TORAH READING FOR SHABBAT SHIRAH 13 SHEVAT 5782 SHMITAH Jan 14-15, 2022
TALMUD MEGILLAH 10b
A famous Midrash (or commentary) in the Talmud says that as the Egyptians started to drown in the Sea of Reeds, the angels began to sing praises, but God silenced them, saying, “the work of My hands are drowning at sea, and you wish to sing songs?”
PARSHA – Shabbat Shirah
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/bshalach
B’shalach (בְּשַׁלַּח — Hebrew for “Now When [Pharaoh] Let [the People] Go”) – Exodus 13:17-17:16
Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.” – Exodus 13:17
SUMMARY:
- The Children of Israel escape across the Sea of Reeds from Pharaoh and his army, who drown when God drives back the sea. (13:17-14:31)
- Moses and the Israelites sing a song praising Adonai. (15:1-21)
- In the wilderness, God provides the grumbling Israelites with quails and manna. God instructs the Israelites to gather and prepare on the sixth day food needed for Shabbat. (15:22-16:36)
- The people complain about the lack of water. Moses hits a rock with his rod and brings forth water. (17:1-7)
- Israel defeats Amalek, Israel’s eternal enemy. God vows to blot out the memory of Amalek from the world. (17:8-16)
HAFTARAH
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beshalach
- For Ashkenazi Jews: Judges 4:4–5:31 (the longest of the year)
- For Sephardi Jews: Judges 5:1–31
Connection to the Parashah
Both the parashah and the haftarah contain songs that celebrate the victory of God’s people, the parashah in the “Song of the Sea” about God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh, and the haftarah in the “Song of Deborah” about the Israelites’ victory over the Canaanite general Sisera. Both report how the leaders of Israel’s enemies assembled hundreds of chariots,… how God “threw . . . into panic” (va-yaham) Israel’s enemies,… waters sweeping away Israel’s enemies,… singing by women to celebrate, the parashah by Miriam, and the haftarah by Deborah;… Finally, both mention Amalek.
The Gemara[, the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah,] tied together God’s actions in the parashah and the haftarah. To reassure Israelites concerned that their enemies still lived, God had the Reed Sea spit out the dead Egyptians. To repay the seas, God committed the Kishon River to deliver one-and-a-half times as many bodies. To pay the debt, when Sisera came to attack the Israelites, God had the Kishon wash the Canaanites away. The Gemara calculated one-and-a-half times as many bodies from the numbers of chariots reported in Exodus 14:7 and Judges 4:13.
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beshalach
Beshalach (בְּשַׁלַּח — Hebrew for “when [he] let go”) – Exodus 13:17-17:16
In the parashah, Pharaoh changes his mind and chases after the Israelite people with his army, trapping them at the Sea of Reeds. God commands Moses to split the sea, allowing them to pass, then closes the sea back upon the Egyptian army. There are the miracles of manna and clean water. The nation of Amalek attacks and the Israelite people are victorious.
In Modern Interpretation
Professor James Kugel of Bar Ilan University wrote that scholars have established that Semitic languages did not originally have a definite article (corresponding to the word “the” in English), but later developed one (the prefix הַ, ha, in Hebrew). That the song of Exodus 15:1–19 does not contain even one definite article indicated to Kugel (along with other ancient morphological and lexical features) that “it has been preserved from a very early stage of the Hebrew language and thus may be one of the oldest parts of the Bible.”
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/bshalach
A Clearing in the Wilderness of Egypt: In Gratitude to American Prophet Toni Morrison
From the D’var Torah By: Rabbi Hilly Haber
In her book, Beloved, Toni Morrison describes a scene of revelatory, communal worship. In a clearing in the forest, protected by the trees, the broken-bodied and brokenhearted gather each week to pray together. In this week’s parashah, we watch as the Israelites leave Egypt and begin their long march to freedom. As they joyously cross through the parted shores of the sea, they sing and dance in praise of God.
REFLECTION
From “The Torah / A Women’s Commentary” edited by Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D.
בשלח B’shalach – Exodus 13:17-17:16
Crossing the Sea and Crises in the Wilderness by Carol Meyers, p.379
Parashat B’shalach (“when [Pharaoh] let [the people] go”) recounts the crossing of the sea, the culmination of the story of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. From the beginning of the book of Exodus, the goal of leaving Egypt is part of the narrative thread describing the oppressive measures that Pharaoh uses to keep the Israelites in Egypt. That goal is finally realized once the Israelites traverse the Sea of Reeds. This climactic event is related in two versions: a prose account in 14:1-31, followed by a poetic account (called in rabbinic literature Shirat HaYam, “Song at the Sea”) in 15:1-22. The latter is more of a celebratory or victory hymn than a record of the Exodus event. Without the prose version, the sequence and details of the crossing would be unclear. However, without the poetic one–which may be a female composition–the soaring emotion of escape and the realization of God’s role in deliverance would be lost.
