This Shabbat, on which we’ll read Parshat Beshalach, B’ezrat Hashem, is also called Shabbat Shira – named after the song found in our Parsha. I have a friend who, 22 years ago, had a daughter after six sons; it was on Erev Shabbat Kodesh, Parshat Shira. When I came to the big kiddush he made, I asked him, "So, what did you name your daughter?" He replied, "Shira – after Shabbat Shira!" I told him, "What luck that she was born on Shabbat Shira. What would you have done if she had been born prior to Shabbat Parshat Parah?!"
I would like to discuss the topic of Shirat HaYam (Song of the Sea) and from it, B’ezrat Hashem, connect to Tu B’Shvat, which we’ll mark next week. We should know what our Avodah is on that day before we go and eat all those worms – sorry, those fruits.
Following the final plague and just before the exodus from Egypt, the Torah tells us about Pharoah’s reaction:
He called for Moshe and Aharon that night and said, “Set out! Get out from among my people, both you and the Bnei Yisrael. Go worship your G-d as you have requested.
Chazal say (Yerushalmi, Pesachim 5:5), just as power was given to the voice of Moshe, so was power given to the voice of Pharaoh. And his voice went throughout the land of Egypt for forty days. And what did he say? “Rise up and go forth from among my people! Previously you were the servants of Pharaoh, but now you are servants of G-d. Go worship your G-d!” Upon hearing his message, Bnei Yisrael responded with praise:
הַ לְ לוּיָהּ הַ לְ לוּ עַ בְ דֵ י ה' – they were now the servants of Hashem and not the servants of Pharaoh! The Midrash says (Midrash Vayosha), Moshe prompted Pharoah to deliver this message, telling him he’d be spared during Makkat Bechorot – since he too was a firstborn – if he proclaimed that statement loudly. And so, he did. Importantly, Rabbeinu Bachya writes, Pharoah told Bnei Yisrael צֵא אַתָּה וְכָל הָעָם אֲשׁ ֶר בְּרַ גְלֶיך – but Moshe responded: “I and the people will not leave your authority until you yourself send us and command us to do so; only then will we go out.” Rabbeinu Bachya then adds a very interesting point:
Bnei Yisrael were sent and released from their imprisonment by a higher power, and therefore from this Pasuk comes the known name for a woman who has difficulty giving birth, and its power is great to open the bonds of the child who is imprisoned in the womb to bring him out into the air of the world so that he may merit Torah, just as Bnei Yisrael were released from their imprisonment to receive the Torah in the third month; and this name is known to those who know names, and is well-known in its pronunciation.
Why was it necessary for Pharaoh to proclaim Bnei Yisrael as free? Couldn't they have left without his consent? The sefer Parshat Derachim writes (Derush 5), this can be understood with what is said in Sifrei:
הַ עֲ נֵ יק תּ ַ עֲ נִ יק לוֹ מִ צָאנְ ךּ וּ מִ גָּרְ נְ ךּ וּ מִ יִקְ בֶ ךּ – we are instructed to present the Jewish servant who is set free after six years with a severance gift. Immediately afterwards we’re told וְ זָכַרְ תָּ כִּ י עֶ בֶ ד הָ יִיתָ בְּ אֶ רֶ ץ מִ צְ רַ יִם – we must remember that we were once servants in Egypt, and just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu provided us with a generous severance gift in Egypt, so too must we give to that servant. Rashi explains, just as we were given the spoils of Egypt and the spoils of the sea, so too must we furnish the servant.
The Gemara (Kiddushin 16b) explains that we might assume the obligation to provide a severance gift applies only to a servant who completes six years of service. To extend this to those freed in Yovel or upon their master's death, the Torah repeats the word תְ שׁ ַ לְ חֶ נּוּ – let him go. However, this might suggest it also applies to a runaway servant or one freed by a price adjustment. To clarify, the Torah adds וְ כִ י תְ שׁ ַ לְ חֶ נּוּ – when you let him go, teaching that severance applies only when the master consents to the release, excluding those who free themselves.
Civil laws are often derived from Torah Halacha. For example, in employment law, a fired worker typically receives compensation. But if the departure is voluntary – whether due to personal choice or a better opportunity – the mitzvah of Ha’anakah (providing a severance) serves as a model, showing that compensation is only given when someone is dismissed against their will and not If they leave voluntarily. Parshat Derachim says, the general principle that emerges from the Sifrei and Rashi is that what Bnei Yisrael merited from the spoils of Egypt was due to the laws of severance. And with this, the statement of Chazal in the Sifrei is resolved, and we understand why Moshe said they will not leave until Pharoah orders them to do so. While they could have left against his will, a runaway servant does not receive severance. It can be said that what Bnei Yisrael took from Egypt in terms of silver and gold vessels was due to the law of severance, and had they left without Pharaoh's consent, they would not have merited it.
