Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
Midrashim are ideas or stories that explain the Torah. They often come from listening very carefully to what the Torah says and how it says it. Here, we will look for what clues this midrash sees in the Torah's words and try to understand its messages.
There are some midrashim that imagine what was going on with the angels in Heaven while the events at the יַם סוּף (Yam Suf, Reed Sea) were occurring on earth. These midrashim are prompted by a curious phrase (Shemot 14:20): וְלֹא קָרַב זֶה אֶל זֶה כָּל הַלָּיְלָה (one could not come near the other all through the night).
It’s not completely clear who this is talking about, but “zeh el zeh” reminds our rabbis of another famous place in Tanakh where the words “zeh el zeh” appear, in reference to angels in conversation (Yeshayahu 6:3). (You might recognize these words from Kedushah, which quotes the angels from this story!)
Here are two versions of the midrash about what was going on with the angels above, while, down below, Benei Yisrael crossed to safety, and the Egyptians drowned:
בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה בִּקְּשׁוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: "מַעֲשֵׂי יָדָי טוֹבְעִים בַּיָּם, וְאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים שִׁירָה לְפָנַי?!"
At that time, the angels asked to sing a song in celebration before the Holy Blessed One.
The Holy Blessed One said to them: “My handiwork [the Egyptians] are drowning in the sea, and you want to sing before Me?!”
בִּקְּשׁוּ הַמַּלְאָכִים לוֹמַר שִׁירָה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּאוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה שֶׁעָבְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַיָּם,
וְלֹא הִנִּיחָם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
אָמַר לָהֶם: "לִגְיוֹנוֹתַי נְתוּנִים בַּצָּרָה, וְאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים לְפָנַי שִׁירָה?!"
The angels asked to sing a song in celebration before the Holy Blessed One on the night that Benei Yisrael crossed the Sea. But the Holy Blessed One did not allow it.
God said to them: “My legions [Benei Yisrael] are in distress, and you want to sing before Me?!”
- How do you understand the difference between these two versions of the story? What could be motivating each version?
- Do you think God was sad about the Egyptians who died? Is it okay, like the angels in the first midrash, to want to rejoice when your enemies are suffering?
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