Pharaoh's Chariots and Judah Maccabee

Do not be afraid of them. You must remember (zachor tizcor) what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all the rest of Egypt.                                                                    Deuteronomy 7:18

            Ba’al haTurim notes that each of the words “zachor tizcor” is spelled incomplete, without the letter “vav,” and explains that since the numerical equivalent of “vav” is six, their absence represents the six hundred chariots of Pharaoh which were cast into the Red Sea. [Exodus 15:4] Thus, the verse enjoins Israel that when faced with danger from an enemy, it is to remember God’s salvation of His chosen nation at the Red Sea and anticipate salvation from the current crisis.

            Indeed, one of the greatest Jewish military leaders applied our verse in practice.

            The apocryphal book, First Maccabees describes Judah’s situation as his three thousand inadequately armed men faced a Greek force of 40,000 infantry soldiers and 7,000 cavalry. [4:5] Naturally, Judah’s fighters feared the vastly superior enemy force. Yet Judah rallied his men with the following words:

Judah said to his men, “Do not be afraid of their numbers, and do not flinch at their strength. Remember how God delivered our ancestors at the Red Sea when Pharaoh attacked them with his chariots and horsemen. Now let us implore the Lord our God to grace us with mercy and remember His covenant with our ancestors and destroy this host before our eyes. In order that all nations will know that there is One Who saves Israel from all its enemies.” [4:5-7]

            Clearly, Judah understood that God’s salvation of the Israelites from the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh was not a one-time event, but constitutes a precedent. Alshikh comments on our verse that, lest one think the Divine salvation at the Red Sea was merely for the sake of God’s honor, which had been defiled by Pharaoh, who had said “I do not recognize God,” [Exodus 5:2] the verse stresses “your God,” indicating that God acted (at the Red Sea) on behalf of His people, not for the honor of His name. Therefore, in future crises as well, God will act not only on His own behalf, but for the sake of His nation Israel.

            In truth, saving the Chosen People is preserving God’s honor, a point which Judah Maccabee understood.