The Seventh Day of Pesach The Song by the Sea We find in the Passover Hagadah: "Rabbi Yose Hagalili says: What is the source which says that in Egypt the Egyptians were smitten with ten plagues while at the sea they were smitten with fifty plagues"? In Egypt it says " And the sorcerers said…it is the finger of G-d". And at the sea it says "And Israel saw the mighty hand ". They were smitten ten times with a finger and five times ten with a hand. And therefore in the Song it says the word "yam" (sea) five times, each time signifying five plagues, relating to the five expressions of suffering which the Egyptians brought upon the Israelites. The number five multiplies fivefold the plagues by the sea in comparison to what transpired in Egypt. This is alluded to by the crowns atop the letters "heh' in the words "hayad hachazakah" (the mighty hand). (Sefer Harokeiach on the Torah) |