For the past several years, I have been participating in Parashat Hashavua on Tuesdays during the lunch hour here at Temple Beth-El. The discussions at these seminars have taught me much. One thing that I learned is that one hour is not enough time in which to study the weekly Torah portion! In fact, as many of you have experienced, one hour is not enough time to study even a few verses of the weekly portion. But tonight, I have but three minutes in which to discuss a Torah Portion that covers so much!

Let me start by giving you a quick overview of Parashat B'Shalach. The Hebrew word B'Shalach, from which this portion takes its name, means “when he sent forth,” and refers to Pharaoh having just freed our people. The Israelites flee Egypt into the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea. They enjoyed a cloud by day to shield them from the sun and a pillar of fire at night to keep them warm and safe. However, God hardened Pharaoh's heart and he sent his army after the Israelites. The Israelites, as they fled came to the Red Sea. Moses, at God's direction, raised his hand and the Red Sea parted before the Israelites, and they had dry land on which to walk. The Egyptians, following, find themselves mired on a muddy bottom and then swallowed by the sea, which crashes in on them. We are then treated to “The Song of the Sea,” which some scholars believe is one of the oldest portions of the Torah. Parts of this song have been discovered in the materials recovered from the Dead Sea Scrolls. After the Song of the Sea, the Torah portion continues with the Israelites journeying into the dessert, with God providing water and manna. With many obstacles in their path, which I won't attempt to detail tonight, let's just say it was a difficult journey. The Israelites proceed until they reach Rephidim where they battle with Amalek. Victory in this battle marks the end of the parasha.

The verses of this Torah portion, which were read so beautifully tonight by Simon Ascher, opened with the “Mi Chamocha”. The Mi Chamocha, which we sing, comes in our liturgy from, "The Song of the Sea," which is also known as Shirat Hayam, or Moses' Song. Simon finished tonight's Torah reading with “Miriam's Song.” "The Song of the Sea" has led to our annual celebration of music, as Shabbat Shirah - or the Sabbath of Song.

These 19 Torah verses, which make up the “Song Of The Sea” are written in a style that is distinctive from the rest of the Torah. These verses are in an easily identified pattern. They have unique spacing and format that are said to resemble that of a brick wall with the Hebrew text representing the bricks of the wall and the extended spaces used in this passage representing the mortar that held the bricks together. Some scholars say that this pattern is to remind us of the solid walls of the Red Sea that the Israelites were passing through. Others say the unique format of these verses is a visual reference to the mortar and bricks with which the Israelites built Pharaoh's edifices. Still other commentators regard the distinctive pattern as one that illustrates stepping stones for our ancestors as they crossed the dried sea bed.

Many scholars say "The Song of the Sea" is Moses' song. Chapter 15 opens with “then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD. Others believe that these verses represent the beginning of Miriam's song, which were the verses that Simon ended his reading with tonight as Miriam instructed the people to “sing ye to the Lord, for He is highly exalted,” wording which echoes the first verses of this Chapter of the Torah. I believe, based on some of my reading in preparation for tonight, that what we have is a song that opened with Moses and the Male voices, followed by a response from Miriam and the women and that all then joined together to form a song of rejoicing that we hear echoed in today's music.

If you are able to stay tonight for the 8:00 P.M. Sabbath of Song service, with guest Cantor Josee Wolf, I think you will be able to hear this pattern of the male voices opening the song, followed by a response from the female voices and then all voices joining together, repeated several times in the interactions between Cantor Wolfe, our Cantorial Soloist, Dr. David vanAbbema and the Choir.

Moses and Miriam sang a song of rejoicing to celebrate the escape from Egypt, from the rule of Pharaoh, rejoicing because they now believed that they would no longer be slaves.

Today, we sing our own song of rejoicing. Whether it is rejoicing in the end of our work week, the beginning of Shabbat, the joining together of our voices as a community or just a chance to pray through song.

This 6:00 P.M. service is an embodiment of the power of song in separating us from our normal daily tasks. This service is a chance for us all to come together to raise our voices in song. For some, the songs take them back to their days in camp where they were discovering their own spirituality. For others, the songs are familiar ties to their families. For all, I would say, join with us in song - whether it is a song that you know so very well, or a new tune that we are all trying to learn, it is your voices joining together that makes this service so meaningful. As a volunteer song leader, we love to hear your voices over our own. We are not up here as a choir to sing to you, but as a group to sing with you. Let the songs of this evening serve to revitalize us all, and for all, be the start of a wonderful Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom.

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