High Five

(17) Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.” (18) So God led the people round about, by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds. Now the Israelites went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

וחמשים — The word חמשים means provided with weapons (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:19:2). — [Because He led them by a circuitous route through the wilderness He brought it about that they went up from Egypt well-provided; for had He led them circuitously by the route of an inhabited district they would not have provided for themselves every thing that they needed, but only a part, like a person who is travelling from place to place and intends to purchase there whatever he will require. But if he were setting out for the wilderness he must provide all that he will require. — This verse (statement in the verse) is written only with the view of making the ear understand (preparing you for a later statement) viz., that you should not wonder with regard to the war with Amalek and the war with Sihon and Og and Midian where they obtained weapons, since they smote them with the sword]. In a similar sense it says, (Joshua 1:14) “and ye shall pass over armed (חמשים)”. Onkelos, too, translated it by מזרזין which signifies “armed” in Aramaic, just as he translates the word וירק in (Genesis 14:14) וירק את חניכיו which means, “And he armed his trained servants” by וזריז.

Another explanation of חמשים is: only one out of five (חמשה) went forth from Egypt, and four parts of the people died during the three days of darkness because they were unworthy of being delivered (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:19:3; cf. Rashi on 10:22).

(18) But the Lord led the people round by the way of the desert of the sea of Suph; and every one of the sons of Israel, with five children, went up from the land of Mizraim.

HALAKHAH: It is written: Armed did the Children of Israel leave the Land of Egypt. This teaches that they were armed with (fifteen) [five] kinds of arms.

(22) Moses held out his arm toward the sky and thick darkness descended upon all the land of Egypt for three days.

ה' stiffened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he gave chase to the Israelites. As the Israelites were departing defiantly,

WITH A HIGH HAND. They didn't leave the impression of fleeing but rather had all the weapons of war [and so did not go out like fugitives.]

(16) He said, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throne of ה' !’ ה' will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”

"And chamushim did the children of Israel go up from the land of Egypt": "chamushim" indicates "armed," as in (Joshua 1:14) "Then you shall cross over chamushim" (in context, "armed"), and (Ibid. 4:12) "And the children of Reuven and the children of Gad and half the tribe of Menasheh crossed over chamushim … (13) forty thousand armed men, etc."

Variantly: "chamushim went up from the land of Egypt" — one out of five (['chammishah'] who had been there). Others say: one out of fifty ('chamishim'). Other says: one out of five hundred ('chamesh me'oth'). R. Nehorai says: I swear: Not one in five hundred went up. For it is written (Ezekiel 16:7) "(In Egypt) I made you as numerous as the plants of the field," and (Exodus 1:7) "And the children of Israel were fruitful, and teemed, and multiplied, and became exceedingly strong, and the land was filled with them" — a woman would bear six in one birth — and you say one in five hundred went up! Not one in five thousand, many of the Jews having died in Egypt.

When? In the three days of darkness, of which it is written (Exodus 10:23) "One man did not see another." They (the Jews) were burying their dead, and they gave thanks and praise to the Holy One Blessed be He that their foes did not see and rejoice in their downfall.

The two explanations fo Hamushim are actually related. Even though the israelites left Egypt armed with weapons, they were still fearful (their hearts fell) because they realized that 4/5ths had not wanted to leave [out of fear] therefore God took them on a circuitous route.

(38) Moreover, a mixed multitude went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.

(4) The riffraff in their midst felt a gluttonous craving; and then the Israelites wept and said, “If only we had meat to eat!

AND A MIXED MULTITUDE. Of Egyptians who intermingled with them. They are the asafsuf (mixed multitude) who joined them.

And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers over the land, and organize the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty.

וחמש — render it as the Targum does “and they shall prepare”. Similar is (Exodus 13:18) “וחמושים and prepared (for war)”.

וחמש את ארץ מצרים, “let him set aside one fifth of all (the grain) growing during the seven years of plenty.” The economic czar was to confiscate 20% of every farmer’s harvest. An alternate meaning of the word וחמש could be “let this economic czar urge the people to gather, etc.” The word then would resemble the word חמושים עלו בני ישראל, in Exodus 13,18 meaning: “in a pioneering spirit.”

(26) And Joseph made it into a land law in Egypt, which is still valid, that a fifth should be Pharaoh’s; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

(14) Let your wives, children, and livestock remain in the land that Moses assigned to you on this side of^-b the Jordan; but every one of your fighting men shall go across armed in the van of your kinsmen. And you shall assist them

(12) The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh went across armed in the van of the Israelites, as Moses had charged them.

(20) Moses said to them, “If you do this, if you go to battle as shock-troops, at the instance of ה', (21) and every shock-fighter among you crosses the Jordan, at the instance of ה', until [God] has personally dispossessed the enemies,

What does the evil [son] say? "'What is this worship to you?' (Exodus 12:26)" 'To you' and not 'to him.' And since he excluded himself from the collective, he denied a principle [of the Jewish faith]. And accordingly, you will blunt his teeth and say to him, "'For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt' (Exodus 13:8)." 'For me' and not 'for him.' If he had been there, he would not have been saved.

HALAKHAH: Rebbi Ḥiyya stated “The Torah spoke about Four Children, a wise child, a wicked child, a stupid child, and a child who does not know how to ask. ..... What does the wicked son say? What does this service mean to you? What is this exertion which you impose on us every (moment) [year]? Since he excluded himself from the community, also you shall tell him, because of this did the Eternal do for me when I left Egypt. For me, He did it, for that man He did not do it. If that man had been in Egypt, he would not have been worthy ever to be redeemed.