"I will sing to HaShem!"(Exodus 15:1) Shevat 12, 5783/February 3, 2023 This week's Torah reading, Beshalach, is action packed from start to finish. It contains many of the most well-known conflicts and confrontations of the Torah. It begins with Israel's midnight exodus from Egypt, and their seven-day journey which brings them to the edge of the Sea of Reeds. It includes Pharaoh's final change of heart and his decision to send his cavalry in pursuit of Israel to return them to slavery. We read of the showdown at Yam Suf - the Sea of Reeds - of Israel’s plunge into the sea, which miraculously divides into two, allowing Israel to cross to the other side, while the pursuing Egyptian army is drowned to a man in the returning waters. Three days later, their provisions exhausted, Israel bitterly complains and yet another miracle occurs: a stick of wood is cast into the murky waters and in an instant they are potable. Israel's thirst is slaked but their stomachs are still rumbling, and the people clamor for meat! And yes! another miracle takes place: G-d delivers once again, this time sending their way a massive flock of quails. Their bellies are filled for a day, and the following morning G-d rains down bread from heaven - manna - which will sustain Israel throughout the next forty years of their desert wanderings. Their daily bread now literally at their doorstep each morning, the people should be satisfied, but, alas, they grow thirsty once more and again raise their voices to Moshe. G-d, ever sympathetic to Israel's plight, commands Moshe to take up his staff and "strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink." (Exodus 17:6) Finally, and mercifully, parashat Beshalach closes with Israel’s resounding victory over Amalek, an enemy they never knew they had, not until the moment Amalek ambushed them along the way. All this, in a matter of less than three months is enough to make weary even a tightly knit veteran nation, whose institutions of governance, defense and justice are firmly established. But Israel had none of these. They were nothing more than a ragtag band of runaway slaves. They shared an ancient patrimony, from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, but it was one that they had little time for, burdened as they were, under the constant oppression of the back breaking toil of slavery. So how did they survive? How did they stand up under all the life threatening turmoil that confronted them, day after day, following their flight from Egypt? We are witness to three responses exhibited by Israel in response to each life threatening challenge they faced: song, prayer and offerings. The young, not quite yet a nation, were learning to take their first steps in the world free from their Egyptian overlords. Their first words were childish, but they were learning, on the run, how to how to trust in Hashem, how to address Him, how to appeal to G-d - how to pray! "They said to Moshe, is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt?" (ibid 14:11) It hardly sounds like prayer to us. After all, they are speaking to Moshe and not to G-d. And their words are laced with bitterness and scorn. But they are new at this, at least as a nation. They have yet to discover the words they truly need in order to express their distress and appeal to G-d's salvation. Nevertheless, G-d hears them, appreciates their plight, understands the seriousness of their cry, and the very fact that they are attempting, in their own way, to appeal to a higher power - to reach out to HaShem. And G-d answers their crudely worded prayer with the greatest miracle the world has ever known - the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. Emerging on the other side, safe at last from the Egyptians, Israel breaks out in spontaneous song - the second expression of their new nationhood under G-d. "Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang this song to HaShem, and they spoke, saying, I will sing to HaShem, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea..." (ibid 15:1) The Song of the Sea is perhaps no less miraculous than the event it was commemorating. From where did this newborn nation, who only hours before were struggling to express itself to G-d, discover so great and sublime a power of expression? Swept up by the dramatic chain of events which carried them from certain death to unimaginable safety, Israel somehow managed to access something deep within their beings. This was truly the first reawakening of a long dormant relationship with G-d in the world, the legacy of their forefathers, which had been stifled and silenced by their long years of slavery. But the nation was still in its diapers, and something so basic as feeding themselves was a discipline yet unlearned. And so, when thirsty, they cried out once again, and "complained against Moshe and against Aharon." (ibid 16:2) Their recognition of G-d, and not Moshe or Aharon as the proper address for their complaints, remains