Who informed Pharaoh that Yisrael had fled?
Rashi, Ramban #1 (citing the Mechilta) and Targum Yonasan: Spies, whom Pharaoh had sent to spy on Yisrael. When three days passed and it was clear that Yisrael were making no effort to return to Egypt, as they had agreed to do, they reported to Pharaoh (on the fourth day) that they had fled. On the fifth and sixth days, Pharaoh gathered an army and chased after them; and on the seventh day 1 he caught up with them by the Yam-Suf.
Ramban #2: Refer to 14:4:1:1.
Rashi: The seventh day of Pesach; this is why we read this Parshah then. Refer also to Bamidbar 15:41:4:2. But see question 14:5:155 , below.
What led Pharaoh to believe that Yisrael did not intend to return to Egypt - particularly bearing in mind that they had turned back and were traveling towards Egypt?
Rashi, Ramban #1 and Seforno: Refer to 14:5:1:1 ; also 14:5:1.1:1 and its note.
Ramban #2: When Pharaoh was informed that Yisrael had back-tracked and were now encamped in front of the Yam-Suf, he understood that they wandering aimlessly in the desert without making the least effort to find a fitting location where to sacrifice to Hashem - their initial excuse to leave Egypt. Moreover, they left Egypt with an air of triumph, 1 with joy and music, like slaves who had just been set free, not at all like slaves who had been given a short respite and who were then destined to return.
Oznayim la'Torah (citing the Mechilta): It was only after the spies returned and reported to Pharaoh that Hashem ordered them to turn back - so that it should seem as if they were afraid to confront the Egyptians when they caught up with them.
Ramban: As Pasuk 14:8 indicates.
What caused Pharaoh and his servants to change their minds?
Rashi: The 'money' that they had lent them.
Seforno: They believed that had they consulted Baal Tzefon, he would have assisted them to stand up to Hashem, and they would not have needed to allow Yisrael to leave. 1
Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan: They were sorry for having sent away Yisrael from serving them, as the Torah specifically writes. 2
Refer also to 14:2:3:1** .
Oznayim la'Torah: In fact, they deliberately avoided any mention of the money that they had lent Yisrael - a proof for Gevihah ben Pesisah, who claimed that the money that they 'borrowed' fell far short of what the Egyptians actually owed them for their four hundred years work.
Moshe asked to leave for three days. Why did Yisrael not return like he said?
Riva (13:17, citing R. Yitzchak): He never said that we would return. He said that they would go three days journey - and even more, if necessary.
Hadar Zekenim: When Pharaoh gave Yisrael permission to leave, he set them free, allowing them to leave permanently. Refer to 12:31:1:3**** ).
Bearing in mind that, due to the severity of the Makos, the Egyptians were forced to send Yisrael away, why did they regret doing so?
Moshav Zekenim: They regretted that they did not stipulate that Bnei Yisrael may leave, but they will serve Egypt wherever they go. 1 This is why it says "me'Ovdeinu."
Based on Ramban to 14:4: The Pasuk says "va'Yehafech Levav Pharaoh va'Avadav" - Hashem hardened their hearts to act insanely (refer to 14:4:1:1).
Refer to 14:5:3 .
Why did they think that Yisrael would consent? Moshe did not consent that we leave even one animal, and even demanded that Pharaoh give to us animals! (PF)
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "Pharaoh sent overseers along with them. Once three days passed... and they saw that [the Bnei Yisrael] would not be returning...." But the Bnei Yisrael had spent the previous day retreating in the direction of Egypt (14:2-3)! How did the spies determine that they had no intention to return?
Gur Aryeh: The Mechilta teaches, that on the fourth morning, the Egyptian spies saw the Bnei Yisrael arranging their furniture and making their beds. They confronted them and insisted they return to Egypt, but the Bnei Yisrael refused. 1
Gur Aryeh: Bnei Yisrael responded that Pharaoh had freed them fully, and granted his permission for their permanent exodus. The spies were adamant, whereupon the Bnei Yisrael beat and wounded them.
Rashi writes: "... Once the designated three days for their journey and return had passed, and they saw that [the Bnei Yisrael] were not returning to Egypt, they went and informed Pharaoh, on the fourth day." Why did the overseers confront Bnei Yisrael on day four? If on day three they had retreated back towards Egypt; they were less than three-days' distance away?
Gur Aryeh: The requested "three-days' journey" cannot be a measure of distance alone; for if so, they could remain within that range for years and years, with no obligation to return! Rather, it was a specified time (irrespective of how much ground they would cover during the three days). They mentioned distance only as the reason behind their request -- because they would be sacrificing animals, which could not be done near Egypt.
Rashi writes: "... On night seven they descended into the sea, and in the morning they said the Shirah; that is the seventh day of Pesach." What is the symbolism of the number seven in this context?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 40, p. 154): The number seven is an inclusive whole; for example, the world was completed in the seven days of Bereishis. Likewise, the Mitzrim were hit at the Yam-Suf with an all-encompassing Makah. 1 As we learn in the Hagadah, the Makos in Mitzrayim were referred to as 'Etzba' (Shemos 8:15); whereas the Makah at the Yam is called "ha'Yad ha'Gedolah" (14:31). 2
Rashi writes that after three days, Pharaoh's spies returned and told him on the fourth day. How could they travel in one day, what Bnei Yisrael traveled in three days?
