Shabbat Shira; B'Shalach

Exodus 13:17−17:16

By Rabbi Bradley Artson, provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, for MyJewishLearning.com

When Miracles Are Not Enough

The transformation into a sacred people occurs not through miracles but rather through steady education, discipline and communal reinforcement.

Surely, this Torah reading contains some of the most dramatic and well-known scenes in all of written literature.

The liberation of the Israelite slaves by God, the pursuit of the fleeing Hebrews by Pharaoh and his army, the splitting of the Red Sea, with Israel crossing safely beyond and Pharaoh's forces drowning in the waters--these scenes indelibly shaped the consciousness of the Jewish people throughout our tumultuous history. We are who we are precisely because we recall our origins as a slave people, because so much of Jewish practice is designed to remind us that we owe our freedom to a God of love and justice.

Cornerstone of Jewish Existence?

The story of the liberation from Egypt is the cornerstone of Jewish existence. Or is it? Read the parashah again, and you will find that what is most striking is not the miracles--wondrous as they may be. What is particularly noteworthy is how quickly the Israelite slaves forget about their extraordinary redemption.

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