BShalach Excerpts
בשלח
Shabbat Shalom
We read the 'Az Yashir' song in this week's Parsha. I am not suggesting that we start a canon right now. This synagogue doesn't even know the words to 'Row Row Row Your Boat'...Those are the words to the song Bernie...
(15:1) 'Then they sang.' Only then, after all of this. It took 10 plagues. Only then do they sing? Just like when Beis Emes Sefilah waited all the way to Adon Olam to start singing. The chazan was singing the whole time, but they didn't see redemption till the end of services....Nobody has sang decently in this shule for years. It was beautiful when all the Jews sung together. Adon Olam was horrendous.
It was an act of fullness of appreciation. A connection...Mike, when was the last time you had a connection with your wife? Serenaded her?...
(14:31) At this point, Israel saw the hand that H' did upon Egypt...and they believed in H' and Moshe, His servant, unlike this congregation that got killed in the Bracha (blessing) B last year. There is no belief in hope for this...'B' is the first letter in Bracha...It was an English quiz. The Hebrew answer was not what they needed...
They couldn't believe. They couldn't have the full-hearted belief beforehand, with all the plagues and miracles they already saw? Are these people as entitled as the Kilsky children?
Rav Eliyahu Ki Tov's 'The Book of Our Heritage' says that song can only come from full belief in H.' Happiness only comes with full belief. Nobody believes in the Chazan. Some people would like to see the Chazan in the sea...Faster services. Redemption of sorts.
Rashi- It was then, after the miracle, that it arouse in his heart to sing. Singing comes from a moment. A moment of inspiration. Nothing was inspiring about the Fienfinkel's child leading in the Adon Olam last week....That was the moment we had at the sea.
(15:20-21) Here we see the full joy, as the women sing. Miriam tells the women to sing a song with much fewer lyrics.
Why we say the full 'Az Yashir' and not Miriam's shorter version of 'exalted above the arrogant, that He hurled the horses and their riders into the sea'...? Because we are not a reform congregation. That is only the first sentence of the song..I have to keep on telling you this. We do not pray to understand the words....
(15:24) 'And the people complained'...the water is bitter and they complain right away. Again. After a whole song, all the positive. Right away, they complain...You remember the last building fund? How quickly we forgot the joy of reaching the quarter mark on the thermometer.
All good. complain that the the sponge cake was too dry. Then don't eat it Bernie...H' has to tell Moshe to sweeten the water with a tree. You dip the sponge cake in some milk. Not hard...That tastes good. With some whip cream, you have a reason to sing and say a Bracha.
Shabbat Shalom