Spirituality
HOLIDAY 101
•
Shabbat Shirah
Elizabeth Applebaum
Jewish Women's
Foundation of
Metropolitan Detroit
Special to the Jewish News
IN hen:
The Shabbat of the Torah
portion called Beshalach
(Exodus 13:17 - 17:16). This year, it
comes on Saturday, Jan. 15.
WOMEN
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WAY
What the name means:
In Hebrew, Shabbat Shirah means
"Sabbath of Song" and refers to a
song contained with the weekly Torah
portion.
Background:
The Torah traditionally is orga-
nized into units. First comes the
five books: Beresheet (Genesis),
Sh'mot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus),
Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devarim
(Deuteronomy). Every book is divided
into 54 sections, each of which is
called, in Hebrew, a parashah or a
sidrah.
The individual books have anywhere
from 10 to 12 sections, or weekly por-
tions, whose title comes from a word
in the opening sentence. The Torah
is read aloud in synagogues week by
week; and each week, a new parashah
or sidrah is read in order, beginning
with Genesis.
Every parashah is further divided
into eight smaller sections. On
Monday and Thursday mornings, and
on Saturday afternoons, only the first
part of the weekly portion is read; on
Shabbat morning, the entire parashah
is read.
When the Torah is read in public,
eight persons are ceremonially called
to the bimah, the raised platform with
a lectern upon which the scroll is
opened. Because the Torah is regarded
as the most sacred text, it is an honor,
a kind of elevation or an ascent, to be
called to read.
In Hebrew, aliyah means "ascent";
and the person called up to read is
referred to as an oleh. (And yes, it's
the same aliyah that means moving
permanently to Israel because living
there is considered on a higher level
than life in the rest of the world).
Each person who comes to the
bimah recites a blessing; and then,
according to a special set of musical
notes called the trop, the Torah reader
chants aloud a section of that week's
portion. The oleh recites another
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28 January 13 • 2011
blessing, and another person is called
up, until the eighth oleh and the Torah
reading is concluded.
The story of this parshah:
The Torah portion called Beshalach
("When he sent") continues the nar-
rative of the exodus of the Hebrew
slaves from Egypt and Pharaoh's con-
tinued pursuit. Pharaoh's army finally
overtakes the mass of freed slaves
at the shore of the Sea of Reeds (the
"Red Sea").
God splits the sea to expose a pas-
sage of dry land and the Israelites
walk through to the other side. Yet
when the Egyptian army tries the
same thing, God causes the sea to
come back together, drowning the
entire army — foot soldiers, chariot
riders and their horses.
Safe on the other side, the joyous
Israelites spontaneously sing a song
in praise of God (Exodus 15:1-19).
Miriam, sister of Moses, rallies all the
women. Beating drums and danc-
ing, they sing praises of God, with
words derived from the previous song
(verses 20-21).
In the handwritten Torah, verses of
the song (known as Shirat Ha-Yam —
"The song of the sea") are written with
large spaces between the words. Each
line alternates words with spaces above
so that the section resembles courses
of laid brick.
How It is observed:
The Torah readers chant the song with
a unique cantillation (Jewish com-
munities around the world have their
own traditions as to how this sounds).
It's a great honor to be called up to
the Torah for Shirat Ha-Yam, and in
many synagogues, this fourth aliyah
is given to the rabbi. In synagogues
where the congregation usually sits
during the Torah reading, everyone
rises for Shirat Ha-Yam.
The Torah reading is followed by a
Haftorah taken from the fourth and
fifth chapters of the Book of Judges.
This recounts a war of Israel, under
the leadership of the prophetess
Devora, and her general, Barak, with
the Canaanites, who are led by King
Yavin and his general, Sisera.
Yael, a brave Israelite woman, kills
Sisera to win the war. Afterwards,
Devora sings a triumphant song, a
parallel to the Song of the Sea. I I