Who informed Par'oh that Yisrael had fled?
Rashi, Ramban #1 (citing the Mechilta) and Targum Yonasan: Spies whom Par'oh 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 Par'oh (on the fourth day) that they had fled. On the fifth and sixth days Par'oh 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, 15:41:4:1.
What led Par'oh to believe that Yisrael did not intend to return to Egypt - particularly bearing in mind that had turned back and were traveling towards Egypt?
Rashi, Ramban #1 and Seforno: Refer to 14:5:1:1.
Ramban #2: When Par'oh 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): Itwas only after the spies returned and reported to Par'oh 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.
As Pasuk 8 indicates (Ramban).
What caused Par'oh and his servants to change their minds?
Rashi: The 'money' that they lent them.
Seforno: They believed that had they consulted Ba'al Tz'fon, he would have assisted them to stand up to Hashem and they would 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**, 13:22:2:1.
Oznayim la'Torah: In fact, they deliberatelly 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 theey would go three days journey - and even more, if necessary.
Hadar Zekenim: When Par'oh 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 B'nei Yisrael may leave, but they will serve Egypt wherever they go. 1 This is why it says "me'Avdenu".
The Pasuk says "va'Yehafech L'vav Par'oh va'Avadav" - Hashem hardened their hearts to act insanely (based on the Ramban in Pasuk 4.Ramban: Refer to 4:4:1:1.
Refer to 14:5:3:1-3.
Why did they think that Yisrael would consent? Moshe did not consent that we leave even one animal, and even demanded that Par'oh give to us animals! (PF)
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes that after three days, Par'oh's spies returned and told him on the fourth day. How could they travel in one day, what B'nei Yisrael traveled in three days?
Riva (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 (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'amses to Sukos, and made no effort to return on day two. 1 On day two the spies started returning, and reached Par'oh at the end of day four.
Riva (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 - refer to 4:5:152:1)? Perhaps they knew the distance between Ra'amses and Sukos. (PF)
We find that Lavan traveled seven times faster than the camp of Ya'akov - 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 Ya'akov pointed out to Eisav, in Vayishlach Bereishis, 33:13.
Rashi writes that Par'oh'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 (13:17): Par'oh 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 Par'oh 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 Par'oh 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, Par'oh loaded the chariots with valuables to encourage the Egyptians to pursue Yisrael. Refer to 15:9:151:2 (PF).
Rashi writes that Par'oh'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'amses 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 that on the seventh day they entered the sea, and they sang Shirah in the morning. But in Sh'lach-L'cha Bamidbar, 15:41, he will explain 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'amses. In the desert, he counts from Erev Pesach, when a. Yisrael left Goshen and gathered in Ra'amses, and b. they prepared to leave, through Shechitas 1 Korban Pesach. They knew that they will leave the next day. Da'as Zekenim - in Pasuk 16: They did not make all the preparations - "ve'Gam Tzedah Lo Asu lahem."
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. 2
Mizrachi (Bamidbar, 15:41): Rashi there cites R. Moshe ha'Darshan, but Rashi himself disagrees.
Riva, in 13:17: A support for this is Devarim 16:6, "Tizbach es ha'Pesach... Mo'ed Tzeischa mi'Mitzrayim." He considers these two separate answers. Da'as Zekenim in Pasuk16 and Sifsei Chachamim (The desert 15:41) cite only the latter answer. Moshav Zekenim (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).
Via a small change in the text, one can resolve this with Rashi in Bamidbar (PF).
