The nation of Israel is standing at the sea, trapped. The sea is before them and the Egyptian army is in hot pursuit behind them. The nation seeing this cried out to God. Moshe Rabbeinu, as well, cried out to God. The Ibn Ezra1 and the Ramban2 both have difficulty with Moshe Rabbeinu crying out to God. God had just finished telling him exactly what would happen. There were no surprises here. God told Moshe to bring the nation back to camp by the sea. He told Moshe clearly that Pharaoh would pursue them and that God would be glorified by the destruction of the Egyptians before their eyes. The nation may not have known all this. It is not clear from the pesukim that Moshe Rabbeinu told them. They certainly had every reason to cry to God in prayer. Why, though, did Moshe Rabbeinu cry out to God? He knew exactly what was about to transpire.
The Sfas Emes explains that it is the way of the righteous to cry out to God even after they are promised salvation. As a vehicle for serving God and coming close to Him, prayer is relevant and required even after God promises to fulfill a request. Chazal teach us that there are no guarantees for the righteous.3 According to the Sfas Emes, this means that the righteous understand that they must turn to God even after assurances are given. In fact, the Sfas Emes takes this idea a step further and says that God only promises those who He knows will continue to turn to Him in prayer even after the promise. Moshe Rabbeinu, therefore, cried out to God even after the promise. For this very reason, God made the promise known to him.
The nation, on the other hand, apparently would not have continued to pray for salvation had we known God’s promise to destroy the Egyptians. It is possible that for this reason God did not command Moshe Rabbeinu to convey the promise of Egypt’s destruction to the nation. Chazal teach us that God wants us to cry out to Him.4 In Shir HaShirim (2:14) we find, “ יוֹנָתִי בְּחַגְוֵי הַסֶּלַע... הַשְׁמִיעִנִי אֶת-קוֹלֵךְ .../My dove, in the clefts of the rock … let me hear your voice …” The Midrash in this week’s parsha explains that this is an allegory. It refers to God telling the nation of Israel at the sea that He wants to hear our voice in prayer.
God wants us to turn to Him always. The Sfas Emes teaches in a different ma’amar that we are required to turn to God in prayer even after our prayers are answered. This approach to prayer is very different from the conventional approach. This approach to prayer is based on the concept that prayer is primarily a tool for coming close to God, may we merit it.
1Ibn Ezra on Shmos 14:15
2Ramban on Shmos 14:15
3Breishis R. 76:2
4Shmos R. 21:5
Sfas Emes blog
וא"ע ורמב"ן מקשים על צעקת מרע"ה. הלא הקב"ה הבטיחו שאכבדה בפרעה כו'. וצעקת בנ"י י"ל שלא ידעו מזה כי אין מפורש שמרע"ה הגיד להם וי"ל שא"ל רק שישובו. [ומה שלא אמר להם. נראה כי לשון מאמר ה' ואמר פרעה לבנ"י כו' משמע שזה נאמר לו. והפסיק הציווי של אמירתו לישראל וישובו ע"ש]. אבל מרע"ה למה צעק. אך נראה כי מדרך הצדיק לצעוק אף על מה שנבטח. שמאמר הש"י הוא אחר שלימות פעולותיו של האדם. ותפילה וצעקה בכלל פעולת אדם השלם לאלהיו. ולזאת מה שיהי' נושע ע"י תפילה וצעקה. הוא הישועה שנבטח עליו. ונראה שאין מבטיחין באמת. רק למי שיודע זה. שצריך צעקה גם אחר ההבטחה. [וז"ש אין הבטחה לצדיקים. וי"ל שלכך לא נאמר לישראל ההבטחה שלא היו צועקין. והש"י רצה שיצעקו כמ"ש במד' השמיעיני את קולך. אבל מרע"ה אף שנבטח צעק. ולכך נאמר לו ההבטחה כנ"ל]:
