תהלים, פרק ע״ח, פסוק כ״ו

Following the complaints of the Israelites in the desert, God provided them with quail to eat. To deliver these birds from the sea directly to their camp, He sent forth a special, divinely directed wind [רש״י, אבן עזרא]. God caused an east wind to blow while simultaneously guiding a south wind, directing these forces with His immense power and strength [מצודת ציון]. The primary approach among commentators is that these two directions describe a single, unified wind blowing from the southeast [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, מאירי].

Another perspective suggests a staged process, explaining why two separate directions are mentioned. First, the east wind lifted the birds up from the Red Sea into the sky. Once they were airborne, the south wind took command to navigate them toward the camp. Because the south wind is naturally fierce and stormy, capable of causing great destruction, God had to use His power to restrain and guide it. This ensured the wind carried the birds gently and stopped precisely over the Israelites [אלשיך].

Beyond the mechanics of how the birds were carried, the specific choice of wind directions served to highlight the magnitude of the miracle and eliminate any natural explanations. The sea was located to the north and west of the Israelites. Under normal circumstances, a wind carrying birds from the sea to the camp would have to blow from the north or the west. The fact that God specifically used east and south winds—which naturally should have pushed the birds away in the opposite direction—proved to the people that this was not a random weather event. Instead, it was an undeniable miracle that completely defied the laws of nature [מלבי״ם].