Blessing for the Study of Torah
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּ֒שָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה:
Baruch ata adonai, eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu la'asok b'divrei Torah.
Blessed are You, Adonai, Source of Enlightenment, Who sanctified us with mitzvot and commanded us to engage with words of Torah.
Outline of the Torah Portion
Exodus 13:17-17:16
- Departing Egypt (13:17-22)
- Crossing the Sea (14:1-31)
- Celebrating Freedom (15:1-21)
- The Wilderness (15:22-17:16)
- Finding Water (15:22-27)
- Finding Food (16:1-36)
- Finding More Water (17:1-7)
- Fighting Off Amalek (17:8-16)
Summary
B'Shalach brings the tale of the Exodus to its dramatic conclusion and denouement, with the Israelites crossing the sea in triumph before singing and dancing in celebration, only to confront the dangers of life in the wilderness.
The Song
(1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to יהוה. They said:
I will sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.
(20) Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, picked up a hand-drum, and all the women went out after her in dance with hand-drums. (21) And Miriam chanted for them:
Sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.
אז ישיר משה. משה לבדו חבר השירה ולמדוה ישראל ושורר כ"א ואומר אשירה לה'.
THEN SANG MOSES. Moses composed the song by himself. He then taught it to all of Israel, each one of whom then sang and said, I will sing unto the Lord.
The Torah: A Women's Commentary
Many modern scholars conclude that the Song was created and performed by women. Beginning in the mid-20th Century, a considerable body of literary, historical, sociological, and musicological evidence has been amassed to sugges tthat the Song should be attributed to Miriam. For example, one ancient manuscript tradition calls it the Song of Miriam.
Prof. Carol Myers, "Miriam’s Song of the Sea: A Women’s Victory Performance," TheTorah.com, 2020.
In this case—the Song of Miriam and similar texts involving dancing, drums, and song—the performance genre is a victory-song tradition associated specifically with women. Women are the ones left behind when armies go out to battle, and thus they are the ones to celebrate the return of warriors.
The Song
(1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to יהוה. They said:
I will sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea. (2) Yah is my strength and song.
He is become my deliverance.
This is my God and I will enshrine Him;
The God of my father’s [house], and I will exalt Him.
(3) יהוה, a Man of War — יהוה is His name!
(4) Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has cast into the sea;
And the pick of his officers
Are drowned in the Sea of Reeds.
(5) The deeps covered them;
They went down into the depths like a stone.
(6) Your right hand, יהוה, glorious in power,
Your right hand, יהוה, shatters the foe!
(7) In Your great triumph You break Your opponents;
You send forth Your fury, it consumes them like straw.
(8) At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up,
The floods stood straight like a wall;
The deeps froze in the heart of the sea.
(9) The foe said,
“I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall have its fill of them.
I will bare my sword—
My hand shall subdue them.”
(10) You made Your wind blow, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the majestic waters.
(11) Who is like You, יהוה, among the celestials;*celestials Others “mighty.”
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in splendor, working wonders!
(12) You put out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
(13) In Your love You lead the people You redeemed;
In Your strength You guide them to Your holy abode.
(14) The peoples hear, they tremble;
Agony grips the dwellers in Philistia.
(15) Now are the clans of Edom dismayed;
The tribes of Moab—trembling grips them;
All the dwellers in Canaan are aghast.
(16) Terror and dread descend upon them;
Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone—
Till Your people cross over, יהוה,
Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed.
(17) You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain,
The place You made to dwell in, יהוה,
The sanctuary, O my lord, which Your hands established.
(18) יהוה will reign for ever and ever!
Rabbi David Frankel, "The Song of the Sea and the History of Ancient Israel and Judah," TheTorah.com, 2016.
The Song could not really have been sung by the Israelites at this juncture since it refers to the journey to the land, the settlement, and the establishment of the Temple.[1] All of these events are depicted as having already occurred. They provide the basis for the thankful proclamation of God’s eternal kingship in the closing, climactic affirmation of verse 18, “May the Lord reign forever!”
