ויהי בשלח פרעה

Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Phillistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

With their own hands, tenderhearted women Have cooked their children; Such became their fare, In the disaster of my poor people.

The hands of merciful women cooked their children: Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yossi: The Holy One, Blessed be He said: They prevented me from acting in my world. How? One of [the women] had a loaf of bread, which was sufficient to feed her and her husband for one day. However, her neighbor's son died, so she took that same loaf of bread, and used it to comfort [her neighbor]. The text praises them, saying it's as if they cooked their children for mitzvot. Thus it is written "the hands of merciful women cooked their children". And why [include this at all]? [To report] that "they [the women stayed] pure to Him"