Beshalach

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Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah (בשלח — Hebrew for “when [he] let go,” the second word and first distinctive word in the parshah) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 13:17–17:16. Jews in the Diaspora read it the sixteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in January or February. Jews also read the early sections of the parshah (Ex. 13:17–15:26) on the seventh day of Passover. The parshah is particularly notable for the “Song of the Sea,” which is traditionally chanted using a different melody and is written by the scribe using a distinctive "brick-like" pattern in the Torah scroll. The Sabbath when it is read is known as Shabbos Shirah, and some communities have various customs for this day, including feeding birds and reciting the "Song of the Sea" out loud in the regular prayer service.

Sinai Peninsula

[edit] Summary

When Pharaoh let the Israelites go, God led the people roundabout by way of the Sea of Reeds. (Ex. 13:17–18.) Moses took the bones of Joseph with them. (Ex. 13:19.) God went before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. (Ex. 13:21.)

Pharaoh’s army drowns in the sea (illustration from the Paris Psalter)

[edit] Parting the Sea of Reeds

When Pharaoh learned that the people had fled, he had a change of heart, and he chased the Israelites with chariots, overtaking them by the sea. (Ex. 14:5–9.) Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to God and complained to Moses. (Ex. 14:10–12.) God told Moses to lift up his rod, hold out his arm, and split the sea. (Ex. 14:15–16.) Moses did so, and God drove back the sea with a strong east wind, and the Israelites marched through on dry ground, the waters forming walls on their right and left. (Ex. 14:21–22.) The Egyptians pursued, but God slowed them by locking their chariot wheels. (Ex. 14:23–25.) On God’s instruction, Moses held out his arm, and the waters covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the Egyptians. (Ex. 14:26–28.) Moses and the Israelites – and then Miriam – sang a song to God, celebrating how God hurled horse and driver into the sea. (Ex. 15.)

[edit] Bitter water turned sweet

The Israelites went three days into the wilderness and found no water. (Ex. 15:22.) When they came to Marah, they could not drink the bitter water, so they grumbled against Moses. (Ex. 15:23–24.) God showed Moses a piece of wood to throw into the water, and the water became sweet. (Ex. 15:25.)

The Gathering of Manna (painting by Bacchiacca)

[edit] Manna in the wilderness

The Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin and grumbled in hunger against Moses and Aaron. (Ex. 16:1–3.) God heard their grumbling, and in the evening quail covered the camp, and in the morning fine flaky manna covered the ground like frost. (Ex. 16:4–14.) The Israelites gathered as much of it as they required; those who gathered much had no excess, and those who gathered little had no deficiency. (Ex. 16:15–18.) Moses instructed none to leave any of it over until morning, but some did, and it became infested with maggots and stank. (Ex. 16:19–20.) On the sixth day they gathered double the food, Moses instructed them to put aside the excess until morning, and it did not turn foul the next day, the Sabbath. (Ex. 16:22–24.) Moses told them that on the Sabbath, they would not find any manna on the plain, yet some went out to gather and found nothing. (Ex. 16:25–27.) Moses ordered that a jar of the manna be kept throughout the ages. (Ex. 16:32–33.) The Israelites ate manna 40 years. (Ex. 16:35.)

Moses strikes the rock (painting by Tintoretto)

[edit] Water from a stone

When the Israelites encamped at Rephidim, there was no water and the people quarreled with Moses. (Ex. 17:1–2.) God told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb to produce water, and they called the place Massah (trial) and Meribah (quarrel). (Ex. 17:5–7.)