Fleeing from Egypt does not end the Israelites’ woes. They are far from the Promised Land, and they must cross the uninviting Sinai Peninsula. The crises they face in the wilderness–military threats and shortages of food and water–are the focus of 15:22-17:16. These predicaments foreshadow the challenges they must deal with as an agrarian people living in the highlands of the land of Israel.
Just as women and water began the story of the liberation from Egypt (Exodus 2), so too they bring it to its fulfillment. Miriam, the sister who first stood by the water (the Nile River) to watch over her baby brother, now, as prophet, leads the women in interpreting what crossing the water (the Sea of Reeds) means. Thus, women and water frame the story of Israel’s beginnings, from servitude to freedom.
Another View by Rachel Havrelock, p.400
By breaking through the waters of the Sea of Reeds and emerging through the narrow passage, Israel is born as a liberated nation. Like any newborn, Israel expresses the need for food and water–and voices the fear of their absence. In response, God behaves as a mother, sometimes nurturing, sometimes stern, often setting limits.
Israel first faces a lack of water. When they encounter bitter waters, Moses sweetens them by casting in a piece of wood. Later, panic ensues because no springs are discovered at Rephidim. God instructs Moses to bring forth water from a rock with the very staff that turned the Nile to blood. On this initial leg of the journey, the people interpret the lack of water and food as indicative of God’s absence, much as an infant interprets a lack of nourishment as the absence of nurture.
Food can be called Israel’s national obsession, and it is used to gauge the relative safety or danger of a situation. Raw foods that require less chewing (milk, honey, manna) indicate relative stability, while meat has the potential to cause trouble (Numbers 11). Although no mention is made of Israel eating anything in Egypt before the Passover celebration (Exodus 12:8-9, 15), the people salivate when remembering Egyptian delicacies (Exodus 16:3; Numbers 11:5). While God promises Israel a land of milk and honey, they accuse God of trying to starve them in the wilderness (Exodus 16:3; Numbers 21:5). God rains bread from heaven (Exodus 16:4) as a taste of what is to come: manna that is white as milk and resembles the promised honey (Exodus 16:31). But, as Moses later informs the Divine, not even manna can fill the bottomless pit of Israel’s appetite (Numbers 11:21-22).
Why are the people so hungry? Perhaps the trauma of slavery has left a residue of deprivation, or perhaps meals allow for some regularity during the journey through an unknown wilderness. The plot of the Torah implies that the people can find satisfaction only when they partake of the homeland’s fruits (Joshua 5:11-12). Hunger is indicative of exile; and Israel is not sated until it finds a home.
PRAYERS
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.516
THUS SAYS ADONAI, This is what I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of lawlessness; to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke. Share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, give clothing, and do not ignore your own kin.
O GUARDIAN of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those who are in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation, and alert to the care of the earth. May we never be lazy in the work of peace; may we honor those who have [served, suffered or] died in defense of our ideals. Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance. May they govern with justice and compassion. Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit. Amen.
FOR HEALING
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of abuse, brutality, conflicts, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds especially directed at individuals and specific communities including us, and war; for all those at home alone or lonely; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, conflict, disease, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds, and war.
This coming week, 13 Shevat through 19 Shevat, we lovingly remember:
Flory Jagoda
Am Yisrael
Benjamin Caron
TKH Memorial Board, Father of Dr. Sam Caron, Temple President
Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.
“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.
SHABBAT SHIRAH – TORAH STUDY AND SHAZOOM
We will meet as usual at the regular times for Torah Study and Shazoom this evening, Friday, January 14, 2022.
Zoom regularly updates its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this Friday evening:
Topic: Torah Study – B’shalach (triennial part) Ex 14:26-17:16
Time: Jan 14, 2022 06:00 PM Arizona
and/or
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Jan 14, 2022 07:30 PM Arizona
To join Torah Study and/or Shazoom click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
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Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat!
-Ruben
UPCOMING JEWISH MINOR HOLIDAY
Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, begins at sundown this coming Sunday, January 16, 2022. Temple Kol Hamidbar will have an online Tu B’Shevat Seder starting at 6:30 PM MST. Use the following distinct meeting ID and passcode or link to join this gathering:
Topic: Tu B’Shevat Seder
Time: Jan 16, 2022 06:30 PM Arizona
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