Why the Revelation at Sinai Proved More Than the Miracles of Egypt

Avi asks: “It is written in Maimonides (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, ch. 8) that Israel did not believe in the prophecy of Moses because of the miracles of the Exodus — since those could have been performed by sorcery or illusion, but rather they believed because of the revelation at Mount Sinai. I don’t understand: did Rambam mean that the splitting of the sea and the plagues could really have been sorcery? If so, what was unique about Sinai? Thank you.”

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Shalom Avi, and thank you for your excellent question.

Rambam certainly did not mean that the plagues of Egypt could literally have been caused by magic. In his view, all sorcery is nothing more than illusion and sleight of hand — tricks intended to deceive the masses into believing nonsense. Rambam explains (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idolatry ch. 11) that the Torah forbids sorcery precisely to distance us from the lies of pagan charlatans. Rav Saadia Gaon likewise explained the actions of Pharaoh’s magicians: when they “turned sticks into snakes,” they only created an illusion of it. By contrast, Moses’ staff truly became a serpent by divine miracle and swallowed theirs.

It is obvious to any rational person that no human act — whether magic or illusion, could produce the scale of the Exodus miracles. Just as a strong man can lift a heavy rock but never move a mountain, so too a magician might create the appearance of a small cup of water turning red, but could never turn an entire river into blood, rain fire and hail together from the sky, kill every Egyptian firstborn in a single instant, split the sea, feed millions in the desert for 40 years, or other world-shaking miracles. These could only be done by the Creator of the universe, who alone controls nature absolutely.

To strike down every Egyptian firstborn at once requires being in every home simultaneously and possessing infinite knowledge of who is a firstborn. Only God, who is everywhere at once, could do such a thing. Even Pharaoh’s magicians admitted: “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:15). Ramban (Nachmanides) similarly explained that a true miracle actually changes physical reality, whereas sorcery only appears to. Magic cannot alter nature itself. As Ramban wrote (Deuteronomy 13:2): “We knew from the Exodus that it was an actual event, not a vision nor a dream, for the earth is the Lord’s, and He alone renews, wills, and is able, and there is no other god besides Him.”

The Exodus miracles proved God’s reality because they changed history itself. Sorcery or hallucination could never collapse Jericho’s walls, swallow Korach’s assembly alive, or sustain an entire people in the desert.

To return to Rambam’s point, his intent was not that the people doubted the miracles of the Exodus — they did not. After the splitting of the sea, Scripture says explicitly: “They believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant” (Exodus 14:31). Rather, Rambam meant that because many among the people (especially the “mixed multitude”) had been exposed to Egyptian sorcery, there still could remain in their hearts a whisper of doubt, a fleeting thought that maybe these wonders were like sorcery. Their faith, though strong, was not yet absolutely unshakable.

Only at Sinai was that last shadow of doubt removed. As it says: “So that the people may hear when I speak with you, and will believe in you forever” (Exodus 19:9). Not just “they will believe,” but “believe forever.”

Rambam explains that Sinai was unique because it was not just miracles witnessed externally, but a prophetic revelation: every Jew personally heard the voice of God. At that moment, the entire people were elevated to the level of prophets. Unlike the plagues or the sea, where God acted through nature, Sinai was a direct revelation.

Anyone who personally hears God’s voice deep within his soul can never again doubt it — no more than a man who dies and stands before God could doubt His existence. Before Sinai, Rambam says, their faith in Moses was real but could still allow for intellectual questioning. At Sinai, however, they attained eternal certainty. As the verse says: “And they will believe in you forever.”

This is the uniqueness of Sinai: it was the final, absolute proof that no human hand, no magician, no sorcery, could ever fabricate such a revelation. It was heard equally by millions of people, removing doubt once and for all.

With thanks to Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Segal for reviewing and refining this explanation.