Beshalach

Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah (בשלח — Hebrew for “when [he] let go,” the second word and first distinctive word in the parshah) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion ("parshah") in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Exodus. It constitutes for the proposition that Providence treats a person measure for measure as that person treats others. And so because, as reports that God buried Moses. (Mishnah )

Exodus chapter 14

Rabbi Hama ben Hanina deduced from “the Egyptians fled towards it.” This all bore out what Rabbi Eleazar said: In the pot in which they cooked, they were themselves cooked — that is, with the punishment that the Egyptians intended for the Israelites, the Egyptians were themselves punished. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 11a.)

Exodus chapter 15

The Tosefta deduced from as an incantation over a wound to heal it would have no place in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1.)

Exodus chapter 16

The Gemara asked how one could reconcile which reported that people “ground it in mills,” implying that it required grinding. The Gemara concluded that the manna fell in different forms for different classes of people: For the righteous, it fell as bread; for average folk, it fell as cakes that required baking; and for the wicked, it fell as kernels that required grinding. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 75a.) The Gemara asked how one could reconcile (Mishnah Eruvin 1:1–10:15; Tosefta Eruvin 1:1–8:24; Jerusalem Talmud Eruvin; Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 2a–105a.)

Exodus chapter 17

The Mishnah reported that in synagogues at Purim, Jews read worked much the same way, by directing the Israelites to look upward to God. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8.)

Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there is one negative commandment in the parshah:
*Not to walk outside permitted limits on the Sabbath (), and the haftarah in the “Song of Deborah” about the Israelites’ victory over the Canaanite general Sisera. () Both the parshah and the haftarah report how God “threw . . . into panic” ("va-yaham") Israel’s enemies. ( ). [Goswell notes that the commencement of the reading at Judges 4:4 throws emphasis on Deborah's role. Gregory Goswell, "The Hermeneutics of the Haftarot," "Tyndale Bulletin" 58 (2007), 91.] Finally, both the parshah and the haftarah mention Amalek. () To repay the seas, God committed the Kishon River to deliver one-and-a-half times as many bodies. To pay the debt, when Sisera came to attack the Israelites, God had the Kishon wash the Canaanites away. (See (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 118b.)

For Ashkenazi Jews, the haftarah is the longest of the year.

In the liturgy

The Song of the Sea, “Adonai shall reign throughout all generations,” which in turn appears in the "Kedushah" section of the "Amidah" prayer in each of the three prayer services. And the statement of God’s eternal sovereignty in which is in turn the first of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, at 15.)

The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For Parshah Beshalach, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Ajam, the maqam that expresses happiness, to commemorating the joy and song of the Israelites as they crossed the sea.

References

Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Biblical

*Book of Genesis [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0114.htm#7 14:7] (Amalekites); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0136.htm#12 36:12] (Amalek); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0136.htm#16 36:16] (Amalek).
* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0207.htm#3 7:3;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0209.htm#12 9:12;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0210.htm 10:1,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0210.htm#20 20,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0210.htm#27 27;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0211.htm#10 11:10] (hardening Pharaoh’s heart).
*Numbers [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0414.htm#14 14:14] (pillar of fire).
*Deuteronomy [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0502.htm#30 2:30] (hardening of heart); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0515.htm#7 15:7] (hardening of heart); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0525.htm#17 25:17–19] (Amalekites).
*Joshua [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0611.htm#20 11:20] (hardening of heart).
*Psalms [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2695.htm 95] (God as “the Rock,” generation of the Wilderness); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26e6.htm#10 146:10] (God’s eternal sovereignty).
*Esther [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt3303.htm#1 3:1] (Agagite, read as Amalekite via ).
*Nehemiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt35b09.htm#12 9:12,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt35b09.htm#19 19] (pillar of fire).

