The Faith of the Generation of the Desert

Sources

And when Israel saw the wondrous power which יהוה had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared יהוה; they had faith in יהוה and in God’s servant Moses.

and the assembly was convinced. When they heard that יהוה had taken note of the Israelites and that [God] had seen their plight, they bowed low in homage.

Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said GOD:
I accounted to your favor
The devotion of your youth,
Your love as a bride—
How you followed Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.

AND THEY BELIEVED IN THE LORD. They believed that the Lord is truth and that Moses is His servant and will do only that which the Lord commands him to do.

Ibn Ezra on Exodus 14:31:2

Another matter, “then Moses…sang” – that is what is written: “They believed in His words, they sang His praise” (Psalms 106:12). Rabbi Abahu said: Although it is written that they already believed while they were in Egypt, as it is stated: “The people believed” (Exodus 4:31), they subsequently did not believe, as it is stated: “Our ancestors in Egypt did not comprehend Your wonders” (Psalms 106:7). When they came to the sea and saw the might of the Holy One blessed be He, how He administers justice to the wicked, as you say: “My hand grasps judgment” (Deuteronomy 32:41)…

Shemot Rabbah 23:2

IN ORDER THAT THE PEOPLE MAY HEAR WHEN I SPEAK WITH THEE. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that there were among the Israelites people who doubted the existence of prophecy. And even though it is written, and they believed in the Eternal, and in His servant Moses, it is said there, and ‘Israel’ saw, but not “all Israel.” It is this which they said to him [after the Giving of the Torah], This day we have seen that G-d doth speak with man, and he liveth, for at first they did not believe so…

Ramban on Exodus 19:9:2

AND THEY WERE SORE AFRAID; AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CRIED OUT UNTO THE ETERNAL. 11. AND THEY SAID UNTO MOSES: ‘BECAUSE WERE THERE NO GRAVES IN EGYPT, HAST THOU TAKEN US TO DIE IN THE WILDERNESS’? It does not appear logical that people who are crying out to G-d to help them, should at the same time protest against the deliverance He performed for them, and say that it would have been better if He had not saved them! The correct interpretation therefore is that there were conflicting groups, and Scripture relates what all of them did…

Ramban on Exodus 14:10:1

In any event, it still remains to be explained why the Torah did not teach us the ways by which a true prophet may be discriminated. It is possible, however, that these are alluded to in the expression "such as I" [(Deuteronomy 18:15): "A prophet from your midst, from your brothers, such as I…"]; that is, one whose prophecy is substantiated as mine was. And it is well known that the prophecy of Moses, may peace be upon him, was substantiated in two ways: first, through the signs, which sufficed for the Jews' believing that the L-rd had remembered them and had seen their affliction…

Derashot HaRan 11:44

I believe that initially the Israelites believed that Moses was a true servant of the Lord who enjoyed G'd's ear, that G'd would respond favourably to Moses' prayers, etc. They did not believe that G'd actually spoke to Moses. They believed the theories of the philosophers that it is impossible for G'd to speak with man and for man to remain alive. The same philosophers admitted however, that man can speak to G'd and that He listens to man and responds positively. Inasmuch as this was a widespread belief…

Or HaChaim on Exodus 19:9:4

As long as I have known you, you have been defiant toward יהוה.

Deuteronomy 9:24

They will listen to you; then you shall go with the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, ‘יהוה, the God of the Hebrews, became manifest to us. Now therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to our God יהוה.’

Another matter, “Send you men”; although the Holy One blessed be He said: “Send you,” it was not from the Holy One blessed be He that they should go. Why? It is because the Holy One blessed be He had already said the praise of the Land of Israel to them: “For the Lord your God is bringing you to [a good] land” (Deuteronomy 8:7). Likewise it says: “For the land that you are coming there to take possession of it…[it drinks water from the rain]” (Deuteronomy 11:10–11). And while they were still in Egypt…

Bamidbar Rabbah 16:7

אז ישיר משה, Then Moses began to sing, etc. It would have sufficed for the Torah to write וישר משה, "Moses sang," without the introduction אז, "then." However, the Torah wanted to tell us of the preparation which resulted in that song of jubilation. After Israel acquired the fear of G'd's Majesty, which in turn resulted in a profound measure of faith both in G'd and in Moses, they were divinely inspired to sing this song of thanksgiving.

Or HaChaim on Exodus 15:1:1

To the choirmaster. This refers to the verse (Numbers 21:19), "From Mattanah to Nahaliel." Rabbi Yehuda says that from the wilderness they merited to receive the Torah through Moses, as it says (Exodus 31:18), "And He gave to Moses." From Nahaliel they inherited idolatry, and they said to the calf (Exodus 32:4), "This is your God, O Israel." From the deaths in Mattanah they received the angel of death upon them, as it says (Numbers 14:35), "In this wilderness they shall die." From the deaths in the valley that they caused, the righteous one buried in the valley was affected…

Midrash Tehillim 5:1

It is a well known fact that whenever someone makes extraordinary efforts to accomplish something, that something is of exceptional importance to the person making such a supreme effort on its account. If the Shunamite woman whose house the prophet Elisha used to frequent, built a private apartment for his use, then it is not surprising that the prophet tried to figure out the real reason she had gone to such trouble. When he failed to find the obvious answer such as acting as her attorney at the king's Court, he asked his assistant Gechazi…

Akeidat Yitzchak 45:1:4

It is in this context that we must understand the repeated references Moses made to the Jewish people at the burning bush, when he said to G-d that the Jewish people would not believe in him or his mission. Moses expected the same reaction from his own people that he had expected from Pharaoh. This is why he said "when they ask me for Your name, what shall I say?" (Exodus 3, 13) The miracle had been needed to demonstrate the existence of such a G-d. Whenever things went well, the people believed in G-d, Moses and his mission…

Akeidat Yitzchak 53:1:15

(1) Man is apt to sin for either of two reasons. Either he is overcome by physical temptation, or he subscribes to a faulty philosophy. In the latter event, his sin will be performed with dedication, since the sinner has become convinced that what he is doing is actually the will of the deity he worships. Warnings against this kind of sin must therefore be expressed in much stronger language than warnings against sins which are merely the result of weakness of the flesh, often only temporary. When warning against sins of the flesh, the Torah uses the term nefesh…

Akeidat Yitzchak 64:1:7

Relatedראו גם

Generation of the Desert

Sheetsדפי מקורות

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria. Learn More.OKאנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.קראו עוד בנושאלחצו כאן לאישור