At that time, Hashem wanted to make Chizkiyahu Moshiach and the war of Sancheirev would have been the battle of Gog and Magog that will precede the Geulah. However, the Middas Hadin - the Attribute of Justice came before Hashem with an accusation; “You made miracles for Dovid Hamelech and he sand songs of praise before you, yet you did not make him Moshiach. Yet, Chizkiyahu who you performed multiple miracles for, did not sing a song before You - and You wish to make him Moshiach?”
As a result of this accusation, the Geulah did not take place and we are still in Golus thousands of years later, because Chizkiyahu did not sing Shirah.
The Shel”ah points out that in the Tanach, we see that Chizkiyahu did send a letter praising Hashem for his miracles. So what is the Gemara referring to?
The words of the Gemara are that “He did not sing Shirah before You”. The Gemara does not mean that Chizkiyahu did not sing any song of praise. The deficiency that disqualified him from being Moshiach, was that he did not sing the song of praise “before” Hashem’s miraculous salvation took place.
This is the meaning of our Midrash, which is not being repetitious, but rather, teaches us the secret of the Emunah that will bring the Geulah. The Midrash can be read as “In the future, the Jewish people will sing a song for the future to come”. The belief in Moshiach will be so strong, that the song of the future Geulah will be sung before the future Geulah comes itself.
We find this quality in the song of the women at the Yam Suf. After experiencing the great miracle of the splitting of the sea and seeing their Egyptians persecutors drowned, the men, led by Moshe burst into song. But it was אז, only “then”, after the miracle had already occurred and they could see the corpses lying on the seashore.
Whilst the women, led by Miriam, also sang their Shirah after Krias Yam Suf, their readiness to sing this song began a week before. Rashi quotes the Midrash that the righteous women of that generation were so certain that Hashem would perform miracles that they took tambourines with them to be ready to praise Hashem with music and joy.
As Klal Yisroel face challenging times and suffering, particularly in Eretz Yisrael, let us look to the faith of the Jewish women, the Agams amongst our people. In our difficulty let us choose the path of Emunah, to strengthen our faith. And in the Zechus of our Emunah, may we all return, together with all of the captives, to our homeland, with the Geulah Shleima.
Last Thursday, we joyously celebrated the return of more Israeli hostages. In a photo taken on board a helicopter to hospital, Agam Berger, one of the freed captives, held up a sign, which has now been publicised across the world. Quoting words of Tehillim, it read “I chose the path of Emunah and in the way of Emunah I returned.”
It was her Emunah in Hashem and belief that she would emerge, that carried her through the most unimaginable darkness, and ultimately saw her come safely home back to her family.
The theme of Emunah is central in our Parsha.
The Midrash on Parshas Beshalach, teaches עתידין ישראל לומר שירה לעתיד לבא, “In the future, the Jewish people will sing a song in the future to come”. This is a reference to the song that we will sing at the time of the future redemption with Moshiach.
This Midrash seems unnecessarily repetitive, repeating “in the future”. It could have taught “in the future, the Jewish people will sing a song” or “the Jewish people will sing a song in the future to come.”
Geulah is bound up with Emunah. The Midrash teaches that the Jewish people went out of Egypt in the merit of their Emunah. The splitting of the sea and their ability to sing Shirah to Hashem, also took place in the merit of their Emunah. And the final redemption too will come in the merit of our Emunah in the Geulah. Emunah is expressed in song - Shirah.
There are different degrees of Emunah. One level of Emunah is one that comes only after one has already experienced Hashem’s salvation. After we see Hashem’ miracles materialise and unfold, after seeing the “happy ending”, our faith is strengthened and we can praise and thank Hashem.
But there is a deeper, more powerful level of Emunah. This is where even while we are in the midst of darkness and facing threats, our trust in Hashem is so strong that we believe with certainty that He will perform miracles for us and we don’t need to first wait for them to be fulfilled. With this Emunah, we sing with faith in Hashem, already before the salvation has taken place.
The Emunah required to bring the final redemption, is this higher level of Emunah.
With this distinction, the Shel”ah explains a fascinating Gemara. In the times of the righteous king Chizkiyahu, Sancheirev the king of Assyria led a massive army against Jerusalem. On the first night of Pesach, a great miracle took place. An angel of Hashem slew the generals of the army and the rest of the army fled in disarray.