[edit] Amalek’s attack

Amalek attacked Israel at Rephidim. (Ex. 17:8.) Moses stationed himself on the top of the hill, with the rod of God in his hand, and whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (Ex. 17:9–11.) When Moses grew weary, he sat on a stone, while Aaron and Hur supported his hands, and Joshua overwhelmed Amalek in battle. (Ex. 17:12–13.) God instructed Moses to inscribe a document as a reminder that God would utterly blot out the memory of Amalek. (Ex. 17:14.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Exodus chapter 13

The Mishnah cited Exodus 13:19 for the proposition that Providence treats a person measure for measure as that person treats others. And so because, as Genesis 50:7–9 relates, Joseph had the merit to bury his father Jacob and none of his brothers were greater than he was, so Joseph merited the greatest of Jews, Moses, to attend to his bones, as reported in Exodus 13:19. And Moses, in turn, was so great that none but God attended him, as Deuteronomy 34:6 reports that God buried Moses. (Mishnah Sotah 1:7–9.)

the Israelites crossing the sea (fresco by Angelo Bronzino)

[edit] Exodus chapter 14

Rabbi Hama ben Hanina deduced from Exodus 1:10 that Pharaoh meant: “Come, let us outwit the Savior of Israel.” Pharaoh concluded that the Egyptians should afflict the Israelites with water, because as indicated by Isaiah 54:9, God had sworn not to bring another flood to punish the world. The Egyptians failed to note that while God had sworn not to bring another flood on the whole world, God could still bring a flood on only one people. Alternatively, the Egyptians failed to note that they could fall into the waters, as indicated by the words of Exodus 14:27, “the Egyptians fled towards it.” This all bore out what Rabbi Eleazar said: In the pot in which they cooked, they were themselves cooked — that is, with the punishment that the Egyptians intended for the Israelites, the Egyptians were themselves punished. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 11a.)

Pharaoh’s army drowns in the sea (fresco by Angelo Bronzino)

[edit] Exodus chapter 15

The Tosefta deduced from Exodus 1:22 that the Egyptians took pride before God only on account of the water of the Nile, and thus God exacted punishment from them only by water when in Exodus 15:4 God cast Pharaoh’s chariots and army into the Reed Sea. (Tosefta Sotah 3:13.)

Rabbi Akiva said that he who whispered Exodus 15:26 as an incantation over a wound to heal it would have no place in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1.)

[edit] Exodus chapter 16

The Gemara asked how one could reconcile Exodus 16:4, which reported that manna fell as “bread from heaven”; with Numbers 11:8, which reported that people “made cakes of it,” implying that it required baking; and with Numbers 11:8, which reported that people “ground it in mills,” implying that it required grinding. The Gemara concluded that the manna fell in different forms for different classes of people: For the righteous, it fell as bread; for average folk, it fell as cakes that required baking; and for the wicked, it fell as kernels that required grinding. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 75a.) The Gemara asked how one could reconcile Exodus 16:31, which reported that “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey,” with Numbers 11:8, which reported that “the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil.” Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said that the manna tasted differently for different classes of people: It tasted like honey for infants, bread for youths, and oil for the aged. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 75b.)

Tractate Eruvin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of not walking beyond permitted limits in Exodus 16:29. (Mishnah Eruvin 1:1–10:15; Tosefta Eruvin 1:1–8:24; Jerusalem Talmud Eruvin; Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 2a–105a.)

[edit] Exodus chapter 17

The Mishnah reported that in synagogues at Purim, Jews read Exodus 17:8–16. (Mishnah Megillah 3:6.)

The Mishnah quoted Exodus 17:11, which described how when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and asked whether Moses’ hands really made war or stopped it. Rather, the Mishnah read the verse to teach that as long as the Israelites looked upward and submitted their hearts to God, they would grow stronger, but when they did not, they would fall. The Mishnah taught that the fiery serpent placed on a pole in Numbers 21:8 worked much the same way, by directing the Israelites to look upward to God. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there is one negative commandment in the parshah:

Not to walk outside permitted limits on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:29.)

(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Negative Commandment 321. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2:296. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:137–41. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

[edit] Haftarah

Deborah (illustration by Gustave Doré)

The haftarah for the parshah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: Judges 4:4–5:31; and
for Sephardi Jews: Judges 5:1–31.

