Sotah 37A

שבטו של בנימין וירד לים תחילה, שנאמר: ״שם בנימין צעיר רדם״, אל תקרי ״רדם״ אלא ״רד ים״. והיו שרי יהודה רוגמים אותם, שנאמר: ״שרי יהודה רגמתם״.

the tribe of Benjamin and descended into the sea first, as it is stated: “There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them [rodem]” (Psalms 68:28). Do not read it as: “Ruling them [rodem]”; rather, read it as: Descending [red] into the sea [yam]. And the princes of the tribe of Judah were stoning them [rogmim otam] for plunging in first and not in the proper order, as it is stated in the continuation of the verse: “The princes of Judah, their council [rigmatam]” (Psalms 68:28).

לפיכך זכה בנימין הצדיק ונעשה אושפיזכן לגבורה, שנאמר: ״ובין כתפיו שכן״.

Therefore, Benjamin the righteous was privileged to serve as host to the Shekhina of God, as the Temple was built in the territory of Benjamin, as it is stated in Moses’ blessing for the tribe of Benjamin: “The beloved of YHWH should reside in safety by Him; He covers him all the day, and He rests between his shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12).

אמר לו רבי יהודה: לא כך היה מעשה, אלא זה אומר: אין אני יורד תחילה לים, וזה אומר: אין אני יורד תחילה לים, קפץ נחשון בן עמינדב וירד לים תחילה, שנאמר: ״סבבני בכחש אפרים ובמרמה בית ישראל ויהודה עד רד עם אל״.

R' Yehuda said to R' Meir: That is not how the incident took place. Rather, this tribe said: I am not going into the sea first, and that tribe said: I am not going into the sea first. Then, in jumped the prince of Judah, Nahshon ben Amminadab, and descended into the sea first, accompanied by his entire tribe, as it is stated: “Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit, and Judah is yet wayward toward God [rad im El]” (Hosea 12:1), which is interpreted homiletically as: And Judah descended [rad] with God [im El].

ועליו מפרש בקבלה: ״הושיעני אלהים כי באו מים עד נפש ... טבעתי ביון מצולה ואין מעמד וגו׳״, ״אל תשטפני שבלת מים ואל תבלעני מצולה וגו׳״.

And in this regard, the tradition, i.e., the Writings, explicates Nahshon’s prayer at that moment: “Save me, God; for the waters are come in even to the soul. I am sunk in deep mire, where there is no standing…let not the water flood overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up” (Psalms 69:2–3, 16).