Crossing Your Personal Sea
?Shalom from Yoel and Orly, founders of?Ulpan-Or,?the International Center for Hebrew and Israeli Culture Studies.
Hebrew at the Speed of Light!
?This Shabbat we will read Torah portion "Beshalach" - ?????in the book of Exodus.?
This Shabbat, known as Shabbat Shirah ??? ?????(the Sabbath of Song), we delve into one of the most profound moments in Jewish history - the crossing of the Red Sea and the subsequent Song of the Sea (Shirat HaYam).
?? The Power of Collective Song
Our sages teach us something remarkable about the moment when the Children of Israel sang at the sea.
The Talmud reveals that this wasn't just a coordinated performance - it was a miraculous moment when every person, regardless of their spiritual level, was elevated to such heights of prophecy that they could sing the exact same words simultaneously, in perfect unity.
This represents perhaps the highest level of collective spiritual experience ever achieved.
The?Midrash?enumerates ten preeminent songs in the history of?Israel?— ten occasions on which our experience of redemption found expression in melody and verse in the bible.??
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?The first nine are:
1.??? The song attributed to Adam, as he sang upon the completion of the creation – “A Psalm, a Song. For the sabbath day” (Psalms 92).
2.??? The song sung on the night of the?Exodus?in "Song at the Sea" (Exodus 15:1-21), which occurs in our Torah portion.
3.??? The "Song at the Well" (Numbers 21:17-20)?
4.??? Moses' song upon his completion of writing
? ? ? ?the?Torah?(Deuteronomy?32)
5.??? The song with which?Joshua?stopped the sun
? ? ? ?(Joshua 10:12-13)?
6.??? Deborah's song (Judges 5)
7.??? King David's song (II?Samuel?22)
8.??? The song at the dedication of the
? ? ? ?Holy?Temple?(Psalms?30)
9.??? King?Solomon's?Song of Songs extolling the love between the Divine Groom and His bride Israel.
The tenth song, says the Midrash, will be the?SHIR KHADASH? – ??? ???, the "New Song"?of the ultimate redemption; a redemption that will annihilate all suffering, ignorance, jealousy, and hate from the face of the earth.
This ultimate redemption requires a NEW SONG — a completely new musical approach — to capture the voice of Creation's ultimate striving.
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Let’s now relate to the “Song of the Sea”.
For the first time since their departure from Egypt the children of Israel sing! “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel.”
The Talmud says that they sang together spontaneously, and miraculously the same words came into their minds at the same time.
?In recollection of that moment, this week’s Shabbat is named?Shabbat Shirah,? ??? ???? the Sabbath of Song.
?There is an special inner connection between music and the soul.
?Music, said Rabbi Cook is “a pen of the the soul”.
Speech is the language of the mind.
Music is the language of the soul.
When we want to express emotions, we turn to song – to melody.
?
In our prayers we sing.?We do not recite sacred text - we chant, we sing!?
Every sacred text has in Judaism its own specific melody.
Music has extraordinary power to evoke emotion.
Words without music are like a body without a soul.
In Hebrew alphabet we have 22 letters. In addition to those we have 10 vowels.
These are written underneath, above or beside the consonant letters and are called –?????? , ?NEKUDOT (dots)
Each vowel is also ????? – movement, because it “moves” the silent letter.
The 22 consonant letters are “silent” and motionless unless “moved” by the vowels.
The vowels are considered to be the “soul” of the letters similar to the relation of the soul and human body. Going deeper, in addition to the letters and Nekudot in Hebrew, there are cantillation marks and crowns over letters.
Altogether we have four attributes - ????? (acrostic TANTA)
Ta’amim-Nekudot-Tagim-Otiyot?– ?????, ??????, ????, ?????? ?
?Cantillation marks-vowel dots-crowns-letters.
?
Note that certain letters in the sacred text have little crowns on them:
It is interesting to point that according to Kabballah, these four attributes come from higher spiritual worlds. And the highest of all of them is the ‘Cantillation marks” – the MUSIC – the SONG. The children of Israel sang when they crossed the Red Sea?and emerged on the other side, as free people.?
?Let us hope that soon we will sing the tenth?NEW SONG - ??? ??? - SHIR KHADASH?
?The song of the ultimate redemption!??
?THE THREE CIRCLES?
The root word ??? SHIR in Hebrew is actually something round, circular.?
?Same as ????? - SHARSHERET - chain
?It alludes to the repetitive nature of a song, closing the motive circles.?
?The same is with dance in Hebrew - ???? - MAKHOL?
It alludes to the circular movements when dancing.
?And the special bread used for Shabbat and holidays
???? -?KHALAH? also has that root ?? because of the circular structure of this bread.?
??? Customs and Traditions
- On Shabbat Shirah, many communities have the custom of feeding birds, commemorating how the birds sang along with the Israelites at the sea
- The Song of the Sea is read in a special cantillation to emphasize its unique structure
- Some have the custom of standing during the reading of the Song, marking its special significance
?? Chassidic Insights ?
The Baal Shem Tov teaches that just as the sea split for the Israelites, each person has their own "sea" - their personal limitations and obstacles - that can split when approached with complete faith.
The miracle of the sea wasn't just a one-time historical event, but a blueprint for personal transformation.
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?? Crossing Your Personal Sea
The splitting of the Red Sea represents a moment of breakthrough - when the impossible becomes possible. Our students experience similar breakthroughs:
"Before Ulpan-Or, conducting business in Hebrew seemed as impossible as crossing the sea. Now I lead meetings in Tel Aviv with confidence." - Sarah K., Tech Executive
?? The Miracle of Language Mastery
The Midrash teaches that at the Sea, even the simplest person experienced divine revelation. Similarly, our EDL program makes Hebrew accessible to everyone:
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After the recent return of our hostages?and the recent Trump declaration, as we expect more hostages to be released, we continue praying for the lives of the innocent civilians and soldiers who have been heartlessly kidnapped by Hamas.
We pray for the lives of the soldiers who are defending our country on so many war fronts opened against Israel.
Please G-d, watch over them and bring them home safe and healthy.
We pray and hope...
?Watch below the unique interpretation of "Avinu Malkeinu" by David De'Or
?May you, like our ancestors at the sea, find paths opening before you when obstacles seem insurmountable.
As the manna sustained them each day, may you be blessed with what you need, exactly when you need it.
Shabbat Shalom,?
Yoel & Orly
About the Author:
Yoel Ganor is the founder of Ulpan-Or, a pioneering institution in modern Hebrew language education and cultural integration. With decades of experience in innovative language teaching methodologies, Yoel has transformed how people worldwide learn Hebrew through unique blended learning approaches and cultural immersion techniques.
As a native of both Hebrew and English, and deeply versed in Jewish cultural heritage, Yoel brings a unique perspective to understanding the evolution of Jewish languages and their cultural expressions. His work at Ulpan-Or has helped thousands of students not just learn Hebrew, but truly understand the cultural nuances that make the language come alive.
Connect with Yoel at [email protected] to explore how modern Hebrew language learning can enhance your professional and personal growth in Israel's dynamic business environment.
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