Parshas Beshalach 5786: Singing Ponies

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Parshas Beshalach 

לעילוי נשמת האדא בת מרדכי 

 

Singing Ponies 

Rashi (Shemos 14:23) comments on the passuk describing the Mitzriyim chasing B’nei Yisroel:  “...וַיָּבֹאוּ אַחֲרֵיהֶם כָּל סוּס פַּרְעֹה...”, that the Torah uses the singular word sus (horse) even though clearly there were many horses pursuing B’nei Yisroel. Rashi, quoting the Mechilta, explains that all of Pharaoh’s horses were considered “כְּסוּס אֶחָד” like a single horse in Hashem’s eyes.  

This raises two questions: First, why does the Torah need to teach this idea here? Isn’t it already obvious that Hashem could defeat many horses as easily as one? Second, why make this point specifically through the image of a horse, rather than describing the entire Mitzriyim army as a single unit? 

To answer this, we need to step back and notice a broader pattern. Throughout the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim, as well as elsewhere in Tanach, there is a clear association between Mitzrayim and their horses and chariots. The Torah constantly emphasizes sus, rechev, and parashav. Shiras HaYam (“Az Yashir”) celebrates that “סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם”, in one of many examples in this Parsha alone. The Mitzriyim even adorned their horses with jewelry (see Rashi 15:21). In fact, even the mitzvah brought later in the Torah (Devarim 17:16) which commands a Jewish king not to return to Mitzrayim, the passuk qualifies “in order to add to his horses”. What is this seemingly deep connection between Mitzrayim and the horse? 

A classic image of a man in battle or exerting control is while on a horse. The horse is trained, harnessed and directed by the rider who holds the reins in mastery. This was the epitome of Pharaoh’s worldview. No slave ever escaped Mitzrayim. Mitzrayim was the world-power, and they believed in themselves and their ability to command the world around them.  

This is precisely what the makkos Mitzrayim, culminating with Kriyas Yam Suf, came to counter.  Pharaoh and the Mitzriyim lived with the illusion of control over the world, embodied by the soldier mounted on his horse. Kriyas Yam Suf shattered that illusion, demonstrating that all power exists only within Hashem’s ratzon. The apparent peak of human might, a soldier on horseback, is utterly meaningless in the face of Hashem’s ratzon.  

This idea deepens when we consider where these horses came from. Rashi (14:7), among other Rishonim, asks: Where did all the animals pulling the chariots come from? They could not have belonged to the Mitzriyim themselves, since makkas dever destroyed all livestock (Shemos 9:6), nor could they have been taken from B’nei Yisroel, who left with all of their animals. Rashi answers that the animals came from “those who feared Hashem”; the Mitzriyim who heeded Moshe’s warning and brought their animals indoors before makkas dever and barad. In this context, Rashi quotes Rabbi Shimon who would say that even the best of the Mitzriyim could not ultimately be trusted. 

How could we understand this? Rashi quoting Rabbi Shimon implies that it wasn't that the general population of Mitzriyim took the horses of those who feared Hashem by force, but rather that the “best among them” themselves came with their horses to chase B’nei Yisroel. How could it be that the Mitzriyim who “feared Hashem”, that brought all the animals in during the makkos, were now chasing after B’nei Yisroel? What changed? 

Perhaps the answer lies in the difference between two types of fear. There is yiras ha’onesh (fear of punishment) and yiras haromemus (awe of Hashem’s greatness). These Mitzriyim who  
feared Hashem, only feared the stated consequences. Therefore, when Moshe, after several makkos, had warned that animals outside would be killed, these Mitzriyim who “feared Hashem” chose action over ignorance and believed that in fact that would happen. However, their fear was “awe-ful”, not “awesome”. As long as there was no explicit threat, they were willing to come with their horses and believe in their own power and control.  

The contrast between these two forms of fear becomes clear in the pesukim describing B’nei Yisroel’s response: “va’yir’u ha’am es Hashem...” (Shemos 14:31) and “...norah sehilos oseh pheleh...”. At Kriyas Yam Suf, their fear was not driven by danger or punishment, but by the recognition of “Mi Kamocha”, a fundamental sense of awe from encountering Hashem’s incomprehensible greatness, beyond the limits of praise.  

This is why the Torah later commands a Jewish king not to return to Mitzrayim and multiply horses. The Ramban explains that this mitzvah is not about logistics or business transactions but about worldview. Do not rebuild the mentality that Hashem at Kriyas Yam Suf blew out of the water. Do not believe that security comes from mastery of nature, technology, or power. Horses, like everything else, exist only within Hashem’s will; and at His will, they can be reduced to nothing. 

As we sing Shiras Hayam, let’s also think about the Shirash HaSus (the song of the horse). Perek Shirah brings that the horse praises Hashem with the words of Tehillim (123:2): 

 הִנֵּ֨ה כְעֵינֵ֪י עֲבָדִ֡ים אֶל־יַ֤ד אֲֽדוֹנֵיהֶ֗ם כְּעֵינֵ֣י שִׁפְחָה֮ אֶל־יַ֢ד גְּבִ֫רְתָּ֥הּ כֵּ֣ן עֵ֭ינֵינוּ אֶל ה’  אֱלֹקֵ֑ינוּ עַ֝֗ד שֶׁיְּחׇנֵּֽנוּ - As the eyes of servants follow their master’s hand, as the eyes of a maid follow the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are toward Hashem our G-d....”. The horse, the quintessential tool of man believing in himself and exerting control on the world, knows that the only real dependency is on Hashem. As we say every day in our own Tehillim part of Davening: “אֵ֣לֶּה בָ֭רֶכֶב וְאֵ֣לֶּה בַסּוּסִ֑ים וַאֲנַ֓חְנוּ ׀ בְּשֵׁםָ֖ ה’ אֱלֹקֵ֣ינוּ נַזְכִּֽיר׃” - They [rely] on chariots, they [rely] on horses, but we call on the name of Hashem.  

 

Ponies do sing, even if they are a little hoarse.