Both the parshah and the haftarah contain songs that celebrate the victory of God’s people, the parshah in the “Song of the Sea” about God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh (Ex. 15:1–18), and the haftarah in the “Song of Deborah” about the Israelites’ victory over the Canaanite general Sisera. (Judg. 5.) Both the parshah and the haftarah report how the leaders of Israel’s enemies assembled hundreds of chariots. (Ex. 14:6–7; Judg. 4:13.) Both the parshah and the haftarah report how God “threw . . . into panic” (va-yaham) Israel’s enemies. (Ex. 14:24; Judg. 4:15.) Both the parshah and the haftarah report waters sweeping away Israel’s enemies (Ex. 14:27–28; Judg. 5:21.) Both the parshah and the haftarah report singing by women to celebrate, the parshah by Miriam (Ex. 15:21), and the haftarah by Deborah (Judg. 5.).^[1] Finally, both the parshah and the haftarah mention Amalek. (Ex. 17:8–16; Judg. 5:14.)

The Gemara tied together God’s actions in the parshah and the haftarah. To reassure Israelites concerned that their enemies still lived, God had the Reed Sea spit out the dead Egyptians. (See Ex. 14:30.) To repay the seas, God committed the Kishon River to deliver one-and-a-half times as many bodies. To pay the debt, when Sisera came to attack the Israelites, God had the Kishon wash the Canaanites away. (See Judg. 5:21.) The Gemara calculated one-and-a-half times as many bodies from the numbers of chariots reported in Exodus 14:7 and Judges 4:13. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 118b.)

For Ashkenazi Jews, the haftarah is the longest of the year.

[edit] In the liturgy

The Song of the Sea, Exodus 15:1–18, appears in its entirety in the P’sukei D’zimra section of the morning service for Shabbat (Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, 102–03. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0916219208.)

The statement of God’s eternal sovereignty in Exodus 15:18, “God will reign for ever and ever!” may have found paraphrase in Psalm 146:10, “Adonai shall reign throughout all generations,” which in turn appears in the Kedushah section of the Amidah prayer in each of the three prayer services. And the statement of God’s eternal sovereignty in Exodus 15:18 also appears verbatim in the Kedushah D’Sidra section of the Minchah service for Shabbat. (Hammer, at 4, 227.)

The people’s murmuring at Massah and Meribah, and perhaps the rock that yielded water, of Exodus 17:2–7 are reflected in Psalm 95, which is in turn the first of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, at 15.)

[edit] The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For Parshah Beshalach, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Ajam, the maqam that expresses happiness, to commemorating the joy and song of the Israelites as they crossed the sea.

[edit] References

^ Goswell notes that the commencement of the reading at Judges 4:4 throws emphasis on Deborah's role. Gregory Goswell, "The Hermeneutics of the Haftarot," Tyndale Bulletin 58 (2007), 91.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

[edit] Biblical

Book of Genesis 14:7 (Amalekites); 36:12 (Amalek); 36:16 (Amalek).
Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10 (hardening Pharaoh’s heart).
Numbers 14:14 (pillar of fire).
Deuteronomy 2:30 (hardening of heart); 15:7 (hardening of heart); 25:17–19 (Amalekites).
Joshua 11:20 (hardening of heart).
Psalms 95 (God as “the Rock,” generation of the Wilderness); 146:10 (God’s eternal sovereignty).
Esther 3:1 (Agagite, read as Amalekite via Numbers 24:7).
Nehemiah 9:12, 19 (pillar of fire).

[edit] Early nonrabbinic

Romans 9:14–18. 1st Century. (hardening Pharaoh’s heart).
Hebrews 11:28 Late 1st Century. (first Passover).
Revelation 17:17. Late 1st Century. (changing hearts to God’s purpose).

Josephus

Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews 2:14:5–3:2:5. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 74–83. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.