After this yesod, I’d like to move on to the Shirat HaYam – to expand on it and understand it, and from it, connect to another timely topic. Chazal say (Shemot Rabbah 23:4):
From the day Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world until Yisrael stood by the sea, we do not find a person who sang a song to Hakadosh Baruch Hu except Yisrael. He created Adam HaRishon, and he did not recite a song. He saved Avraham from the fiery furnace and from the kings, and he did not recite a song. Yitzchak was saved from the knife, and he did not recite a song. Yaakov was saved from the angel, and from Eisav, and from the men of Shechem, and he did not recite a song. When Bnei Yisrael came to the sea and it was split for them, immediately they recited a song before Hakadosh Baruch Hu: Then Moshe and the Bnei Yisrael sang. Thus, Her mouth opens with wisdom – Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to them: For this I was waiting.
Anyone who is somewhat familiar with the Midrashim of Chazal will immediately ask how this can be. This claim contradicts several other explicit Midrashim. One Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 22:13) says Adam HaRishon sang a song to Hakadosh Baruch Hu; upon discovering Teshuva, he sang מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת. Another (Bereshit Rabbah 43:9) speaks of Avraham Avinu singing זֶה אֵ-לִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱ-לֹהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ after his victory in battle against the four kings. If so, how does our Midrash say that until Bnei Yisrael stood by Yam Suf no song was sung to Hakadosh Baruch Hu? Not only that, but there is another song that was sung on the night of the Seder in Egypt – as the Navi Yeshayahu says (30:29):
You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Yisrael.
With regards to the specific song – הַ שׁ ִּ ירָ ה הַ זֹּאת – Bnei Yisrael sang at Yam Suf, Chazal comment (Yalkut Shimoni 242):
The phrase "this song" might suggest a single song, but in fact, there are ten songs throughout Jewish history. The first was sung in Egypt; the second at the splitting of the sea; the third was sung over the well in the wilderness; the fourth was Moshe’s song at the completion of the Torah; the fifth was Yehoshua’s declaration; the sixth was the song of Devorah and Barak; the seventh was sung by David HaMelech for the future dedication of the Mikdash; the eighth was sung by Shlomo HaMelech as his father directed; and the ninth was Yehoshafat’s song of praise before battle.
The songs listed by the Midrash all express praise, so why does the Torah refer to “this song” as though it is the only one, when there was another just before it at the Seder? And why does this Midrash not count the song of Adam HaRishon, nor that of Avraham Avinu? These questions are briefly addressed by the Sefat Emet, who says we do not find that these earlier songs became a parsha in the Torah for generations, whereas Shirat HaYam became a song for generations.
וְתוֹרַת חֶסֶד עַל לְשׁ וֹנָהּ – From the kindness Hakadosh Baruch Hu did with them, He made it a song for generations, so that every day we can find illumination in these words. Therefore, they instituted to recite this song every day. Whereas other songs were for individuals and personal miracles, Kriyat Yam Suf was for all of Bnei Yisrael and all future generations. The source of this idea is in the Zohar, in our Parsha on the Pasuk: אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשׁ ֶה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
And spoke, saying – this song is for generations, so that it will never be forgotten by them. Whoever merits this song in this world, merits it in the world to come, and merits to praise with it in the days of the Mashiach with the joy of Knesset Yisrael in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as it is written: “And spoke, saying.” Saying at that time when we sang in Egypt. Saying in the holy land, that they will sing in the land of Yisrael, at the time when Yisrael dwelled in the land. Saying in the exile. Saying in the redemption of Yisrael. Saying in the world to come.
It turns out, therefore, that Shirat HaYam is an eternal song, which we will sing forever. Rashi adds that Shirat HaYam is a song that descended upon all of Yisrael in prophecy all at once! While a small minyan cannot manage to say Kaddish D'Rabbanan together, five million people received Ruach HaKodesh and sang in unison!
Before we delve into the depth of the Shira, I would like to read four humbling lines from the Shelah HaKadosh on the sacred chapter of Az Yashir (Siddur Sha’ar HaShamayim):
I came to preface and inform that to explain the words of this song, who is this and who is that whose heart filled him, if all the heavens were parchment, and all the seas ink, and all the reeds quills, they would not suffice to explain one part of a thousand thousand thousandths of this song, and especially a person like me. Therefore, I only came to reveal some hints from the mouths of scribes and from books and from my own humble opinion. But it is necessary to know the greatness of the one who says this song with the awakening of the heart, he will merit to say it in the future.