fleeting. Moshe remains their conduit to G-d, but G-d is patiently working on changing that, and bringing Israel to the gradual recognition that they have but one sovereign - and that is G-d. Moshe tells the people in no uncertain terms that the address for their complaints, or more properly, for their prayers is G-d, for Moshe and Aharon are simply in G-d's employ. Moshe reminds the people that "HaShem brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning, you shall see the glory of HaShem when He hears your complaints against HaShem but of what significance are we, that you make the people complain against us?" (ibid 16:6-7) And G-d, for His part, confirms Moshe's words, when, "it came to pass when Aharon spoke to the entire community of the children of Israel, that they turned toward the desert, and behold! the glory of HaShem appeared in the cloud." (ibid 16:10) Slowly, slowly, Israel is being introduced to their G-d, to the G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, who delivered them from Egypt. Still bereft of any societal organization, no system of self-governance, not even an agreed upon arrangement for the pitching of their tents, Israel is learning the very basics of reaching out and communicating with HaShem. Israel is getting to know their suitor, G-d, who had told them, while still in Egypt: "And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a G-d to you, and you will know that I am HaShem your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." (ibid 6:7) Recognizing HaShem and developing a line of communication - a dialog with HaShem - is a prerequisite for forging the covenant with HaShem that will soon take place at Sinai. G-d and His people need to get to know one another. The third and final mode of communicating to Hashem which Israel discovers in our parasha, takes place in Beshalach's concluding verses. Following Israel's surprise victory over Amalek, the result of a battle, in which, unlike the miracle at the Sea of Reeds, G-d took a back seat, as it were, and allowed Israel to fight for themselves, and grow in strength by looking toward Moshe's arms outstretched to the heavens, "Moshe built an altar, and he named it HaShem is my miracle." (ibid 17:15) This is the first altar built by Israel since the days of the patriarchs, hundreds of years earlier. Yet another expression of gratitude to Hashem has been revived, one that G-d will hold so dear, that it will become a major component of the Torah that G-d will soon share with Israel. Three expressions of entreaty, of gratitude, of exultation and of love are being discovered, learned and slowly articulated by Israel, as the newborn nation takes its first steps under the protective wing of the G-d of Israel. . |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk as Yitzchak Reuven reflects upon the bright light of faith & the dark night of doubt, upon a nation learning to walk with G-d, and upon the blessing of rain! Finally free from Egypt and out from under the burden of slavery, the children of Israel have a lot of growing to do in very trying circumstances. Their first and most crucial challenge is learning to trust in HaShem. Breathtakingly high peaks of faith and devastatingly deep caverns of doubt characterize our generation today. |
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Music! We can't live without it! It lifts us up when we are down; it calms our nerves when we are overwrought. And sometimes, it simply bursts forth from our lungs as an expression of great gratitude for a miracle wrought and a blazing vision of the future! Beshalach (Exodus 13:17 - 17:16)
Parashat Beshalach is read on Shabbat:
Shevat 23, 5783/February 4, 2023 |
Haftara For Shabbat Parashat Beshalach Judges 4:4 - 5:31: "Now Devorah was a woman prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth; she judged Israel at that time. And she sat under the palm tree of Devorah, between Ramah and Beit El, in the mountain of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment...'" |
A Temple Mount Moment: The Golden Dome The golden Dome of the Rock that covers the place of the Holy of Holies: when was it built, and was it always golden? A Temple Mount Moment is the joint project of the Temple Institute and High on the Har. Temple Mount experts and co founders of High on the Har, Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld and Rabbi Yehuda Levi present each week fascinating facts and insights about the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple, its past, present and future! |
Tu B’Shevat, The New Year For Trees! Tu B’Shevat, the new year for trees, begins this Sunday evening! Why do we celebrate a new year for trees? In order to determine which fruits are eligible for tithing throughout the upcoming year. That is, Tu B’Shevat is directly connected to the land of Israel and the Holy Temple in Jerusalem! Learn more about Tu B’Shevat, its connection to the Holy Temple, it's deep mystical significance, and the many ways we celebrate it today! |
