The Splitting of the Sea of Reeds
On the seventh day after the departure the sea splits before Israel and closes over Pharaoh's chariots; the people sing the Song of the Sea.
A few days after the departure Pharaoh regretted his decision and pursued the fugitives with six hundred picked chariots. Israel was trapped: sea ahead, army behind, desert on either side. The people cried out — and, as the Torah honestly records, not only to God but against Moses: were there no graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? The answer was unexpected: why do you cry to Me — tell the children of Israel to go forward. Moses stretched out his hand, a strong east wind blew all night, the water divided, and the people crossed on dry ground between walls of water. The Egyptians followed; by morning the sea returned and the army was lost. Then Moses and Israel sang the Song of the Sea, the oldest hymn in the Bible. Miriam took a timbrel and all the women went out after her with drums and dancing — they had packed the instruments in Egypt, certain there would be something to celebrate.