Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Soon after allowing the Children of Israel to depart from Egypt, Pharaoh chases after them to force their return, and the Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s armies and the sea. G-d tells Moshe to raise his staff over the water; the sea splits to allow the Israelites to pass through, and then closes over the pursuing Egyptians. Moshe and the Benei Israel sing a song of praise and gratitude to G-d.

In the desert, the people suffer thirst and hunger and repeatedly complain to Moshe and Aaron. G-d miraculously sweetens the bitter waters of Marah, He causes manna to rain down from the heavens before dawn each morning, and quails to appear in the Israelite camp each evening.

The Children of Israel are instructed to gather a double portion of manna on Friday, as none will descend on Shabbat. Aaron preserves a small quantity of manna in a jar, as a testimony for future generations.

The people of Israel are attacked by the Amaleks, who are defeated by Moshe’s prayers and an army raised by Joshua.

” Dvar Torah “

Music! Oxford dictionary defines it as “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” There is an inner connection between music and the spirit. Words are the language of the mind, while music is the language of the soul. Religious worship cannot do without music. That’s why when we pray, we do not read; we sing. Melody inspires the soul; music connects you to G-d.

In this week’s Parsha, Moshe and the Benei Yisrael also sing a song of gratitude to Hashem; “Az yashir Moshe uvenei Yisrael….”. After Hashem saved the Israelites from the hands of Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the shore, they believed in Hashem and His servant Moshe. So they expressed their appreciation by singing a song to the G-d Almighty. Accordingly, this week’s Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shira”, Shabbat of Song.

But Rabbi Frand has a different view of why this week’s Shabbat is called Shabbat Shira. He says that it could not merely be because the parsha contains the ‘Shirah’, for if that were the case, then Parshat Yitro, (next week) should be called Shabbat Torah, since it contains the story of the giving of the Ten Commandments. So there must be something else about  Parshat Beshalach that gives it the title of “Shabbat Shira”.

Rabbi Frand says that the word “Shira” comes from the same root as “Yashar”, meaning straight. The entire parsha contains this idea of “Straightness,” of ups and downs which eventually balance out. No other parsha has so much repetition between peaks and valleys. The Jewish people came out of Egypt mightily, with a powerful Hand. Then the balloon was deflated when their backs were against the sea and the Egyptians were bearing down on them. The whole Exodus from Egypt seemed to be in jeopardy. It seemed to dissipate and go up in a cloud. Then the sea split. That was a tremendous high. They were miraculously saved. Then what happened? They found themselves without water, and the ‘lows’ began again. Then the bitter water miraculously turned sweet and they again were on a ‘high’. Then they had no food. They complain again — another ‘low’. Then they were miraculously given Manna and they were happy again. Then Amalek attacked and the cycle continued…..

There are high points and low points in a person’s life. There are peaks and there are valleys. When a person can look back and see the straightness (Yashar) of life — that somehow, after a while, things tend to work themselves out and become straight — that is the time when a person can utter Shirah; sing a Song. That’s why this week’s Parsha is called Shabbat Shira — the Shabbat of fairness and straightness!

Yes my friends; this week’s Parsha teaches us about life. Life is all about the highs and lows, ups and downs, the peaks and valleys. When a person can look back on his life and recognize that while there have been defeats and low moments as well as the high points, and sees the straightness/fairness of it all, then he understands what life is all about. That is when he can indeed utter the Shira, song of praise to G-d which is the essence of this week’s Parsha.

Remember that there is one good thing about reaching the bottom… You can only go up! After a bitterness in life, there usually comes sweetness. There is a great example of this in this week’s Parsha. The Israelites came to a place called Marah. However, they were unable to drink the water there because it was bitter. They complained against Moshe, asking what they could drink. Moshe prayed to G-d. G-d showed Moshe a tree. Moshe threw the tree into the water and the water became sweetened. The Jews were then able to drink the water. The Talmud says that the bark of the tree that G-d showed Moshe was itself extremely bitter. The bitter water was sweetened through the addition of a bitter tree. The lesson of this incident is:  “From the bitter, sweet emerges”. Sometimes, the sweetest outcome can emerge from the bitterest pain.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin