​Parashat Beshalach, 5785, 2025: "Of Praise and Redemption"

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​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shirah,” after the song of exaltation in our parasha sung by our ancestors in response to the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf:

Az Yashir—Then Moshe and b’nai Yisrael sang this song to Hashem, and they spoke, saying, “I will sing to Hashem, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.” (Sefer Shemot 15:1, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) 
 
In stark contrast, our ancestors did not sing a single verse of praise following Yetziat Mitzrayim. This notable difference led my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, to ask the following question:

…strangely at the time that the Jews left Egypt, neither Moses nor the people sang hymns of praise for the amazing miracle they had experienced. Only seven days later, after the splitting of the Red Sea, did Moses and the people sing Az Yashir. Why did Israel wait a week to give thanks? (Derashot HaRav: Selected Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, summarized and annotated by Arnold Lustiger, p.171, brackets and underlining my own)
 
According to the Rav, the answer may be found in the very different nature of these two nissim. Yetziat Mitzrayim was performed solely by Hashem and excluded the Jewish people’s participation: “…and you shall not go out, any man from the entrance of his house until morning. Hashem will pass to smite the Egyptians…” (12:22-23)  This idea is elaborated upon in Midrash Sifrei, Ki Tavo and underscored in the Haggadah: “I [Hashem] and not an angel, I and not a seraph, it is only Me and no other.” The Rav labels such a miracle, wherein Hashem acts exclusively on His own, a “yeshuah—an act of deliverance,” and notes; “The paradigmatic historical event signifying yeshuah was the Exodus from Egypt. No one—not an angel, not man—abetted God on the wondrous ‘night of watching.’” Our role on this amazing evening was severely circumscribed; we remained in our homes, ate the Korban Pesach and passively watched the unfolding of this miracle and the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise.
 
The miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf was very different. The entire Jewish people actively worked to save themselves from Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen, and the Almighty joined them in achieving this outcome. The Rav conceptualizes this type of nase (miracle) as “ezrah—help from the Master of the Universe.” Therefore, Kriyat Yam Suf was a time when:

…the Creator offered the Israelites a role in their own redemption. He required a leap of faith: a jump into the water prior to the parting of the sea (Sotah 36-37a). The shock of cold water, the fear of drowning thus became Israel’s minute “contribution” to the miracle. At that moment they became partners with God, and as a result Moses and the people full-throatedly sang the majestic Az Yashir in gratitude. (Page 171, underlining my own)
 
The Rav notes that on the surface, “one would assume that Hashem should be thanked more for yeshuah [Yetziat Mitzrayim] than for ezrah [Kriyat Yam Suf],” since in the former He, and He alone, brought about the nase. Following this line of thinking, we should have had our “Az Yashir moment” when we left Egypt, rather than at the Yam Suf! Nothing, however, could be further from the truth:

We nonetheless arrive at the opposite conclusion: the more man participates in the effort needed [to achieve the Torah-sanctioned goal], the more he must thank the Creator. Our gratitude is increased in the case of ezrah [Kriyat Yam Suf], because we must bless God for the privilege of allowing us to be His partner. (Page 170, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In sum, we have the greatest obligation to praise the Master of the Universe when we join Him in bringing forth a nase. This is why we sang Az Yashir at Kriyat Yam Suf and refrained from so-doing following Yetziat Mitzrayim.
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May we ever be Hashem’s partners as we continue on the grand march of Jewish history toward our ultimate redemption. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

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