Riva (to 13:17) #1 and Hadar Zekenim: On day three, Yisrael headed back towards Egypt, so at the end of the day they were only one day away.
Riva (to 13:17) #2 and Moshav Zekenim: Moshe said that they would go three days in the desert, which is a hundred and twenty Mil. The spies saw that Yisrael went this far on the first day, from Ra'meses to Sukos, and made no effort to return on day two. 1 On day two, the spies started returning, and reached Pharaoh at the end of day four.
Riva (to 13:17) #3: Individuals can travel faster than big caravans. 2
Why did they start returning then? Perhaps Yisrael intended to return on day three, the same distance that they went on day one! How did they know how far they went through a miracle (Kefitzas ha'Derech, or on eagles' wings - also refer to 4:5:153:1 )? Perhaps they knew the distance between Ra'meses and Sukos. (PF)
We find that Lavan traveled seven times faster than the camp of Yaakov - refer to Bereishis 31:23:2:1 (PF). Moreover, an army of soldiers travel faster than a camp comprising men, women and children, and a large number of sheep and cattle - as Yaakov pointed out to Esav in Bereishis 33:13.
Rashi writes that Pharaoh's army chased after Yisrael on days five and six. Why did they need two days to travel the distance that Yisrael traveled in one day?
Riva (to 13:17): Pharaoh needed two days to reach them, because army chariots and wagons travel slowly. 1
Hadar Zekenim: Yisrael were not returning towards Egypt in the same direction that they left, rather, they were going to the side; this is why Pharaoh needed two days. The spies deduced that they were not returning to Egypt, but that they were lost.
Do armies go slower than a nation of families laden with wealth?! Why did Pharaoh send spies? Had they fled normally (and not returned towards Egypt), he would not have been able to catch them. Perhaps he would have sent only horsemen, who travel quickly; But when he heard that they were traveling towards Egypt, he took chariots. Or, the chariots were heavy and slow because they were laden with catapult rocks, or wealth, Pharaoh loaded the chariots with valuables to encourage the Egyptians to pursue Yisrael. Refer to 15:9:151:2 (PF).
Rashi writes that Pharaoh's spies told him that Yisrael were not returning. How could the spies keep up with Yisrael? Above (12:37), Rashi said that Yisrael went from Ra'meses to Sukos (120 Mil, three days journey) in a flash!
Riva (13:17, citing R. Meir Kochvi): Hashem carried also the spies on eagles' wings, just like He carried the Eirev Rav, to show them the miracle. 1
And to achieve His goal of luring the Egyptians to the Yam-Suf and to drown them there.
Rashi writes: "On night seven they descended into the sea, and in the morning they said the Shirah; that is the seventh day of Pesach." But this seems to contradict the last Rashi in Parshas Shelach (in his comments to Bamidbar 15:41), where Rashi writes that the eight threads of Tzitzis correspond to the eight days from leaving Egypt until Shiras Yam Suf?
Hadar Zekenim: Here, Rashi counts from when they left Ra'meses. In Bamidbar, he counts from Erev Pesach, when a. Yisrael left Goshen and gathered in Ra'meses, 1 and b. they prepared to leave, through Shechitas 2 Korban Pesach. 3 They knew that they would leave the next day. Da'as Zekenim (to 14:16) - But they did not make all the preparations - "v'Gam Tzedah Lo Asu Lahem" (12:39)!
Moshav Zekenim (citing R. Menachem of Yu'ani): The eight threads correspond to the eight days that Yisrael delayed at Yam Suf to take the spoil. 4
Mizrachi (to Bamidbar 15:41): Rashi there cites R. Moshe ha'Darshan; but Rashi himself holds as he writes here - that Keri'as Yam Suf and the Shirah took place on the seventh day.
Also see Chizkuni to Bamidbar 15:41 .
Riva (to 13:17): A support for this is in Parshas Re'eh, "Tizbach Es ha'Pesach... Mo'ed Tzeisecha mi'Mitzrayim"(Devarim 16:6). He considers these to be two separate answers. Da'as Zekenim (to Shemos 14:16), and Sifsei Chachamim (to Bamidbar 15:41) cite only the latter answer. Moshav Zekenim (to Bamidbar 15:41) says that the redemption began with Shechitas ha'Pesach. Here he says that he counts from the day of eating Pesach - if we say that day begins in the morning, they ate on the fourteenth. - PF).
Gur Aryeh: That day began the experience of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim - when Bnei Yisrael slaughtered the Egyptian gods, and their former masters were powerless to protest. Indeed, the Torah will define the Yom Tov of "Pesach" as the 14th of Nisan (see Vayikra 23:5 - distinct from "Chag ha'Matzos," which is the Torah's term for the seven-day festival beginning on the 15th of Nisan) - and Pesach commemorates Yetzi'as Mitzrayim.
Via a small change in the text, one can resolve this with Rashi in Bamidbar (PF).
Rashi writes: "Me'Ovdeinu - 'me'Avod Osanu.'" What is Rashi clarifying?
Gur Aryeh (citing Mizrachi): "Me'Ovdeinu" is a contraction meaning "from our service;" as opposed to 'me'Avod Anachnu,' which would mean 'from our [own] work.'
