On Shabbat morning we read Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea, which is believed to be the one of the oldest parts of the Torah and therefore one of the oldest poems in Hebrew. Come join us in the Charry Sanctuary as we hear Phill Goldberg chant the special melody for this section.
Our guest D’var Torah will be given by Reb Arthur Waskow. Those of you who know Arthur know that his words are sometimes provocative, always original and inspiring.
Shirah in Hebrew means both poem and song. We read in Exodus Rabbah, the Midrash on the book of Exodus:
From the day that God created the world until this moment, no one had sung praises to God–not Adam after having been created, not Abraham after being delivered from the fiery furnace, not Isaac when he was spared the knife, or Jacob when he escaped from wrestling with an angel and from Esau. But when Israel came to the sea and it parted for them, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God.” And God said, “for this I have been waiting.”
Just as the birds begin their spring songs as Tu bi’Sh’vat approaches, so may we raise our voices together in songs and psalms in praise of God on this special Shabbat.