[edit] Classical rabbinic

Mishnah: Eruvin 1:1–10:15; Rosh Hashanah 3:8; Megillah 3:6; Sotah 1:9; Sanhedrin 10:1; Avot 5:6. 3rd Century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 208–29; 304, 321, 449, 604, 686. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael: 19:1–46:2. Land of Israel, late 4th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:125–72; 2:1–36. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-237-2.
Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 4b, 24a, 43b, 51a, 94b; Peah 5a, 9b. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–3. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 2:2; 11:1; 15:4; 19:4–45:1; 48:2; 49:2; 50:2; 54:2; 61:2; 81:1. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. Translated by W. David Nelson, 7, 33, 50, 79–195, 214, 217, 228, 249, 279, 370. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. ISBN 0-8276-0799-7.

Talmud

Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 4a, 5a, 20b, 27a, 33a, 39b–40a, 54a–b, 58a; Shabbat 2a, 23b, 28a, 87b, 103b, 114b, 118b, 133b; Eruvin 2a–105a; Pesachim 47b, 67a, 85b, 87b, 117a, 118b; Yoma 4b, 52b, 70a, 75a–b; Sukkah 11b, 25a, 33a; Beitzah 2b, 15b; Rosh Hashanah 29a, 31a, 32b; Taanit 9a, 11a; Megillah 7a, 10b, 14a, 18a, 30b–31a; Moed Katan 25b; Chagigah 5b, 13b–14a; Yevamot 13b, 72a; Ketubot 5a, 7b, 62b; Nedarim 2b; Nazir 2b, 45a; Sotah 9b, 11a–b, 13b, 20b, 27b, 30b, 37a, 42b, 48a; Gittin 20a, 56b; Kiddushin 32a, 38a; Bava Kamma 82a, 92a–b; Bava Metzia 86b; Bava Batra 16b, 98a; Sanhedrin 11a–b, 17a, 20b, 39b, 42a, 56b, 90a, 91b–92a, 93a, 95b, 96b, 98b, 99b, 101a, 106a, 110a; Makkot 8b; Shevuot 15a; Avodah Zarah 2b, 4a, 11a, 24b; Horayot 8b, 12a; Menachot 27a, 31b, 32b, 53a–b, 95a; Chullin 14a, 89a, 135b; Arakhin 15a–b; Keritot 5b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

[edit] Medieval

Exodus Rabbah 20:1–26:3. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Exodus. Translated by S. M. Lehrman, vol. 3. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Rashi. Commentary. Exodus 13–17. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 2:143–204. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-027-7.
Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 1:85–86; 3:35; 4:3. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 60, 167, 202–03. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
Zohar 2:44a–67a. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Mendelson

[edit] Modern

Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:34, 36. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 437, 457. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Moses Mendelssohn. Jerusalem, § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander Altmann, 100. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6.
Shlomo Ganzfried. Kitzur Shulchon Oruch, 90:3. Hungary, 1864. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, 1:387–88. New York: Moznaim Publishing Corp., 1991. ISBN 0-940118-63-7.

Mann

Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 577, 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
Marc A. Gellman. “A Tent of Dolphin Skins.” In Gates to the New City: A Treasury of Modern Jewish Tales. Edited by Howard Schwartz. New York: Avon, 1983. ISBN 0-380-81091-3. Reissue ed. Jason Aronson, 1991. ISBN 0876688490.
Hershel Shanks. “The Exodus and the Crossing of the Red Sea, According to Hans Goedicke.” Biblical Archaeology Review 7 (5) (Sept./Oct. 1981).
Charles R. Krahmalkov. “A Critique of Professor Goedicke’s Exodus Theories.” Biblical Archaeology Review 7 (5) (Sept./Oct. 1981).
Bernard F. Batto. “Red Sea or Reed Sea? How the Mistake Was Made and What Yam Sûp Really Means.” Biblical Archaeology Review 10 (4) (July/Aug. 1984).
William H.C. Propp. Exodus 1–18, 2:461–622. New York: Anchor Bible, 1998. ISBN 0-385-14804-6.
David Einhorn. “War with Amalek.” In American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. Edited by Michael Warner, 665–73. New York: Library of America, 1999. ISBN 1-883011-65-5.
Lawrence Kushner. Kabbalah: A Love Story, 112. New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006. ISBN 0-7679-2412-6.