TORAH PORTION: LAST DAY OF PESAH
Shabbat, Seventh and Eighth Days of Pesach
April 22-23, 2022 | 22-23 Nisan 5782
Torah: Seventh Day Exodus 13:17-15:26; Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Eighth Day Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17
Haftarah:  Seventh Day II Samuel 22:1-51
Eighth Day Isaiah 10:32-12:6
In this week's Torah Sparks, you'll find a D'var Torah on the Parashah by Ilana Kurshan called "Singing at the Sea and Beyond", Vered Hollander-Goldfarb poses questions titled "Crisis by the Sea" and Bex Stern Rosenblatt writes a dvar haftara called "God's Aroma".
D'VAR TORAH
Pesah: History begins at Home
Ilana Kurshan
 
On the final days of Pesach, we read Shirat Hayam, a lengthy song of thanksgiving dramatizing the splitting of the sea, the drowning of Pharaoh and his chariots, and the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites. Shirat Hayam, though most commonly associated with Pesach, is also recited every morning as part of the daily liturgy, where it appears between Pesukei d’Zimra—the verses of praise recited as preparation for prayer—and Shacharit, the morning service. When considered in each of these liturgical contexts, Shirat Hayam marks the transition from the individual to the collective, giving voice to both the miracle of national deliverance and the power of communal prayer.

When the Song of the Sea was first recited—after the Israelites passed through the Sea of Reeds on dry land—it brought the people together after a moment of panicked divisiveness. Just before the sea split, the Israelites argued with one another about how to proceed. According to the Talmudic sage Rabbi Meir, the various tribes competed with one another about who would first set foot in the sea: “When the Jewish people stood at the Sea of Reeds, the tribes argued with one another. This one said: I am going into the sea first, and that one said: I am going into the sea first” (Sotah 36b). The tribe of Benjamin jumped in first, and the tribe of Judah—who felt they ought to be first—began pelting them with stones. According to Rabbi Meir, then, everyone wanted to go first. But Rabbi Yehuda argues that in fact the tribes were arguing not about who would get to jump in first, but who would have to, with each tribe insisting that they would not be the first to take the plunge. Then suddenly Nachshon ben Aminadav, the leader of the tribe of Judah, jumped in, and the other members of his tribe followed. According to both of these opinions, the Israelites were divided in rival tribal factions before the sea split, unable to act collectively as a people.

In contrast, immediately after they passed through the sea, the people joined together in communal singing. According to one Talmudic opinion, the song was recited in unison by the entire people; according to another opinion, it was initiated by Moshe and then chanted by the people in a call-and-response. Either way, Shirat Hayam was a communal experience of the people coming together to give thanks to God for the miracle they all experienced. The Talmud (Sotah 30b) emphasizes that everyone participated in the singing -- even babies lying on their mother’s laps joined in, and even infants nursing from their mothers’ breasts would straighten their necks, drop the breast from their mouths, and join in singing, “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2). Rabbi Tanhum adds that the bellies of pregnant women were transformed into glass spheres so that even fetuses in the womb could witness the miracle at the sea and sing of God’s glory. As proof, the Talmud quotes a verse from Psalms: “In full assemblies, bless God, the Lord, you that are from the source of Israel” (Psalms 68:27). The “full assemblies” refers to the people singing as a community, including even the “source of Israel” – the womb where children originate. Perhaps this emphasis on fetuses and babies serves to teach that the splitting of the sea marked the birth of the Israelites as a people, after leaving the narrow birth canal of Mitzrayim. In joining together in song, they are forged as a nation.

In the liturgy of the morning prayer service, too, the Song of the Sea signifies the transition from individual to collective. Morning prayers begin with Pesukei d’Zimra, a series of prayers and psalms which do not require the presence of a minyan but may be recited by lone individuals. The core of the liturgy of this part of the service consists of a series of psalms (145-150) attributed to King David; in reciting these psalms, we ventriloquize another individual’s words of praise to God. These psalms are followed by Vayevarech David, which is considered part of David’s prayer of thanksgiving at the end of his life. Following these passages attributed to King David, Psukei d’Zimra culminates in a song originally sung by the entire Jewish people – Shirat Hayam. Immediately after the conclusion of Shirat HaYam, the prayer leader for Shacharit takes over, and the presence of a minyan is required for the Kaddish and for the Barchu, in which the prayer leader exhorts the congregation in the plural: "Bless the Lord, the blessed One.” Like Moshe leading the people in the Song of the Sea, the prayer leader for Shacharit leads the people in the responsive recitation of the Barchu, the call to bless God.

