Shirat HaYam — 10 Miracles and 10 Descents at Yam Suf
The Kavanot of Shirat HaYam, or 10 Miracles and 10 Descents at Yam Suf
Rabbi Ovadiah Bartenura explains that the 10 miracles in Egypt saved the Israelites from the 10 plagues.
He also lists 10 miracles that took place for the Jews at Yam Suf:
1. The splitting of the water;
2. The sea became like a tent, and the Israelites entered it;
3. The seabed was completely dry—there was no mud;
4. The ground also became viscous for the Egyptians, and they sank into it;
5. The water did not freeze entirely, but in the form of bricks or crystals;
6. The frozen water became as solid as a rock;
7. The sea split into 12 paths—one for each tribe;
8. The walls of frozen water were transparent, allowing the tribes to see one another as through clear glass;
9. Sweet drinking water flowed from the walls that had formed. After each person had drunk enough, the remaining water froze;
10. Hizkuni writes about the tenth miracle: the water in the sea froze to one-third of its height, allowing the people to walk through it—for if the sea had split all the way to the bottom, a deep pit would have formed, making it difficult for the people to descend and ascend.
Rabbeinu Bachya adds that G-d caused various fruits to grow in the sea, and whenever the children began to cry, their mothers gave them an apple or a pomegranate.
The 10 miracles correspond to the 10 “descents” mentioned in Shirat HaYam (the Song of the Sea):
- רָמָה בַיָּם - (ramah vaYam) He cast into the sea;
- יָרָה בַיָּם - (yarah vaYam) He hurled into the sea;
- טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם-סוּף - (tub'u v'Yam Suf) they were drowned in the Sea of Reeds;
- תְּהֹמֹת יְכַסְיֻמוּ - (tehomot yechas'yumu) the depths covered them;
- יָרְדוּ בִמְצוֹלֹת - (yardu vimtzolot) they descended into the depths;
- תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב - (tir'atz oyev) You crush the enemy;
- תַּהֲרֹס קָמֶיךָ - (taharos kamecha) You overthrow those who rise against You;
- יֹאכְלֵמוֹ, כַּקַּשׁ - (yochelemo, kakesh) He consumed them like straw;
- כִּסָּמוֹ יָם - (kisamo Yam) the sea covered them;
- צָלְלוּ, כַּעוֹפֶרֶת - (tzalelu, ka'oferet) they sank like lead.
(from the book “Tzena Urena” by Rabbi Yaakov of Janów and other holy sources)
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Tags: Number, Shirat HaYam, 10 Miracles at Yam Suf, 10 Miracles at Yam Suf According to Rabbi Ovadiah Bartenura, 50 Miracles at Yam Suf, Kavanot of Shirat HaYam, Shirat HaYam — 10 Miracles and 10 Downfalls at Yam Suf