Early nonrabbinic

*Romans [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%209:14–18%20;&version=31; 9:14–18.] 1st Century. (hardening Pharaoh’s heart).
*Hebrews [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2011:29;&version=31; 11:28] Late 1st Century. (first Passover).
*Revelation [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2017:17%20;&version=31; 17:17.] Late 1st Century. (changing hearts to God’s purpose).
*Josephus. "Antiquities of the Jews" [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b2c14.html 2:14:5] – [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b3c2.html 3:2:5.] Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition". Translated by William Whiston, 74–83. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.

Classical rabbinic

*Mishnah: Eruvin 1:1–10:15; Rosh Hashanah 3:8; Megillah 3:6; Sanhedrin 10:1; Avot 5:6. 3rd Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Mishnah: A New Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 208–29; 304, 321, 449, 604, 686. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
*Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael: 19:1–46:2. Land of Israel, late 4th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:125–72; 2:1–36. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-237-2.
*Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 4b, 24a, 43b, 51a, 94b; Peah 5a, 9b. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Yerushalmi". Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–3. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
*Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 2:2; 11:1; 15:4; 19:4–45:1; 48:2; 49:2; 50:2; 54:2; 61:2; 81:1. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai". Translated by W. David Nelson, 7, 33, 50, 79–195, 214, 217, 228, 249, 279, 370. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. ISBN 0-8276-0799-7.
*Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 4a, 5a, 20b, 27a, 33a, 39b–40a, 54a–b, 58a; Shabbat 2a, 23b, 28a, 87b, 103b, 114b, 118b, 133b; Eruvin 2a–105a; Pesachim 47b, 67a, 85b, 87b, 117a, 118b; Yoma 4b, 52b, 70a, 75a–b; Sukkah 11b, 25a, 33a; Beitzah 2b, 15b; Rosh Hashanah 29a, 31a, 32b; Taanit 9a, 11a; Megillah 7a, 10b, 14a, 18a, 30b–31a; Moed Katan 25b; Chagigah 5b, 13b–14a; Yevamot 13b, 72a; Ketubot 5a, 7b, 62b; Nedarim 2b; Nazir 2b, 45a; Sotah 9b, 11a–b, 13b, 20b, 27b, 30b, 37a, 42b, 48a; Gittin 20a, 56b; Kiddushin 32a, 38a; Bava Kamma 82a, 92a–b; Bava Metzia 86b; Bava Batra 16b, 98a; Sanhedrin 11a–b, 17a, 20b, 39b, 42a, 56b, 90a, 91b–92a, 93a, 95b, 96b, 98b, 99b, 101a, 106a, 110a; Makkot 8b; Shevuot 15a; Avodah Zarah 2b, 4a, 11a, 24b; Horayot 8b, 12a; Menachot 27a, 31b, 32b, 53a–b, 95a; Chullin 14a, 89a, 135b; Arakhin 15a–b; Keritot 5b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Bavli". Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Medieval

*Exodus Rabbah 20:1–26:3. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Exodus". Translated by S. M. Lehrman, vol. 3. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*Rashi. "Commentary". [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=9874&showrashi=true Exodus 13–17.] Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. "The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated". Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 2:143–204. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-027-7.
*Judah Halevi. "Kuzari". Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. "Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel." Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 60, 167, 202–03. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
*Zohar [http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/zohar&vol=18 2:44a–67a.] Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, "The Zohar". Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Modern

