Israelites Paused at Marah — First Shabbat and Preliminary Laws

The Israelites paused at Marah after crossing the Red Sea. It was at Marah that they spent their first Shabbat in the wilderness. According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56b), Moshe taught preliminary laws at Marah — including the Noahide laws, honoring parents, Shabbat, and certain civil laws — in anticipation of the giving of the Torah at Sinai.