The Sefer Chareidim (Mitzvat HaTeshuva, 7) provides six pieces of advice on how a person can receive atonement and be saved from his sins. First, answering Amen Yehei Shmei Rabbah with full intensity can bring forgiveness even when traces of heresy exist. Second, meticulous observance of Shabbat atones even if traces of idolatry are present. Third, reciting Shirat HaYam daily with joy. Fourth, those who forgo personal grievances and do not retaliate.A Fifth, הִ תְ בּ וֹ דְ ד ו ּ ת – seclusion or solitude, creates a direct bond with Hakadosh Baruch Hu and brings divine closeness. Sixth, listening intently to words of Yirat Shamayim from a wise teacher inspires spiritual awakening, as words of Aggadah draw the heart toward Teshuva.
A The Gemara says (Rosh Hashanah 17a): Whoever forgoes his reckonings with others for injustices done to him, the heavenly court in turn forgoes punishment for all his sins. It says נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וְעֹבֵר עַל פֶּשׁ ַע – He bears sin and forgives transgression. To whom does He forgive? To one who forgoes his reckonings with others. Those who are insulted and do not insult back; hear their disgrace and do not respond; act out of love and rejoice even in afflictions. There are three levels here, each higher than the previous. The first is one who hears his disgrace and responds but without insulting in return. The second remains silent and does not respond, though his heart harbors quiet bitterness. The third rejoices in the affliction – i.e., the words of disgrace he hears – knowing that Hakadosh Baruch Hu may atone for his sins through this.
The third remedy is relevant to our shiur. One should concentrate in the Shirat HaYam that we recite every day and say it with a loud voice and great joy as if at that moment he came out of Egypt.
וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּם סוּף – And Moshe led Yisrael from Yam Suf. The Midrash says he led them away from their sins that were forgiven through the song they sang, because anyone to whom a miracle is done and sings a song, is forgiven for his sins. After we were commanded to recite this song every day, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai wrote that it means to say it every day with great joy just like the first time we sang it at Yam Suf. The Mishna Berurah speaks about this act (Hilchot Berachot, 51:17):
And he should say the Song of the Sea with joy and imagine in his mind as if on that day he crossed the sea. And one who says it with joy, his sins are forgiven.
Imagine a man with a 100,000-shekel debt who’s told, “Sing to the judge, and he’ll forgive everything!” He’d enroll in music school that very day, practicing like it was his career. Well, the Mishna Berurah says that reciting Shirat HaYam with joy wipes out all sins – sounds like a great deal, right? But here’s the catch: Sefer Chareidim says you need to feel the same overwhelming joy that Bnei Yisrael felt at Yam Suf. And let’s be honest, most of us struggle just to get out of bed in the morning. How are we supposed to summon the euphoria of escaping slavery when we can barely escape our blankets? A guy stumbles into shul half-asleep, still resenting whoever dared wake him up, and now he’s supposed to sing like he’s just walked through the sea? “I barely got out of bed – how can I now get out of Egypt?!” The reality is, if you roll out of bed 15 minutes before Tefillah, you’re not hitting Shirat HaYam with joy. Someone told me their shul actually sings Az Yashir every morning in full-out song! But, of course, they daven Vasikin, and their Shacharit takes an hour and a half.
The last remnant who lived Yetziat Mitzrayim passed away about 30 years ago – the great Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, the mashgiach of the Ponevezh Yeshiva. He lived Yetziat Mitzrayim through his own hands! For us, it’s a vague concept in thought, but for him, it was visualized. His students recount that every day he’d enter the classroom, place two benches on either side, walk in the middle and recite Az Yashir with great kavanah, imagining to himself: "Mitzrayim behind! Yam Suf in front! The sea has split!" He’d walk between the two benches with authentic joy!
From here, I’d like to address the structure of the Shirat HaYam. It spans nineteen Pesukim in the Torah and ends with: ה' יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד – The Lord shall reign forever and ever.
At the end of Az Yashir, we say this Pasuk three times – twice in Mikra and once in Targum: ה' יִמְ לֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד. ה' יִמְ לֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד. ה' מַלְכוּתֵיהּ קָאִים לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵ י עָלְמַ י.
This is followed by three more Pesukim; one from Ketuvim and two from the Nevi'im:
כִּי לַה' הַמְּלוּכָה וּמֹשֵׁל בַּגּוֹיִם, וְעָלוּ מוֹשִׁעִים בְּהַר צִיּוֹן לִשְׁפֹּט אֶת הַר עֵשָׂו וְהָיְתָה לַה' הַמְּלוּכָה, וְהָיָה ה' לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה ה' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.
Following this set of three, Chassidim add a fourth Pasuk: שְׁמַע יִשְׂ רָאֵל ה' אֱ-לֹהֵ ינוּ ה' אֶ חָ ד.
