IN A NUTSHELL
The Israelites walked out of Egypt and into the desert, finally a free people. God led them by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. They were headed to Mount Sinai, but they went the long way round, to avoid possible battles on their way.
Then Pharaoh felt regret for setting them free, and chased after them with his powerful army of many men, horses, and chariots. The Israelites reached the Red Sea with nowhere safe to turn. They panicked and cried out to God in despair. Moshe calmed them and promised that God would save them. Then God caused the sea to miraculously divide, forming two walls of water with a path in the middle.
The Israelites walked along the dry path. As they reached the other side of the sea, the Egyptian army chased them along the same path, but the sea walls crashed down and drowned the army. The Israelites, led by Moshe and Miriam, sang songs of praise and thanksgiving for the miracle they had just witnessed.
But their troubles were not over. The people needed water and food and complained to Moshe. God sent both: water sprang from a rock, and manna came down from heaven. Then a new enemy, the Amalekites, attacked. The Israelite army defeated the Amalekites with the help of God, who then told Moshe to write all these events down as a remembrance.
QUESTION TO PONDER
What do you find to be the most impressive miracle in this parasha: the pillars of fire and cloud, the splitting of the sea, the water from the rock, the manna from heaven, or the victory in battle over Amalek?