*Thomas Hobbes. "Leviathan", England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 437, 457. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
*Moses Mendelssohn. "Jerusalem", § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in "Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism". Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander Altmann, 100. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6.
*Shlomo Ganzfried. "Kitzur Shulchon Oruch", [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kizzur90.html 90:3.] Hungary, 1864. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, 1:387–88. New York: Moznaim Publishing Corp., 1991. ISBN 0-940118-63-7.
*Thomas Mann. "Joseph and His Brothers". Translated by John E. Woods, 577, 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as "Joseph und seine Brüder". Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*Marc A. Gellman. “A Tent of Dolphin Skins.” In "Gates to the New City: A Treasury of Modern Jewish Tales". Edited by Howard Schwartz. New York: Avon, 1983. ISBN 0-380-81091-3. Reissue ed. Jason Aronson, 1991. ISBN 0876688490.
*Hershel Shanks. “The Exodus and the Crossing of the Red Sea, According to Hans Goedicke.” "Biblical Archaeology Review" 7 (5) (Sept./Oct. 1981).
*Charles R. Krahmalkov. “A Critique of Professor Goedicke’s Exodus Theories.” "Biblical Archaeology Review" 7 (5) (Sept./Oct. 1981).
*Bernard F. Batto. “Red Sea or Reed Sea? How the Mistake Was Made and What Yam Sûp Really Means.” "Biblical Archaeology Review" 10 (4) (July/Aug. 1984).
*William H.C. Propp. "Exodus 1–18", 2:461–622. New York: Anchor Bible, 1998. ISBN 0-385-14804-6.
*David Einhorn. “War with Amalek.” In "American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr." Edited by Michael Warner, 665–73. New York: Library of America, 1999. ISBN 1-883011-65-5.
*Lawrence Kushner. "Kabbalah: A Love Story", 112. New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006. ISBN 0-7679-2412-6.

External links

Texts

* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0213.htm#17 Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation]
* [http://bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=2&chapter=13&verse=17&portion=16 Hear the parshah chanted]

Commentaries

* [http://www.jtsa.edu/x1941.xml Commentaries] from the Jewish Theological Seminary
* [http://judaism.uj.edu/Content/InfoUnits.asp?CID=911 Commentaries] from the University of Judaism
* [http://www.uscj.org/Beshalah_57677220.html Torah Sparks] from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
* [http://www.ou.org/torah/archive2.htm Commentaries] from the Orthodox Union
* [http://ajrsem.org/index.php?id=201 Commentaries] from the Academy for Jewish Religion
* [http://www.urj.org/torah/exodus/ Commentaries] and [http://urj.org/shabbat/exodus/ Family Shabbat Table Talk] from the Union for Reform Judaism
* [http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=15562 Commentaries] from Chabad.org
* [http://www4.jrf.org/recon-dt#Beshalah Commentaries] from Reconstructionist Judaism
* [http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha/parsha.html?id1=24 Commentaries] from [http://www.torah.org/ Torah.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/torahPortion/pArchive.asp?eventType=16&eventName=Beshalach Commentaries] from [http://www.aish.com/ Aish.com]
* [http://www.shiur.com/index.php?id=C0_155_6&spar=155&s_id=155 Commentaries] from [http://www.shiur.com/ Shiur.com]
* [http://www.tfdixie.com/parshat/beshalach/ Commentaries] from [http://www.tfdixie.com/ Torah from Dixie]
* [http://ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/2496 Commentary] from [http://ohr.edu/index.php Ohr Sameach]
* [http://www.judaic.org/addtl_files/beshalah.htm Commentaries] and [http://www.judaic.org/tabletalk/beshalah5762.htm Shabbat Table Talk] from [http://www.judaic.org/ The Sephardic Institute]
* [http://www.teach613.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=48 Commentary] from [http://www.teach613.org/index.php Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill]
* [http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bshalah_index.htm Commentaries] from [http://www.myjewishlearning.com/index.htm MyJewishLearning.com]
* [http://www.parshaparts.com/archive/5767/beshalach.php Commentaries] from [http://www.parshaparts.com/index.php Parshah Parts]
* [http://www.anshe.org/parsha/beshallach.htm Commentary] from [http://www.anshe.org/ Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles]
* [http://www.rabbishmuel.com/files/torah_sermons32.serm-azyashir.doc Torah Sermon] and [http://www.rabbishmuel.com/browse.cgi?type=torah_tidbits Torah Tidbits] from [http://www.ostt.org/ Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah]
* [http://www.chiefrabbi.org/tt-index.html Commentaries] from the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth