151. And Israel Saw the Egyptians

In the verse, “and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea­shore,” “…and the people feared the Lord; and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses,” we must understand how is “they believed” relevant here? Obviously, the miracle of the exodus from Egypt and the division of the sea brought Israel to greater faith than they had had before. After all, our sages said about the verse, “this is my God, and I will glorify Him,” that a maid at the sea saw more than did Ezekiel the prophet.

Hence, this means that the exodus from Egypt was a case of open miracles, which brings to knowledge of the Lord, which is the opposite of the meaning of “faith,” since it does not mean above reason. And when seeing open miracles, it is very hard to be in faith, since, moreover, it is a time of expansion of the reason. Therefore, what is the meaning of the text, “and they believed in the Lord”?

However, we should interpret according to the commentary that “All believe that He is a God of faith.” The verse narrates Israel’s praise, who, even after seeing the revealed miracles, their servitude of the Creator was not reduced in them, by way of faith above reason. And it is great work to hold on to the path of faith and not slight it at all once you are awarded and can serve the Creator within reason.