shira – Parsha Ponders

Songs of trust[1]

יקוק ילחם לכם ואתם תחרשון

Hashem will fight your wars for you, and you will be silent[2]

What was Moshe’s intent when he told the Jewish people that they will be silent? They were at a dead end, with the Egyptians quickly approaching and the Sea of Reeds in their way. They seemingly had nowhere to escape. Moshe told them that they will be silent, meaning that they shouldn’t sing songs of praise to Hashem[3]. Why would they sing songs of praise to Hashem? We know that after the sea split, and they crossed to safety, they sang the famous “Song at the Sea”. But this is before that happened. Before the salvation. Why was Moshe telling them not to sing? Why would they have?

Continue reading “Shevii Shel Pesach 5786”

[Print]

Songs of praise, or storytelling?[1]

אפילו כולנו חכמים כולנו נבונים כולנו זקנים כולם יודעים את התורה, מצוה עלינו לספר ביציאת מצרים
Even if we are all Sages, all of us are people of understanding, all of us are elders, all of us know the Torah, it’s a mitzvah for us to recount the story of the Exodus from Egypt[2]

On Seder night, we are commanded to recount the Pesach story to our children. This is seemingly different than the regular daily mitzvah to recall the Exodus from Egypt. Perhaps we can suggest two reasons for the once-a-year mitzvah of recounting the story: (1) It’s purely expressing and acknowledging to our children all of the miracles that Hashem performed for us. This approach fits simply with the verse: “When your child will ask you on that day….you shall recount to him”.[3] It sounds like the mitzvah is simply a response to the child’s curiosity. (2) It’s a form of song and praise to Hashem, not simply a retelling of the story[4].

Continue reading “Shevii shel Pesach 5784”