Song of the Sea שירת הים

Exodus 14:30 -15:18 “Thus the LORD delivered Israel that day from the Egyptians. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea…Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD…” (For the full text see http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0215.htm)

The Red Sea resort town of Eilat is Israel’s premier vacation destination. Jammed to the gills with hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and water attractions, its beaches are typically crammed with vacationing sun-bathers roasting on lounge chairs in skimpy bikinis. It’s not the place one would expect to find a spiritual experience.

But Eilat’s chief rabbi, Yosef Hecht, has a proposition for Passover guests in the city. This year, late on the final eve of Passover, a magical event was transpiring as the clock struck midnight. Hundreds of people quietly streamed past the Meridien Hotel and made their way down to the beach for a traditional gathering most unusual in this honky-tonk party town. Reaching the water’s edge, local residents, vacationing Israelis and tourists from the world over gathered around Rabbi Hecht. When he gave the sign they raised their voices in unison and began to chant the Song of the Sea (Shirat Hayam in Hebrew), the passage from Exodus 15 that tells of the night miracle of the parting of the waters of the Red Sea before the fleeing Israelites.

This lyric poem takes the form of a hymn exalting God’s deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptian army hot on their heels. Comprising some of the most ancient poetry of the Bible, it was probably sung responsively in the Temple service by the Levites. Today the Song of the Sea is chanted each day during the morning prayers, enabling Jewish worshippers to “remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live.” (Deut.16:3)

But on the seventh night of the Passover holiday, intoning this primeval poem standing on the shores of the Red Sea takes on special significance. The glint and din of Eilat recede into the darkness. The mountains of Egypt loom a stone’s throw from the worshippers. As they sing, they can surely hear the footsteps of the ancient Israelites in the sand.

To hear the Song of the Sea sung in a traditional Sephardic melody click here: http://www.piyut.org.il/textual/english/634.html