Exodus Rabbah 26

¹“Amalek came [and waged war with Israel in Refidim]” (Exodus 17:8), that is what is written: “I was not serene, was not silent, and I did not rest, but turmoil came” (Job 3:26). “I was not serene” due to Babylon; “was not silent” due to Media; “I did not rest” due to Greece; “but turmoil came” through Edom. Alternatively, “I was not serene” due to the first edict that Pharaoh decreed against me, as it is stated: “They embittered their lives” (Exodus 1:14), and the Holy One blessed be He provided a redeemer for them, namely Miriam, named for the bitterness [ merur ]. “Was not silent” due to the second edict: “If it is a son put him to death” (Exodus 1:16), and the Holy One blessed be He provided a redeemer, namely Aaron, named for pregnancy [ herayon ]. “I did not rest” due to the third edict that he decreed, saying: “Every son that is born cast him into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22), and the Holy One blessed be He provided a redeemer, named for the water. This is Moses, as it is stated: “As I drew him [ meshitihu ] from the water” (Exodus 2:10). “But turmoil came,” this is Amalek. ²“Amalek came.” What is written prior to the matter? “The entire congregation of the children of Israel traveled…there was no water for the people to drink” (Exodus 17:1). For the people there was not, but for the flocks and the cattle there was. Immediately they came to engage in a dispute with Moses and said to him: “Why did you take us up out of Egypt [to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst]?” (Exodus 17:3). From here, Rabbi Yehoshua would say: The house collapsed; too bad about the windows –“I and my livestock with thirst” (Exodus 17:3). Some say that a person’s animal is nothing other than his life; when a person sets out on the road, if his animal is not with him, he will suffer. Immediately, Moses stood in prayer, as it is stated: “Moses cried out to the Lord, saying” (Exodus 17:4). What is “saying”? He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, inform me whether or not they will kill me.’ He said to him: ‘What concern is it of yours? “Pass before the people”’ (Exodus 17:5). What is “pass [ avor ]”? He said to him: ‘Overlook [ avor ] their words.’ Rabbi Meir says: What is avor ? He said: ‘Emulate Me. Just as I repay evil with good, you, too, repay evil with good,’ as it is stated: “Who is a God like You, Who pardons iniquity and overlooks [ veover ] transgression” (Micah 7:18). Rabbi Yehuda says: Pardon [ avor ] their sins. Rabbi Neḥemya says: “Pass before the people,” let one who has haughtiness come and speak against you. “The Lord said to Moses: Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go” (Exodus 17:5). “Take with you some of the elders of Israel,” so they will be witnesses, so they will not say to you: ‘There were springs there.’ “Your staff with which you struck the Nile,” he said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, this staff is a staff of punishment. It rendered the water in Egypt putrid and it brought the ten plagues upon the Egyptians.’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘My nature is not like the nature of flesh and blood. He strikes with a chisel and heals with a bandage, but I, with what I strike, I heal.’ That is why it says: “And take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile,” so that everyone will know that it is [a staff] of blessing. “Behold, I am standing before you there upon the rock at Ḥorev; you shall strike the rock and water will emerge from it, and the people will drink. Moses did so before the eyes of the elders of Israel” (Exodus 17:6). “He called the place Masa and Meriva, due to the dispute of the children of Israel and due to their trying of the Lord, saying: Is the Lord in our midst, or not?” (Exodus 17:7). “You shall strike the rock.” What is “you shall strike the rock”? The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘If they request from this rock, produce it for them, and if from that rock give it to them.’ When the water emerged, it provided for all the tents of Israel. What is written there? “He called the place Masa and Meriva” (Exodus 17:7). What dispute [ meriva ] was there? Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda says: They said: ‘If He is Master over all creations just as He is Master over us, we will worship Him, but if not, we will rebel against Him.’ Rabbi Neḥemya says [they said]: ‘If He provides us our sustenance like a king who is present in the province, and the residents of the province do not require anything from him, we will worship Him, but if not, we will rebel against Him.’ The Rabbis say [they said]: ‘If we contemplate in our heart and He knows what we are contemplating, we will worship Him, but if not, we will rebel against Him.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘If you sought to challenge Me, let the wicked one come and challenge you.’ Immediately, “Amalek came.” What is written there? “Is the Lord in our midst, or not? Amalek came” (Exodus 17:7–8). How does this relate to that? It is analogous to a child who was riding on his father’s shoulders and saw his father’s friend. He said to him: ‘Have you seen father?’ His father said to him: ‘You are riding on my shoulders and you ask about me? I will cast you down and the enemy will come and dominate you.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘I bore you on clouds of glory and you say: “Is the Lord in our midst”? Therefore, let the enemy come and dominate you.’ That is, “Amalek came.” ³“Moses said to Joshua: Choose men for us and go out and wage war with Amalek; tomorrow I will be standing on top of the hill and the staff of God will be in my hand” (Exodus 17:9). “Moses said to Joshua: Choose men for us.” Why to Joshua? Primarily, you expound that he was seeking to instruct him in war because he was destined to take Israel into the Land. Another matter, why Joshua? He said to him: ‘It was by means of your grandfather that they descended to Egypt, go and engage in war with the one who attacked them in their ascent from Egypt.’ Another matter, why Joshua? He said to him: ‘Your grandfather said: “I fear God” (Genesis 42:18), and regarding this one it is written: “And not God-fearing” (Deuteronomy 25:18). Let the grandson of the one who said: “I fear God,” come and exact vengeance from the one in whose regard it is stated: “And not God-fearing.”’ “Choose men for us.” What is the meaning of “men”? Men of wisdom and who fear sin. “Go out and wage war with Amalek,” from here you learn that they were beneath the clouds of glory, as one says “go out” only to those who are located inside. “The staff of God will be in my hand.” He said to him: ‘This staff is in my hand, as the Omnipresent said that it should be in my hand always.’ Another matter, “the staff of God will be in my hand.” ‘When Aaron performed miracles with it, it was called by his name, as it is stated: “The staff of Aaron” (Exodus 7:12). When I performed miracles with it, it was called by my name. When the Holy One blessed be He performs miracles, it is called by His name, as it is stated: “The staff of God.”’