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Weekly Reading Insights:
Beshalach
5782 |  |
Overview
of the Torah Reading To
be read on Shabbat Beshalach, Shabbat Shira, 13 Shvat
5782/Jan. 15
Torah: Exodus 13:17-17:16; Haftorah: Judges
4:4-5:31 (Song of Devorah / Song by the Sea)
Beshalach
is the 4th Reading out of 11 in Exodus and it contains 6423 letters,
in 1681 words, in 116 verses Beshalach opens
with the Jews taking Yosef's remains with them upon leaving Egypt. G-d split the
Red Sea for the Jews to pass through, but the waters fell on the Egyptians drowning
them. Moshe and the Jews sang a song of praise to G-d for this miracle. Also,
Miriam and the women sang and played music. In the desert, the Jews reached a
place where the waters were too bitter to drink. G-d showed Moshe a tree which
sweetened the water. The Jews complained that they didn't have meat to eat. G-d
gave the Jews quail and manna to eat. The manna could not last overnight and on
Shabbat it did not fall; instead Friday's portion for each Jew was double. An
urn was filled with manna which would last for all generations. Again, the Jews
complained about lack of water. G-d told Moshe to hit a certain rock with his
staff, and it would bring forth water. The Amalekite nation attacked the Jews.
Yehoshua fought them, and as long as Moshe's arms were raised, the Jews victory
was assured. With G-d's help, the Jews are required to obliterate Amalek.
 An
Essay from
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, Director of Ascent
(for
a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
Every Shabbat is special but among all the Shabbatot of the
year, there is something particularly powerful about this week's Shabbat. Let's
look into this more deeply.
The first mention of the commandment to observe
Shabbat is in this week's Torah portion, Beshalach. Also, this parshah (portion)
has another name, Shabbat Shirah ("Shabbat of Song") because the Torah
reading relates the song Moses and the Jewish people sang at the splitting of
the Red Sea. Interestingly, there is a direct connection between song and the
Shabbat experience, as King David wrote, "A song for Shabbat" (Psalms
92). The holy Ari (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the famous Tsfat Kabbalist) suggests
that on Shabbat the way a person can complete and elevate all their actions from
the previous week is through song.
Since, as we mentioned earlier, the
commandment of Shabbat is first mentioned in Beshalach (see Rashi's commentary
on Shemot/Exodus 15:25), this indicates that there is a connection between this
Shabbat (Shabbat Shirah) and the elevation of all spiritual and physical worlds
on every Shabbat of the year! Shabbat Shirah can help us complete our goals and
improve our spiritual status for the better. For all the above reasons, it is
incumbent upon us to make the effort that this Shabbat be more focused than others,
removing ourselves as much as possible from weekday thoughts and actions and filling
it with joy and song. It is also important on this Shabbat to emphasis the use
of song in prayer, singing, even humming, as a vehicle to access higher levels
of consciousness which will help reveal the coming redemption. Use every minute
to the max!
Let's apply these ideas to the weekday. The Shelah in the final
section of his chapter on ShabbatBeshalach, quotes the Zohar, which stresses the
importance for each of us to concentrate on the meaning of the words while reciting
the Song of the Sea, the Jewish song of victory over our enemies, in our daily
prayers. The Zohar promises that whoever does so will merit to say it in the World
to Come.
What is the connection of this song to the World to Come? The
phrase "going out of Egypt" is mentioned fifty times in the Torah. The
number fifty is connected to the highest level of spiritual understanding (Shaar
HaNun). The Jewish people were brought to this level of Divine consciousness
by experiencing the miracles of the ten plagues in Egypt and finally through the
miracles at the splitting of the Sea. Since the first redemption of leaving Egypt
is a prototype for the final one of Mashiach, saying and understanding this song
in our generation is a preparation for the much higher Divine consciousness that
will infuse the world at the final redemption. We see this in the words, "Then
they will sing", which appear contradictory (Shemot/Exodus 15:1). "Then"
is in the past tense - "will sing" denotes the future. The reason given
for this contradiction is that the Song of the Sea is the bridge between the past,
the first redemption, and future eras, in particular the Messianic age and the
World to Come. Resolve not to miss a day of saying (singing?) this prayer if at
all possible.
