Dear Friends:
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Shirat Hayam
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This Shabbat one of our lucky Torah readers will chant Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea. Shirat Hayam is the poem the Israelites sang after they safely crossed the Sea of Reeds. Looking back, they saw the waters closing upon the pursuing Egyptians and knew that they were finally safe.
They sang in great exultation:
"Who is like you, O Lord, among the celestials;
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in splendor, working wonders!" (Ex. 15:11)
 The midrash says that this is the first time a true song of praise was sung to God: "God created Adam and he did not sing a song of praise. God saved Abraham from the fiery furnace and he did not sing. Isaac was saved from being offered as a sacrifice and he did not sing. Jacob was saved from the Divine Being with whom he struggled and he did not sing. But as soon as Israel crossed the Sea of Reeds they sang a song of glory before God." (Midrash Sh'mot Rabbah)
What is this midrash telling us? That in Judaism, the highest level of praising God comes out of our communal, rather than the individual, experience. In the Torah, God says to the Israelites: V'nikdashti b'toch b'nei Yisrael, "that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people." (Lev. 22:32)
 Now I will grant you that not every communal prayer experience is a powerful one. There are many things that can impede divine connection, from what happened at home or at work the week or day before we come to shul, to the sparseness of the congregation, to our unfamiliarity with the liturgy. All of these can prevent us from achieving spiritual highs.
However, there are many times when I can sense when the congregation is unified in heart and voice, and I find these times to be my most powerful spiritual moments. When everything "clicks," we know what it is to sing a song of praise to God in the midst of the community.
Our challenge is to increase these moments of transcendence.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
Tifereth Israel Synagogue
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