Man’s Effort; God’s Support

Parashat B’shalach

Shabbat Shirah

January 27, 2024

Upon reading this morning’s haftarah one can easily see the obvious connection that it has to our parsha of B’shalach, for, although the weekly portion is replete with historical events and divine miracles, there is no question that its highlight is found in Hashem’s final confrontation with the oppressive Egyptian tyranny. With this single, wondrous event, God’s miraculous splitting of Yam Suf’s waters (and the resultant destruction of the enemy’s military), the many years of oppressive Egyptian domination and enslavement were put to an end. It was no wonder, then, that Moshe and B’nai Yisrael reacted by bursting forth in a song of victory to Hashem, the Az Yashir; hence, we mark Shabbat Shirah.

In a similar—if not exact—way, our haftarah focuses upon the great miracle performed by God at Nachal Kishon (near Har Tavor) during the leadership of D’vora Haneviah. The Canaanite king, Yavin, together with his general, Sisera, cruelly controlled the Israelite population in northern Israel for some twenty years. Hashem responded to the desperate cries of Israel and defeated the repressive power in a battle at Nachal Kishon. Our Rabbis point out (Pesachim 118b) that the victory over the Canaanites mirrored, in many ways, the victory over the Egyptians. As the Egyptians drowned in the waters of Yam Suf, so were the Canaanites swept away by the waters of Nachal Kishon and, while the chariots of Egypt were mired in the muck of the sea bed, so were the Canaanite chariots stuck in the mud of the overflowing river. As a result, the Egyptians lost 600 iron chariots in the Reed Sea; as a result, the Canaanites lost 900 chariots at Har Tavor. And, as Moshe and B’nai Yisrael sang a song of praise to Hashem at Yam Suf, so Devorah and the Israelites sang their praises to God after His victory over the oppressive Canaanites.Beyond these similarities, it is also interesting to note that there are but four women in all of Tanach who were referred to as “prophetess” (with one of them being a false prophetess). The first time that a woman prophetess is mentioned occurs is in this morning’s parsha where Miriam is referred to as a “neviah” and the second time in Tanach where we find mention of a prophetess is in today’s haftarah about D’vora who was both a shofettet (the only woman judge in Sefer Shoftim), “judge” and the only judge to be a prophet as well.

All of this is quite fascinating. But there is a very important contrast between these two parallel episodes—a contrast that is important to note. The newly freed slaves at Yam Suf were incapable of facing the Egyptians. Their perception of their oppressors as “masters,” or as being “invincible,” weakened any resolve the Israelites may have had to oppose them and forced Moshe to silence their frightened cries by reassuring them with the words: “Hashem yilachem lachem” (“Hashem will fight for you…”). D’vora, however, was told by God that the nation had to confront their enemy, so she turns to her general, Barak, and directs him to gather an army. Additionally, she turns to all of the tribes to send men into battle to fight their enemy. The recently enslaved tribes who had no land of their own could barely mount any opposition, but a nation living upon her own land, a land promised to them since the days of their patriarchs, was expected to raise an army and, together with Hashem’s help, to battle for victory.

The essence of victory is Man’s efforts and Hashem’s support. Hashem expected that of D’vora and Barak during the era of the Shoftim..

And Hashem expects no less of us today!