The daily recitation of Shirat HaYam in the morning liturgy is one of the ways we remember the Exodus from Egypt on a regular basis. The recitation of this song is also a reminder of the power of coming together in song and prayer. When the Israelites first prepare for the Exodus, God’s instructions focus on the unit of the family and of the household – each household is supposed to take an unblemished lamb to sacrifice and eat at home. Each year at the Seder, when we gather around the table with our families, we memorialize this household ritual. But if the focus of the opening days of Pesach is on the family unit, the recitation of Shirat HaYam at the end of the holiday focuses us on the community and the nation. In our Torah reading for the last days of Pesach, we chant the first words sung in unison by the entire Jewish people, no longer divided into families and factions but united in bearing witness to the miracle of God’s deliverance.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
Crisis by the Sea
Vered Hollander-Goldfarb

According to tradition, the crossing of the sea took place on the Seventh day of Pesach.
Text: Shemot 14:10-16
10And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, … they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord…. 13And Moshe said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand and see the deliverance of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For as you see Egypt today, you shall see again no more forever. 14The Lord will fight for you, and you shall be quiet.”
15And the Lord said to Moshe, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 
  • Based on Moshe’s answer to the terrified people, what are their fears?
  • Why are the children of Israel not going forward? How reassuring are God’s words in v.16? Would you go?

 Yerushalmi Talmud Taanit 2:5
Our forefathers formed four factions on the Sea: One said, let us fall into the Sea. Another said, let us return to Egypt. Another said, let us fight with them. Another said, let us shout against them.
To the one who said, let us fall into the Sea, Moshe said, “Stand and see the deliverance of the Lord” etc. To the one who said, let us return to Egypt, Moshe said, “for as you are seeing Egypt today” etc. To the one who said, let us fight with them, Moshe said, “The Lord will fight for you." To the one who said, let us shout against them, Moshe said, “and you shall be quiet."
  • Based on Moshe’s words, the Yerushalmi detects four possible responses to a crisis. How would you divide the responses?
  • When is each response most appropriate? Which response(s) would you opt for in this situation? Why?

 Babylonian Talmud Sotah 36b-37a
Rabbi Meir said: When Israel stood at the Red Sea, the tribes were arguing with one other. This one was saying: I am descending into the sea first, and that one was saying: I am descending into the sea first…. Rabbi Yehudah said to Rabbi Meir: That is not how the incident happened. Rather, this one said: I am not descending into the sea first, and that one said: I am not descending into the sea [first]. Nahshon* son of Aminadav jumped and descended into the sea first.
* The head of the tribe of Judah
  • Which seems to be the more likely argument? Why?
  • What can you say in favor of each argument?
  • Why do you think that Nahshon jumped in?
  • Where, in the biblical text, would you insert this argument?
HAFTARAH
God’s Aroma (Haftarah for Eighth Day)
Bex Stern Rosenblat

There is a very confusing verse in this week’s haftarah. We are in the middle of learning about “the shoot from the stump of Jesse,” a continuation of kings from the line of David, who will be well suited to rule over us. In Isaiah 11:3, we read one of the ways that this king in the imagined future utopia will rule, the means he will use to judge fairly. It’s a crucial point in the creation of any system of government - how to ensure that the law is applied equitably and justice is upheld.  
But what exactly this verse is telling us how this will happen means is most unclear. It all depends on how we translate “והריחו.” The JPS Tanakh translates, “He shall sense the truth by his reverence for the Lord.” The Koren Jerusalem Bible translates, “And his delight shall be in his fear of the Lord.” Robert Alter translates, “His very breath in the fear of the Lord,” 

There is agreement about the meaning of the rest of the verse. It translates something like, “He shall not judge by what his eyes see and he shall not decide by what his ears hear.” The passage has clearly defined what the ruler cannot use to judge but left us with a multitude of possibilities for what the ruler can use to judge. And how are we to judge which is right?  

The heart of the matter lies with what the root of “והריחו” is. If it is “ריח,” then the verb means something about scent. A very literal translation would read, “And his smelling is with the fear of God.” It works well with the rest of the verse. We learn that this ruler cannot judge using his eyes or his ears, but that his nose is a trustworthy sense to use for passing judgment. Ibn Ezra comments that this is because the nose does not deceive. Sometimes we see things that are not there, or hear phantom noises, but that does not happen with smells. It is our most reliable scent. 

Another interpretation posits that the root of “והריחו” is רוח, wind or spirit. A literal translation with this root would read, “And his spirit is with the fear of God.” This seems to make more sense in context. The verse prior to our verse is all about the ways in which the רוח of God will come upon this ruler. The word רוח is mentioned four times - the רוח of God, the רוח of wisdom and understanding, the רוח of counsel and strength, and the רוח of knowledge and fear of God.  

How on earth was the ruler supposed to come to possess all this רוח? What would make his רוח different from the רוח of the rest of us? How does one come to possess the רוח of God? Perhaps through smell. God breathes out the wind, God’s spirit. It is there for all of us to take it in, there for all of us to let it transform us. But it is only those who choose to notice, who choose to transform the habitual act of breathing into a recognition of our own existence who find God’s רוח in the wind. Those moments of noticing are marked by smell, by perceiving the essential but invisible and soundless in the wind. It’s a remarkable call to wake up and smell the coffee.  

For more on the interpretation of Isaiah 11:3, check out Arie Shifman’s fantastic article: A Scent of the Spirit: Exegesis of an Enigmatic Verse.  
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