Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song, referring of to the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1) that we chant in the Torah this morning.

The Song of the Sea marks the first time that the Jewish people gather as a congregation to pray. True, the patriarchs and matriarchs prayed, but they did so as individuals, not as part of a congregation. In Egypt, under slavery, the Jewish people cried out to God, but we don’t know whether they did so as individuals, or whether they gathered in groups. Nor do we know what that “crying out” consisted of. They celebrated the first Passover when they were still in Egypt, but that was a sacrificial ritual, not what we would call “prayer” today. Each family unit celebrated on their own, or joined with their neighbors, but the community did not join as a congregation. The Song of the Sea represents a new development in Jewish worship—an element we still practice today.  We put our feelings into words, set them to music, and sing out our praises to God as a community. Shabbat morning services help us cultivate the sense of awe, wonder and gratitude that our ancestors at the sea experienced spontaneously.

Shabbat Shalom

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