http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/chrysler/archives/beshalach65.htmParshah Pearls
(Adapted from the Chochmas Chayim)
Fearing G-d - Egyptian Style
"And he took six hundred chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt" (14:7).
Now where did all these animals come from, asks Rashi (bearing in mind that, according to the Medrash, every chariot required three horses)? Did the Torah not categorically state (9:4) "And all the cattle of Egypt died"!
It can only have come from "those who feared the word of G-d" (see Parshah Pearls, Vo'eiro).
It is from here that Rebbi Shimon used to say 'If you come across a 'righteous' Egyptian, kill him; the best snake, crush its brains!'
But who says, asks Rebbi Yosef Chayim, that the G-d-fearing Egyptians gave their animals willingly? Perhaps Paroh commissioned all the available horses for war, with or without the owners' consent (as is often the case today in wartime, even in democratic countries)?
And this question is compounded by the fact that in last week's Parshah, the Torah defines these owners as G-d-fearing. So why should one even begin to suspect them of perpetrating such evil?
The answer is that if the Egyptians had not given their animals of their own volition, there is no way that Par'oh could have possibly collected so many animals in so short space of time (within one day, to be precise). Such a thing would only have been feasible if the owners came running with their animals, to donate them for 'the good cause' for which they were used.
Hence Rebbi Shimon said 'If you come across a 'righteous' Egyptian ... '.
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The truth of the matter is that even if the Egyptians had come running with their horses, it is difficult to understand how Paroh could have possibly informed the whole of Egypt and then gathered all the horses in Egypt to one spot, all on the same day! But still, it would more difficult still, if they hadn't.