תהלים, פרק ע״ח, פסוק י״ב

The historical tradition of the Israelites relies on an unbroken chain of generations, where undeniable miracles serve as living testimony passed from parent to child. At the core of this tradition are the massive wonders that took place in the heart of the Egyptian empire, designed to prove God's direct providence over His people.

The primary approach among commentators is that these grand events were performed directly in the presence of the generation that left Egypt. Because the miracles occurred openly and in plain sight, they established a solid foundation of testimony for those ancestors to pass down to future generations who did not experience the events themselves [רד״ק, אבן עזרא]. These public displays ensured that the testimony would remain perfectly preserved throughout history [מלבי״ם]. In contrast, a midrashic perspective suggests that the miracles were actually presented before the founding fathers of the nation, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. According to this view, God brought the souls of the Patriarchs to the Red Sea to witness firsthand how He redeemed their descendants and drowned the Egyptians who had enslaved them [רש״י, מצודת דוד].

The miraculous intervention in Egypt was not an isolated event, but rather a comprehensive system of plagues and signs that struck the land [רד״ק, אבן עזרא]. These interventions took place across the entire Egyptian territory, often poetically referred to by the name of its central royal city and its surrounding regions [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Beyond the famous public plagues, the Israelites also experienced hidden miracles during the bitter years of their enslavement. For example, when Hebrew women secretly gave birth in the fields to protect their babies, they experienced extraordinary divine protection. God would open the earth to hide the infants, personally raising and feeding them. When these children eventually grew up and emerged to find their families, another miracle occurred, allowing parents and children to instantly recognize one another [אלשיך].

The performance of these wonders also served a profound purpose at the Red Sea, justifying the salvation of the Israelites despite the sins they would commit in the future. Because God had already punished the Egyptians for enslaving the Israelites, allowing the Israelites to drown in the sea would have desecrated God's name. It would have raised the question of why He struck the Egyptians in the first place. To prevent this and fulfill the purpose of the initial plagues, God split the sea, completing the redemption He had begun in Egypt [חומת אנך].