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MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI
I am moving back to my discussion of our daily prayers. We are still in P’sukei D’Zimrah, “Verses of Song”. As you may recall, we are still in the first third of the morning service and, liturgically, we are in the process of praising God. Why start with praise? There are two main reasons. The first is that if we are going to spend the much of the rest of our prayer time making requests of God, it is good policy to “butter the Holy One Up” before making the requests. The second is that before we endeavor on making our requests, we need to be primed to do so. Put another way, it would not be a good idea to play pickleball without first stretching our bodies. A failure to stretch first will lead to the greater possibility of injury. Likewise, if we don’t prepare to pray our prayer is more likely to broken or ineffectual.
As we get near to the end of P’sukei D’Zimrah, the Rabbis inserted, into the liturgy, a biblical passage directly from the Exodus story. When the Israelites left Egypt, the Egyptians gave chase. The Israelites found themselves between the Red Sea and the Egyptian Army.
You know the rest. Charlton Heston raises his staff and the Red Sea parts. The Israelites walk between two walls of water to safety and, as the Egyptian Army gives chase, Moses lifts his staff up again and the waters collapse on the Egyptian army.
After witnessing this miracle and their deliverance, the Israelites sing a song known as the “Song at the Sea”. This song represents, perhaps, the most beautiful example of biblical poetry. Several of its verses are used in other parts of the liturgy. Most notably this is where we first see:
Mi cha-mo-cha ba’-ei-lim, A-do-nai
Mi cha-mo-cha ne-dar ba-ko-desh
No-rah te-hi-lot, o-seh fe-leh
Who is Like you Adonai, among all that is worshipped
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor, working wonders.
And: Adonai Yimloch L’Olam Vah-Ed
Adonai shall reign throughout all time.
So why is this placed at this point in the prayer service? Here are two reasons.
First, the events at the Red Sea are incredibly important part of our tradition. In many ways it represents the climax of the Exodus story. Having witnessed the plagues, having left Egypt, and having witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army, this is the first time in the Torah that the Israelites publicly, as a complete people, exalted God. (It is mentioned in the Psalms and in Isaiah, so it was a no-brainer to include it in the liturgy). This way, every day, we are reminded of what God did for us as a people.
Secondly, as I often to say during services, the event at the Red Sea represents a moment that God was imminent. God was very present as the sea was split. Why is this important to the liturgy? Because, shortly in the prayer service we will be acknowledging God’s presence and then making requests of God. By giving us a piece of Torah text that visualizes a “present” God, it puts us in better position to make requests of that God.
So central is this text to the prayer service itself, that it is customary to stand as we sing/recite it. Here is a traditional version of Shirat Hayam: CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Here is the Mi Chamocha you might recall from Rosh Hashanah and/or Yom Kippur:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
The liturgy was organized for a purpose, or many purposes. There is something in it for everyone. One just needs to look.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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