It is thus most reasonable to assume that the Song was originally recited in one of the central temples in the land (most scholars assume that the reference is to Jerusalem) and only later attributed to Moses and the Israelites, and situated at the time of the miracle at the Sea. By placing the Song at this juncture, and putting it in the mouths of Moses and the Israelites, the editor depicts the miracle at the sea as such a high point that the people burst spontaneously into song
DovBear, "Does God Split the Sea in the Song of the Sea?" TheTorah.com, 2014.
Although the Song of the Sea is purported to be a hymn celebrating the dramatic and miraculous splitting of the sea when God led the Israelites out of Egypt, the text of the poem says nothing about this. The song does tell us that God made Pharaoh and his captains sink in the depths of the sea.
Nevertheless, this is a far cry from events described in Exodus 14. The Song contains no mention of Israelites walking across on dry land or of where the Israelites were or what they were doing as the Egyptian army pursued them. There is no description of the cloud that separated the two camps, or of the east wind separating the waters. Certainly, there is no reference to Moses, or anyone else, reaching out with his staff over the sea and splitting it (vv. 19–22).
Indeed, in the strictest sense of the term, there is no mention of any miracle at all.
Questions for Study
- Why might the redactors of the Torah have chosen to misattribute the Song of the Sea? What relevance does the question of authorship hold, if any?
- What is the Song of the Sea about and what can it teach us?
יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא. בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא:
יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל שְׁמֵהּ דְּקֻדְשָׁא. בְּרִיךְ הוּא. לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא וְשִׁירָתָא תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחֱמָתָא דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל רַבָּנָן. וְעַל תַּלְמִידֵיהוֹן וְעַל כָּל תַּלְמִידֵי תַלְמִידֵיהוֹן. וְעַל כָּל מַאן דְּעָסְקִין בְּאוֹרַיְתָא. דִּי בְאַתְרָא קַדִּישָׁא הָדֵין וְדִי בְכָל אֲתַר וַאֲתַר. יְהֵא לְהוֹן וּלְכוֹן שְׁלָמָא רַבָּא חִנָּא וְחִסְדָּא וְרַחֲמִין וְחַיִּין אֲרִיכִין וּמְזוֹנֵי רְוִיחֵי וּפֻרְקָנָא מִן קֳדָם אֲבוּהוֹן דְּבִשְׁמַיָּא וְאַרְעָא וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
יְהֵא שְׁלָמָא רַבָּא מִן שְׁמַיָּא וְחַיִּים עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'meih raba. B'al'ma di v'ra chiruteih, v'yamlich malchuteih b'chayeichon uv'yomeichon uv'chayei d'chol beit yisra-eil, ba-agala uvizman kariv, v'imru amein.
Y'hei sh'meih raba m'varach l'alam ul'al'mei al'maya.
Yitbarach v'yishtabach v'yitpa-ar v'yitromam v'yitnasei v'yithadar v'yitaleh v'yithalal sh'meih d'kudsha b'rich hu, l'eila min kol birchata v'shirata tushb'chata v'nechemata, da-amiran b'al'ma, v'imru amein.
Al yisra-eil v'al rabanan, v'al talmideihon v'al kol talmidei talmideihon, v'al kol man d'as'kin b'orayta, di v'atra hadein v'di v'chol atar va-atar. Y'hei l'hon ul'chon sh'lama raba, china v'chisda v'rachamin, v'chayin arichin, um'zonei r'vichei, ufurkana, min kodam avuhon di vishmaya, v'ara, v'imru amein.
Y'hei sh'lama raba min sh'maya, v'chayim tovim aleinu v'al kol yisra-eil, v'imru amein.
Oseh shalom Oseh shalom bimromav, hu b'rachamav ya-aseh shalom aleinu v'al kol yisra-eil, v'imru amein.