Song of the Sea Possibilities

April 29, 2024

Author(s): Rav Hazzan Aliza Berger,

Pesach Day 7
Song of the Sea Possibilities
April 29, 2024 — 21 Nissan 5784
Temple Emanuel, Newton, MA

I want to ask you to imagine for a moment that you are one of the Israelites fleeing Egypt. And let’s be granular. I want you to imagine that you’ve been a slave for decades. That your life is dictated by the whims of a cruel pharaoh, that your days are spent lugging huge stones, that you’ve been separated from your family, kept apart so that you can work harder. I want you to imagine that after decades of hard work, you are tired. Your bones creak. Your muscles are sore. When Moshe tells you that God has heard you, that he’s going to get you out, you can’t even process that possibility. You can’t even catch your breath.

You might have stayed in Egypt, and simply enjoyed a few days off, but during this past week, Egypt has become more miserable than ever. You’ve endured water shortages, frogs, lice, hordes of wild animals, disease, hail, darkness, and widespread destruction. There aren’t enough resources to stay. And so, even though walking is the last thing you want to do, you’re marching with 3 million Israelites, following some cloud towards a “Promised Land.”

After what seems like forever, walking day and night following God’s mysterious pillar of clouds and fire, you make it to the Sea of Reeds only to hear Pharaoh’s army following behind. Wearily you race ahead, walking through the water on dry land. In terror you watch as Pharaoh’s armies give chase, and then with relief you see the waters crash down on them.

You’re safe. You’re exhausted. You’re relieved. What do you do?

According to our Torah, look with me on page 405 verse 31:

וַיַּ֨רְא יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַיָּ֣ד הַגְּדֹלָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וַיִּֽירְא֥וּ הָעָ֖ם אֶת־יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיַּֽאֲמִ֙ינוּ֙ בַּֽיהֹוָ֔ה וּבְמֹשֶׁ֖ה עַבְדּֽוֹ׃ {פ}

And when Israel saw the wondrous power which יהוה had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared יהוה; they had faith in יהוה and in God’s servant Moses.

אָ֣ז יָשִֽׁיר־מֹשֶׁה֩ וּבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אָשִׁ֤ירָה לַֽיהֹוָה֙ כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to יהוה. They said:
I will sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.

According to tradition, three million people magically burst into a song that would become central to our people for generations. I have one simple question: how? It’s hard enough to get a few people around a Seder table to sing a song together, let alone a congregation, let alone 3 million or so exhausted travelers. The answer to this question has spiritual wisdom to offer us.

One possibility is that the people practiced the song while working as slaves in Egypt. According to this read, the people would have built a culture of singing like gospel music in this country, and those songs would have helped them to endure the harshness of Egypt and thus it makes sense that this song is what bursts forth when they are rescued.

Now on the one hand, this is a powerful read. According to this understanding, our people maintained faith and hope even in the darkest times. And, since the Song of the Sea goes into specific detail about their escape, this suggests that the people imagined a world in which they would be saved, and believed so much in this possibility that their imagination became reality. This is the power of affirmation. What you believe, what you focus on, becomes true.

Now, there is a small problem with this read. To begin with, the idea that the Israelites could imagine the splitting of the sea and the drowning of the Egyptian armies stretches credulity. Look for example on page 409 verse 4:

מַרְכְּבֹ֥ת פַּרְעֹ֛ה וְחֵיל֖וֹ יָרָ֣ה בַיָּ֑ם וּמִבְחַ֥ר שָֽׁלִשָׁ֖יו טֻבְּע֥וּ בְיַם־סֽוּף׃

Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has cast into the sea;
And the pick of his officers
Are drowned in the Sea of Reeds.[1]

It seems hard to believe that the Israelites could have anticipated God’s miracle, Pharaoh’s betrayal, and their ultimate redemption in such accurate detail. And, even if you believe that their power of affirmation and imagination could give them psychic access to the future, there is still the problem that if they had this power, why would they have waited so long to exercise it? Why endure more than 400 years of slavery?

Professor Rabbi David Frankel points out that the Song doesn’t just highlight the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, it also includes verses about settling the land of Israel and building the Temple that makes it unlikely to have been sung in advance. Look at page 411 verses 13-17:

נָחִ֥יתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ֖ עַם־ז֣וּ גָּאָ֑לְתָּ נֵהַ֥לְתָּ בְעׇזְּךָ֖ אֶל־נְוֵ֥ה קׇדְשֶֽׁךָ׃

In Your love You lead the people You redeemed;
In Your strength You guide them to Your holy abode.

