"Song of Praise and Thanks to God"

"Song of Praise and Thanks to God"

The Passover holiday ends this weekend.

We will read about and remember how the Israelites were saved by God as the Egyptian army pursued them to return them to slavery. The Reed Sea split for the Jewish people allowing them safe passage.

Then the sea closed in on and drowned their enemies.

The Jews burst into song in praise and thanks to God.

There is a deep and mysterious connection between music and the soul.

When language reaches toward the transcendent,

when the spirit yearns to rise beyond the pull of earth—

it becomes song.

Song is the soul’s native tongue—intuitive, untranslatable, eternal.

At the Reed Sea, the nascent Jewish people stepped forward in trust.

The waters parted, they crossed on dry land, and the sea closed behind them, drowning their Egyptian pursuers.

With that step into the unknown, they declared their love, faith, and absolute trust in God.

And God responded with a revelation so overwhelming, so luminous, that every soul was flooded with clarity.

In that moment, they saw the whole picture.

They understood the pain of slavery, the purpose of each plague,

the meaning behind the miracle of the sea.

They saw, with unshakable clarity, that all is One—

Ein od milvado—there is nothing but God.

The veil was lifted.

God’s presence, love, and justice were no longer concepts—they were tangible, undeniable.

And the only possible response was song.

Ecstatic, uncontainable song.

Moses and the men sang their song.

Miriam the prophetess led the women in song, dance, and drumming.

“Sing to Hashem, for He is exalted—He has hurled horse and rider into the sea!”

The women danced in circles—each person equally spaced, equally radiant—a living expression of harmony, holiness, and unity.

All of creation is constantly singing,

a symphony of joy echoing through time.

At the sea, humanity joined the chorus.

We added our voices to the eternal song of existence.

Our hearts opened.

Our souls soared.

We connected with our Source.

What joy.

What love.

What Oneness.

What harmony.

“Az yashir”—Then we sang… and then we will sing.

God promises that we will sing again,

as we did at the sea.

With full hearts, with complete clarity,

with boundless joy and connection.

In that future time, we will understand—

why things happened as they did,

what it all meant,

and our souls will once again overflow with exuberant song.

May that time come soon.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

Elissa