Parsha Beshalach aka Shabbat Shira

We have an action filled parsha this week. Perhaps the most well known event in Jewish history happens here, the parting of the sea. Every morning, Jews sing "The Song of The Sea" as a way of remembering the Exodus. This song is in the parsha, hence Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of song.

The part of the parsha that speaks to me the most is when the Jews are trapped between the sea and the Egyptians "Pharaoh drew near, and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold! the Egyptians were advancing after them. They were very frightened, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord" (Shemot 14:10). A few verses later, we read "The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel. And you raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the children of Israel shall come in the midst of the sea on dry land." (Shemot 14:15-16). We learn that in addition to prayer, we also need to take action. It is not enough to just pray to G-d for help or to just take action, we need to do both. I also want to delve deeper into "The Song of the Sea" but that is for another post.