Water From A Rock! This week in parashat Beshalach, (Exodus 13:17 - 17:16), we read of Israel thirsting in the wilderness, and how HaShem instructed Moshe to strike the rock with his staff, causing water to pour forth. Water from a rock is a miracle of undeniable proportions. But G-d performs this miracle, (without the assistance of man) all the time! |
Ehud Yaari: Time To Close Al Aqsa Ehud Yaari, one of Israel's most esteemed Middle East experts and veteran journalist, and not known to hold 'right wing' opinions, had this to say, concerning the most recent wave of Arab terror that struck Israel this past week and took seven innocent lives: "When Jewish prayer houses are attacked and everyone there [in Gaza and the West Bank] is celebrating, then tomorrow unfortunately there will be no entry to prayers at Al-Aqsa." |
This Week: Parashat Beshalach: Moshe Builds An Altar "Then Moshe built an altar, and he named it HaShem is my miracle. And he said, For there is a hand on the throne of the Eternal, a war for HaShem against Amalek from generation to generation." (Exodus 17:15-16) |
The Levites Perform The Fifteen Songs Of Ascension Singing Psalms while standing atop the duchan (raised platform), which was located just inside the Nikanor Gate, within the Court of the Israelites, was not the only musical venue for the Levitical orchestra. On certain occasions they would also perform their song on the opposite side of the Nikanor Gate, within the Women’s Court. They would stand upon the fifteen steps that led up to the Nikanor Gate, and from there they would perform the fifteen Songs of Ascension, (Shirei Hama’alot), Psalms 120 - 134. |
The Chamber Of Musical Instruments A large number of musical instruments were used by the Levites and the non-Levitical musicians who accompanied them in the Holy Temple, as recorded in Chronicles II 5:12-13: "And the Levites who sang-all of them, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, attired in fine linen, with cymbals and with psalteries and with harps, standing east of the altar, and with them were kohanim - one hundred twenty sounding with trumpets..." |
Winter Returns To Israel! This winter, the land of Israel has been suffering from a lack of sufficient rainfall. When the situation becomes critical a 'shenat batzoret' (a drought year) is declared by the rabbis and special prayers are said by congregations all over Israel. The Holy Ark which houses the Torah scrolls is opened, as all the congregants rise and, led by the prayer leader, recite verse after verse, and prayer after prayer, beseeching HaShem for rain. |
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Re-Establishing The Levitical Choir In Our Day! We interrupt our series of posts describing the singing of the Levitical choir in the Holy Temple to announce that the Temple Institute has embarked upon a new and exciting project: establishing a Levitical choir today, involving professional training and performance in preparation for participating in the Divine service in the rebuilt Holy Temple, may it be soon! If you would like more information, if you play a musical instrument, or are of Levitical descent, and living in Israel, and would like to be a part of this historic undertaking, please contact us at menahem@templeinst.com or 052-4840591 |
The Song Of The Levites: Bowing Down In Devotion At the conclusion of each psalm sung by the Levi'im at the Temple offerings, the kohanim would sound a tekia, (a long continuous blast), and the people would throw themselves down upon the courtyard floor in a show of devotion to HaShem. |
Mikdash Monday - 7 Species (Part 4) “And you shall observe the Festival of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest, and the festival of the ingathering, at the turn of the year.” (Exodus 34:22) |
Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount! Following this weekend's horrific terror attacks, in which seven innocent Jewish Israelis were killed in cold blood outside of a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday evening, Jewish worshipers on the Temple Mount today are praying for the swift and complete recovery of all injured in the attacks. Palestinians all throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza are sickly celebrating the murders by setting of fireworks and handing out candies. We Jews know that G-d is our strength, and the Temple Mount is the home of His Divine Presence. Shavua tov - may a good week yet await us! |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
5 Red Heifers Enjoying Life in Israel The 5 red heifers that were flown to Israel one month ago from Texas, via Kennedy Airport, are currently enjoying their lives in Israel. After spending 10 days in quarantine they are now living peacefully on a farm in Israel's Galilee region. |
Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
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