שָֽׁמְע֥וּ עַמִּ֖ים יִרְגָּז֑וּן חִ֣יל אָחַ֔ז יֹשְׁבֵ֖י פְּלָֽשֶׁת׃

The peoples hear, they tremble;
Agony grips the dwellers in Philistia.

אָ֤ז נִבְהֲלוּ֙ אַלּוּפֵ֣י אֱד֔וֹם אֵילֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹ רָ֑עַד נָמֹ֕גוּ כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י כְנָֽעַן׃

Now are the clans of Edom dismayed;
The tribes of Moab—trembling grips them;
All the dwellers in Canaan are aghast.

תִּפֹּ֨ל עֲלֵיהֶ֤ם אֵימָ֙תָה֙ וָפַ֔חַד בִּגְדֹ֥ל זְרוֹעֲךָ֖ יִדְּמ֣וּ כָּאָ֑בֶן עַד־יַעֲבֹ֤ר עַמְּךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה עַֽד־יַעֲבֹ֖ר עַם־ז֥וּ קָנִֽיתָ׃

Terror and dread descend upon them;
Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone—
Till Your people cross over, יהוה,
Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed.

תְּבִאֵ֗מוֹ וְתִטָּעֵ֙מוֹ֙ בְּהַ֣ר נַחֲלָֽתְךָ֔ מָכ֧וֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ֛ פָּעַ֖לְתָּ יְהֹוָ֑ה מִקְּדָ֕שׁ אֲדֹנָ֖י כּוֹנְנ֥וּ יָדֶֽיךָ׃

You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain,
The place You made to dwell in, יהוה,
The sanctuary, O my lord, which Your hands established.[2]

It’s not just the anecdotes about settling the land that seem out of place. In his article, “The Song of the Sea and the History of Ancient Israel and Judah,” Rabbi Frankel points out a number of missing details including one that I had never noticed—the song doesn’t mention slavery or the Exodus from Egypt. There is no discussion of the Israelites walking through the sea on dry land.

Based on the missing details, and based on the elements of the song that discuss future experiences in the land, Rabbi Frankel concludes: “it is thus most reasonable to assume that the Song was originally recited in one of the central temples in the land (most scholars assume that the reference is to Jerusalem) and only later attributed to Moses and the Israelites, and situation at the time of the miracle at the Sea. By placing the Song at this juncture, and putting it in the mouths of Moses and the Israelites, the editor depicts the miracle at the sea as such a high point that the people burst spontaneously into song.”[3]

If that’s the case, and the song was written long after the events of the Exodus and superimposed on that story later on, then we have a different powerful teaching. This is the idea that no matter what trauma you endure, no matter your reaction in the moment, that you have the power to change the narrative even decades later. You can go back in your memory and assign meaning that you couldn’t find then, you can create a narrative that serves your purpose in the present, and you can create words that will help you to move forward.

I love that meaning, but that is directly at odds with what the Torah teaches. Look at the beginning of the song again:

And when Israel saw the wondrous power which יהוה had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared יהוה; they had faith in יהוה and in God’s servant Moses.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to יהוה. They said:
I will sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.[4]

The Torah doesn’t say “and after this happened, the Israelites composed a song and sang it decades later.” It says that then, right there, at the shores of the sea, Moses and the Israelites sang this particular song.

How did three million people burst into spontaneous song?

According to Rashi, Moses sand the Song to the men—he sang it line by line and they repeated it after him, and Miriam sang the Song to the women and they sang it back to her (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 15:20:2).[5]

If we believe this teaching, then we learn something very important: with the right leader, millions of people can join together in harmony. With the right leader, it is possible to digest the intensity of our present, to think forward to the potential of our future, and to be grateful for the present moment.

Of course, like any worthwhile Jewish teaching, the answer isn’t a or b or c. The Song of the Sea teaches us that while we are struggling, we have the power of affirmation to imagine a different reality. The Song of the Sea teaches us that we can go back in our own imaginations and create new stories and songs that help us move forward with confidence and ease. And, the Song of the Sea reminds us that any journey towards the Promised Land requires us to join together and to follow righteous leaders.

[1] Exodus 15:4 with Connections (sefaria.org)

[2] Exodus 15:13 with Connections (sefaria.org)

[3] The Song of the Sea and the History of Ancient Israel and Judah – TheTorah.com

[4] Exodus 15:1 with Connections (sefaria.org)

[5] Rashi on Exodus 15:21:1 with Connections (sefaria.org)