What is the significance of this order in Az Yashir? The Aruch HaShulchan asks another great question: How can it be that Pesukim from the Torah appear at the very end of Pesukei Dezimra (at the very end of Az Yashir)? Pesukim from the Torah should be at the beginning, just like the order found in the Pesukim of Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofrot on Rosh Hashanah. How can we open with Pesukim from the Nevi'im and Ketuvim, and end with Pesukim from the Torah? (As a result, the Rambam holds that Az Yashir is said after Yishtabach – but we do not rule this way.) The Zohar writes, there’s a reason to the reverse order (Terumah, 131b):
The praise from the Torah – ה' יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד – is situated at the end because that final praise is superior to all other praises in the world; because of this, it is adjacent to the prayer of the seated – namely, Shema. It is known that in Shema we accept upon ourselves Ol Malchut Shamayim – the yoke of Heaven. Every day, in Maariv, we say:
הַ מַּ עֲ בִ יר בָּ נָיו בֵּ ין גִ זְ רֵ י יַם סוּף אֶ ת־רוֹדְ פֵ יהֶ ם וְ אֶ ת־שׂוֹנְ אֵ יהֶ ם בִּ תְ הוֹמוֹת טִבַּע: וְרָ אוּ בָּנָיו גְבוּרָ תוֹ שִׁ בְּחוּ וְהוֹדוּ לִשְׁ מוֹ: מַלְכוּתוֹ בְּרָ צוֹן קִ בְּלוּ עֲ לֵ יהֶ ם . מֹשׁ ֶה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂ רָ אֵל לְךָ עָנוּ שִׁ ירָ ה בְּשִׂ מְ חָה רַ בָּה וְאָמְ רוּ כֻּלָּם:
When was the first time Bnei Yisrael accepted His kingdom willingly? It was at the splitting of Yam Suf! Before you accept upon yourself Ol Malchut Shamayim, you recite Az Yashir – which is meant to remind you of the first time Bnei Yisrael willingly accepted His kingdom!
What do we say in the paragraph of מִי כָּמֹכָה? When they saw what Hakadosh Baruch Hu did at the sea, they all accepted upon themselves Ol Malchut Shamayim! The Zohar tells us, because of the immense praise in Az Yashir, it is joined to Yotzer Or, and then to Shema, because it is there where we find the foundation of accepting Ol Malchut Shamayim!
If this is the case, we can now understand the significance of the order of Az Yashir, which begins with Pesukim from the Torah, then from the Ketuvim, and then from the Nevi'im. If it is a portrayal of וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בְּרָ צוֹן קִ בְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם, then just like on Rosh Hashanah we have Pesukim from the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim, and then end with a Pasuk from the Torah – Az Yashir follows the same order. All this because Az Yashir is the essence of וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בְּרָ צוֹן קִ בְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם – They accepted His kingdom willingly upon themselves!
We can now understand a wonderful yesod related to Az Yashir. In Perek Shira, where all the animals sing songs based on Pesukim, which of the animals sings the opening Pasuk of Shirat HaYam? אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשׁ ֶה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַה' וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַה' כִּי גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם׃
The answer is: the ox. If I had asked you for the answer, you would have likely said it is the horse, referenced within. But that is incorrect. It’s the ox, and commentators on Perek Shira seek to understand the connection. The Chida writes (Kikar La'aden), the linkage lies in the ox representing Yosef. In reference to a Pasuk in Hallel – הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס – Chazal ask what the sea saw and why it fled. According to the Midrash (Tehillim 114), it saw the coffin of Yosef HaTzaddik, and in his merit, the sea split. Given that Moshe Rabbeinu possessed the aspect of Yosef, and Bnei Yisrael are called by the name of Yosef (Sanhedrin 19b), to hint at both Yosef HaTzaddik and Bnei Yisrael, the ox sings: אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. Another commentator references the Gemara (Sotah 48a) which states: שְׁרֵי זִמְרָא וּדְבַק – The song of the oxen is permitted, and Rashi explains that oxen go and plow to the sound of songs, because its sound is pleasant to them. Therefore, it is called a shor, and as it enjoys the sound of a shir.
In the Parshiot of Shema recited each day, we find three Parshiot: שְׁמַע, וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ, and the chapter of צִיצִית. The Gemara (Berachot 12b) states that the Parsha of Balak was considered for inclusion but was omitted due to its length, which would be a טוֹרַח צִבּוּר – a burden to the congregation. The obvious justification for its inclusion might be that Yetziat Mitzrayim is mentioned within – אֵ-ל מוֹצִיאָם מִמִּצְרָיִם. But if that is the case, why not also add the parsha dealing with charging interest on loans, or the one dealing with honesty in weights, as they too include mention of Yetziat Mitzrayim and they are short chapters! Rather, the reason for its suggested inclusion lies in the words כָּרַע שָׁכַב כַּאֲרִי, which resembles the Pasuk
