Fighting Quietly |
Sometimes, you’re in between a rock and a hard place.
We’ve all been there before, though not literally (except Moshe will have that happen to him in about five weeks at HaShem’s request [Exodus:33:21]).
There, we are encamped in front of Pi haChirot between Migdol and the Red Sea.
Quite a bit is happening: HaShem relays to Moshe what Pharaoh will say– that Bnei Yisrael are trapped (from the root vowel bet-vav-chuf, ב-ו-ך, which appears to more times in Tanach, in Joel:1:18 and in Esther:3:15).
HaShem also informs Moshe that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will chase Bnei Yisrael, and that He, HaShem Will be honored through Pharaoh. ( I do love Rav Yosef Bechor Shor’s understanding that the root chuf-vet-daled means heavy, meaning that HaShem will deal a heavy blow to Pharaoh.)
When it is told to Pharaoh that Bnei Yisrael escaped, his heart changes for the final time, and he decides to chase after them; he takes his chariot, 600 elite chariots, and the rest of the chariots of Egypt. (Exodus: 14:6-7)
The Lekach Tov, who is quoted by the Torah Shlomo, states that from the verse above, we learn that though love is an over encompassing feeling, hate is a feeling that is capable of encompassing a person even more, since Pharaoh harnessed his own chariot. Rashi simply says that........