The Seer of Lublin wrote that through holy and enthusiastic
song and joy in holiness a person can not only escape all types of difficulties,
as the verse says (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 55:12), Ki b'simcha taitzaiu "Because
with happiness you will depart [your difficulties]" but can also lead to
an increase in financial income. This is because when we are happy even in the
face of adversity, the "severities (difficulties) are sweetened (repaired)
at their (most sublime supernal) source", and this has a direct effect on
our success in the physical world. Because sincere song and happiness almost literally
wash over a person, like a wave, it is also like a spiritual mikvah (ritual bath),
bringing extra purity. Even (perhaps especially) for those of us for whom singing
is not so easy, this is a week to get over it, and belt out a tune with the best
of them.
The chapter about the manna, the heavenly bread that fell from
the sky each day in the desert to feed the Jewish people, is also in this week's
portion. Rebbe Shlomo of Zveill, one of Reb Michel of Zlotshov five sons (they
were called the Five Chumshei Torah - books of the Bible), also connects the idea
of manna to livelihood. A small portion of the manna was put away in the First
Temple as a symbol of G-d's kindness for all generations. Why was it so important
that we were commanded to preserve a portion? One reason is that seeing the food
we were fed for forty years in the desert serves as a reminder that the reason
we were redeemed from the slavery and servitude in Egypt was to instead serve
the Almighty. Another reason is that a person who faithfully serves G d never
has to worry about supporting his or her family. Just as the Jews' food came in
a miraculous way while we were under G d's protection in the desert, so too a
person's livelihood is assured if his or her faith is strong.
Next Monday,
is Tu B'Shevat (the fifteenth of the month of Shevat), the New Year for Trees.
Every person is compared to a fruit-bearing tree. Our strong roots in our faith,
and our "fruits" are our good deeds. Just as Shabbat Shirah is our annual
source for ascending to higher spiritual levels, so too Tu B'Shevat is the source
for bringing down spiritual sustenance drawn from a Jew's roots into the fruits
of mitzvot to make the world a holy place.
Rabbi Yisrael Najara (1550?-1625),
one of the students of the holy Ari, was a scholar, poet, and acclaimed song composer.
A number of the Shabbatzemirot popular until today are his compositions (e.g.
KahRibon Olam). He was once enthusiastically singing one of his songs in his home
during the Shabbat evening meal,
The holy Ari sent his main disciple, Rabbi
Chaim Vital, to tell him that his singing was so spiritually elevated that the
heavenly angels were surrounding his house. This pleased Rabbi Najara very much
and he said so to Rabbi Chaim.
When Rabbi Chaim went back to the holy Ari,
he reported this response, whereupon the holy Ari sent him again to Rabbi Najara
in order to explain that the reason the angels were surrounding the house and
not coming in was out of respect for Shabbat, because Rabbi Najara, in his ecstasy,
had removed his outer robe.
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul
(for a free
weekly email subscription, click
here)
For last year's essay by Rabbi
Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.
FROM
THE SAGES OF KABBALAH ON KabbalaOnline.org Specifically,
for an overview of the recommended articles in the columns:
Holy Zohar,
Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary Kabbalists, and
more,
click to Beshalach one
sample:
Chasidic Masters  In
the Dead of Nights
By David Sterne, based primarily on Shem miShmuel.
Shem
miShmuel teaches that day and night represent two different aspects of serving
G-d. The day stands for a clear understanding of what we have to do. But, there
are times in life when we are stumbling to find our way through the darkness.Then
we have to proceed on faith alone, knowing that G-d is guarding us from going
astray. This kind of spiritual service is called "night."
To
continue, click
here. For a free email subscription to our weekly
anthology, click
here.
For another taste of recommended Kabbalah articles on a variety of subjects,
click to the our
weekly Kabbalah magazine
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