediately juxtaposed to Pharaoh's sending is G-d's "leading, going before the people, and guiding" them. When the crossing of the sea is accomplished, Moshe's song at the sea describes G-d as leading and guiding His people, and it prays for Him to "bring them" to His mountain.  

According to Rabbi Mordekhai Breuer, Israeli author of  Pirke Moadot, the need for the splitting of the sea was to separate the exodus from Pharaoh. Until the showdown at the sea, Pharaoh had let them g. Once Pharaoh changed his mind and decided to take them back, he reneged on his sending, and now G-d alone was responsible for their salvation. G-d's redemption continues to serve as the basis of our relationship with Him, and would not have been the same had Pharaoh's hand remained a part of the exodus. In the end, Pharaoh recognized G-d, but G-d remained our redeemer.

2. What circle is closed by v. 19, ch. 13?
3. ch. 14, v. 6: Did Pharaoh chase the Jews with his own chariot?

The book of Genesis ends with Joseph's prayer or prediction that the L-rd will redeem us from Egypt, and then records his death. Exodus begins with the death of Joseph and the decline which ensued. As the Israelites leave Egypt, Joseph's prediction comes true, and the circle is completed by fulfilling Joseph's wish to return to Israel with the Israelites.  The Torah seems to say that Pharaoh went himself, not only to chase down the slaves, but even to prepare his own horse. The midrash, echoed by Rashi  believed that he demeaned himself to do so because of his blind hatred for the Israelites. Ibn Ezra , however, is of the opinion that Pharaoh simply commanded his troops to prepare the horses, but not that he did so or that he even went with the troops.

4. v. 10, 11, 15: To whom did Israel cry?

Verse 10 in ch. 14 reads, " they cried out to G-d". The next verse reads that they complained to Moshe that he took them out to die in the wilderness. What is the relationship of these two verses? Did they piously cry to G-d or rebelliously complain to Moshe? There are three possible relationships between these verses. 1) Some Israelites prayed.  Others complained.  2) The complaining to Moshe is an elaboration of the form which their crying out to G-d took. They didn't cry out to G-d actually at all. Their complaint before Moshe was perceived by G-d as a crying out to Him. We find a similar phenomenon in the period of slavery. In 3, 7 & 9, and 6, 4 we find G-d referring to Israel's cry to G-d, but one can't ascertain whether they're just crying to themselves because of all the work, or crying to G-d. G-d may not care which one it is. He hears either kind of cry. 3) They cried to G-d and they complained to Moshe. They were polite to G-d but ultimately distrusting of G-d and certainly of Moshe.

5. The song of the splitting of the sea (ch. 15, v. 1-18): Divide the song into 3 or 4 parts.

1) The song opens with the general praise of G-d. 2) It continues with a poetic and fantastical version of the splitting. There is a mythological element here as well as G-d is described as blowing His wind to move the waters. 3) The reaction of the nations to this miracle is perhaps merely a part of 4) the vision of how G-d will smoothly guide the people to their land and their temple. How will the people pass into the land so easily? The local nations will be so terrified that they won't dare fight Israel. The bloody sea is the road to a bloodless conquest of a terrified Canaanite population. Things of course never worked out this way but that was the Israelite's own fault.

6. v. 21: What's the musical and content relationship between the women's and men's songs?

Her singing may have been a refrain and a chorus to the men's song, a one line response, perhaps sung repeatedly, or the fact that only the first line is recorded from the women's song reflects the fact that they sang the entire song.

7. What images recur over and over in the song?

Heights and depths:most exalted, threw down, I will exalt Him, cast down, drowned, depths, went down, depths, like a rock (falls), glorious, trample, exaltedness, step on, those who stand up against you,straw (low), piled up, stood straight, a mound of earth, depths, the heart of the sea, sank like lead, lifted, swallow, fall upon them, silent as a rock, the mountain.

8. ch. 14, v. 14, 18, 31. ch. 15, v. 14-16: What's the point of the splitting?

1) To put the Egyptians literally "behind" them. 2) To convince Egypt of G-d's greatness. 3) To convince the people of G-d and Moshe's leadership. 4) To scare the nations of the Canaan in order to insure an easy take over of Canaan.

9. v. 25: What laws did they learn?

They didn't necessarily learn any laws. They learned that one has to follow G-d's will.   Rashi, based on the midrash says that they learned the basics of Judaism; Shabbat and honoring the father and mother, laws governing interpersonal relations, and the mysterious laws of the red heifer. Rabbi Yehudah Amital of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion explained that the Israelites were introduced there to all the major concepts of Judaism. Shabbat observance is a strong part of Jewish culture and distinctiveness. Interpersonal relations, be they between parents and children or otherwise, are also an important component of Judaism. Spiritual rituals are not enough to be a Jew. Judaism insists on full adherence to interpersonal ethics as well. Finally, as much as Judaism is a rational religion with an emphasis on study, it is also one which occasionally demands blind adherence to red heifer laws and the like.

10. ch. 17, v. 8-16: Amalek attacks. Why in this particular context?

The context here is very rich; 1) the exodus as a whole, 2) the recent miracles, including a) the splitting of the sea, b) the manna, c-d) the sweetening and finding of water at Marrah and Refidim, and 3) the complaining a) at the sea, b) in Marrah (15, 24), c) in the desert and d) Refidim (16,2; 17,2), as well as e) the disobedience regarding the manna. 

The passages in the Torah which follow the Amalek story are the stories of Jethro's blessing to G-d and advice to Moshe, as well as the giving of the ten commandments.  Each component of the full context provides meaning for our story about Amalek. The initial attack by Amalek, and their partial success serve as a great contrast to the purely linear movement in this book until now.  For the first time, things get worse, not better. The context of sinfulness is certainly a possible reason for the sudden downfall.  The link between success and obedience is specified in 15, 26: If you hearken to My commandments... all the plagues I placed upon Egypt I will not place on you. Suddenly, it is the Israelites who can't drink the water. Suddenly, it's the Israelites whose heart is hard. The song of the sea speaks of a terrified populace in the region, as a result of the splitting. Amalek begins to show us that it won't be that easy.

All of the above assumes that the Israelites suffered a partial defeat at the hands of Amalek. This is based on the notion that it was a surprise attack and the Israelite victory is described using an obscure verb which is sometimes related to weakness. It is also based on the description in Deuteronomy which describes Amalek attacking the stragglers while we were tired, weak, and not G-d fearing(25, 17-9).  However, we cannot always read one book of the Pentateuch in light of another. There is little indication here that we have here anything but a miraculous victory, led by Moshe's famous hands and magical rod. On the contrary, why would G-d have such a war against Amalek for all generations if the Israelites brought this on themselves? This is rather a continuation of G-d's battle against Israel's enemies, from Egypt to Amalek. From this perspective, the story is part of a chain of miracles which are brought about despite the people's rebelliousness.

This story has been said to precede the Jethro story to present two gentile reactions to the exodus, that of G-d fearing Jethro, and the irreverent Amalek. There will always be skeptics, but not everyone on the outside is an enemy.