For the New Month of Shvat: A Song of Faith

After Bnei Yisrael, the Children of Israel,  crossed the Red Sea and experienced once again the strong arm of Hashem, they sang Shirat HaYam (the Song of the Sea) led by Moshe Rabbenu (Moses). The opening verse of the song tells us אז ישיר משה, “Then Moshe sang”. Midrash Rabbah (Shemot, parasha 23) focuses on the word אז, then:

"Then (az) sang Moses. It is written, Your throne is established of old - meaz. (Ps. 93). R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Abahu: Though You are from everlasting (ib.), yet Your throne was not firmly established, nor were You known in Your world before Your children recited the Song:…however You did stand at the sea and we recited the Song before You, beginning with 'az', then did Your Kingdom and throne become firmly established"

According to this Midrash, Hashem's kingship was only truly recognized and established with the singing of Shirat Hayam, when mankind (i.e. Bnei Yisrael) saw and appreciated His power, expressed their gratitude, and anointed Him King – God will reign in all eternity!”

A second Midrash offers a different interpretation as to what is special about the Shira:

"Another explanation of Then sang Moshe. …As soon as they came to the Sea and saw the might of God in His execution of judgment upon the wicked …then at once, ''They believed in God'. It was on account of this faith that the Holy Spirit rested upon them and they recited the Song."

This Midrash introduces a new concept, that of emunah, faith, as the agent for the foundation of Hashem’s Kingdom in the world. If we look carefully at the verse that immediately precedes the Shira, we can see how this understanding of the role of the song follows the plain meaning (pshat) of the verses and really requires no midrashic intervention. The verse reads:  (Shemot 14:31)

…the people feared God and they believed in God and in His servant Moshe

The prelude to the Shira, according to the pshat is emunah. The Midrash describes this faith as the people’s belief in the dominance of Hashem over the world as expressed in His administering punishment to the sinners.

In his commentary on the Torah (Shemot 15:18), Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch adds a further dimension to the emunah awakened at Yam Suf (Reed Sea):

"…the song concludes with a glimpse into the remote future: God will reign in all eternity: This can mean… He will continue to reign forever, but also that at some time in a future that is still far distant, but nonetheless sure to come, God will become King over all mankind…"

The words "God will reign in all eternity" follow a verse that seems to depart from the theme of the Shira. Until this point Moshe and the people have been describing events that already took place and thanking and praising Hashem for His assistance. In verse 17 the tone changes:

You will bring them home and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, the place prepared for Your habitation, which You have secured, which Your hands have established. God will reign in all eternity.

The Shira has moved from gratitude and praise for past and present events to a description of something that has yet to take place – the arrival of Bnei Yisrael into the Land of Israel, the building  of the Temple, and the establishment of Hashem’s permanent kingdom. These verses are stated as fact; they reflect a complete and total belief on the part of the people that Hashem’s promises made today, will without doubt be realized even if it be far in the future long after the generation receiving the promises has perished.

We can see a similar situation in Bereishit (15:6). Hashem has just promised the childless Avra(ha)m that he will be the father of a multitude that will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. The verse tells us:

And he had put all his trust in God and He counted this as a[n act of] righteousness..

Similarly, of all the Avot (Patriarchs), Hashem says (Shemot 6:3)

I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov as "El Shadai", but had not become known to them as that which My Name implies.

The Avot have experienced God’s power as the ruler over the natural world, but never as Hashem (the Tetragrammaton), the God of history Who exists beyond time and space, and Who controls events from earliest times until the end of days. Avraham, without actually experiencing this aspect of Hashem, believed with absolute certainty that God would fulfill His promise.

According to Rabbi Hirsch, in Shirat HaYam, the situation is similar. Bnei Yisrael, just redeemed from slavery in Egypt, are already looking with certainty to a future in the Land of Israel with the Temple standing. The future is presented as unequivocal fact.  With the introduction of the belief in the God of history, Hashem’s kingdom in the world is established as never before. It is understood that not only does Hashem rule in the present, He dominates all of history – past, present and future. This is the power that Rabbi Hirsch finds in Shirat Hayam.  

The framers of the Siddur incorporated Shirat Hayam into the daily prayers at the conclusion of the Psukei D'zimra (verses of song) as appropriate to the praise and glory included within it. The “future” of the Shira became reality. Therefore, in the Siddur, the Shira is followed by verses taken from the books of the prophets Ovadiah and Zechariah that relate to a time in the indefinite future.

The saviors will ascend Mount Zion to judge Esau's mountain, and the Kingdom will be Hashem's. Then Hashem will be King over all the world; on that day Hashem will be One and His Name will be One.

With the inclusion of these verses, the element of emunah originally present in the Shira has been reintroduced. When we recite the Shira each day, we are declaring our categorical belief that the promises of the prophets will be realized.May we merit that in our lifetimes this future we are certain will happen, will become our reality.