B’Shallach
Reflection by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, Or HaLev Teacher
What can remind us of our interconnection?
עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
Ozi v’zimrat Yah vay’hi li l’yishuah. (Exodus 15:2)
"This verse appears in our parashah, B’Shallach, this week. In the midst of Shirat HaYam (the Song of the Sea), the Israelites are singing joyously as they cross on dry land, thanks to the great miracle of the splitting of Yam Suf. This particular verse is one that is chanted often and features a very interesting grammatical construction.
Ozi v’zimrat Yah vay’hi li l’yishuah. `My strength and the song of God will be for me`—or to me—`as deliverance` (or salvation, however we choose to translate l’yishuah). The construction is slightly ambiguous.
Yet even in its ambiguity, I believe there is something beautiful for us to take into our practice. Ozi v’zimrat Yah—`My strength` and `the song of God` together—vay’hi li l’yishuah, they will become my deliverance, my salvation, my redemption.
It is not on us alone, and it is not entirely beyond us either, even at the moment of the most tremendous miracle the Israelites ever experienced. This miracle was so profound that for centuries, Shirat HaYam—the reason this Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shirah (the Shabbat of Song)—has been part of our daily liturgy.
There is an opportunity every day of the year to be reminded of our non-separation: that we are part of this immensity, wideness, vastness, and that we are deeply interconnected with the Divine.
Our strength and God’s song are interwoven. We are not alone. We are part of that which is so much greater, deeply loved by the Divine, so much so that this miracle was made for our people.
It is a reminder for us in moments of constriction and feelings of separation that we can return to this song: a song of joy and praise, and after centuries of oppression, a song of possibility. We can return to this verse every day. We can return to it every Motzei Shabbat at Havdalah. We can return to it every time we say Hallel.
It arises so often because it contains the deep truth of our interconnection and the way God’s song flows through us, intricately connected to our own strength. As we go about our week of practice and our Shabbat Shirah, may we return to that.
Perhaps we might chant this line, using one of the many beautiful melodies easily searchable online. Perhaps we might sit with it, truly sit with it, and absorb its lessons.
Shabbat Shalom, Shabbat Shirah Shalom.
May we remember that God’s song and our strength together lead to greater possibility and expansion."