I love Shabbat B’shallach, also known as Shabbat Shirah (Shabbat of Song) and Shabbat of the birds – and yes, I will be bringing my little birds to decorate the Bimah! Who can better sing than the birds in our midst?
The multiple stories in our tradition linking this Shabbat with birds can be found in this link: https://schechter.edu/why-is-shabbat-shirah-for-the-birds/
I have noted before that this section of Torah (where the Israelites cross the Sea, the Yam Suf) is sung in two different cantillations/ta’amim, one is regular for Shabbat and one for this portion – only. It is also laid out in a unique brick formation, which you can see here. Here is one book form image.
When we think about the travails of those early Israelites we may think about their generations in Mitzrayim, in Egypt. We may think of those 40 years of learning about what they had agreed to do at Sinai – what did all these laws mean to them? We may think about that whole generation dying in the wilderness, never making it to the Land they had been promised. Only the next generation would actually step across the Jordan into the land. So many steps taken after 40 years!
But we can also pause for a moment and think about that first step. That first act of personal intention, that first moment where people looked within themselves and said yes, we will join you. We will leave. That saying goodbye to home and neighbour. That leaving everything familiar. And that first step into the waters of the Sea.
First steps forward are usually preceded by thinking about that first step in our minds. But some of us are just first-steppers – we figure it out in the moment, if not afterwards. Others of us are more hesitant about stepping into the unknown, we need those brave – or reckless – souls who just step into their futures to give us courage. Every day we have an opportunity to live within that teaching of B’Shallach. As Rabbi Hillel said so many centuries ago: If not now, when?
This year as we celebrate 75 years of the State of Israel, we remember with gratitude those Jews who decided to return in the 1800’s, in the 1900’s, right up to those making Aliyah today. Israel is a country, where if not for the world turning its collective back on Jews desperate to escape the prison bars that Europe was becoming, might have lived. There will always be a Yam Suf. May we live with Hatikvah, with the hope that we can cross over into freedom and justice for all.
Ken yehi ratzon,
Rabbi Lynn
B’shallach
January 30, 2023 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: b'shallach, birds, shabbat shirah •
I love Shabbat B’shallach, also known as Shabbat Shirah (Shabbat of Song) and Shabbat of the birds – and yes, I will be bringing my little birds to decorate the Bimah! Who can better sing than the birds in our midst?
The multiple stories in our tradition linking this Shabbat with birds can be found in this link: https://schechter.edu/why-is-shabbat-shirah-for-the-birds/
I have noted before that this section of Torah (where the Israelites cross the Sea, the Yam Suf) is sung in two different cantillations/ta’amim, one is regular for Shabbat and one for this portion – only. It is also laid out in a unique brick formation, which you can see here. Here is one book form image.
When we think about the travails of those early Israelites we may think about their generations in Mitzrayim, in Egypt. We may think of those 40 years of learning about what they had agreed to do at Sinai – what did all these laws mean to them? We may think about that whole generation dying in the wilderness, never making it to the Land they had been promised. Only the next generation would actually step across the Jordan into the land. So many steps taken after 40 years!
But we can also pause for a moment and think about that first step. That first act of personal intention, that first moment where people looked within themselves and said yes, we will join you. We will leave. That saying goodbye to home and neighbour. That leaving everything familiar. And that first step into the waters of the Sea.
First steps forward are usually preceded by thinking about that first step in our minds. But some of us are just first-steppers – we figure it out in the moment, if not afterwards. Others of us are more hesitant about stepping into the unknown, we need those brave – or reckless – souls who just step into their futures to give us courage. Every day we have an opportunity to live within that teaching of B’Shallach. As Rabbi Hillel said so many centuries ago: If not now, when?
This year as we celebrate 75 years of the State of Israel, we remember with gratitude those Jews who decided to return in the 1800’s, in the 1900’s, right up to those making Aliyah today. Israel is a country, where if not for the world turning its collective back on Jews desperate to escape the prison bars that Europe was becoming, might have lived. There will always be a Yam Suf. May we live with Hatikvah, with the hope that we can cross over into freedom and justice for all.
Ken yehi ratzon,
Rabbi Lynn