Parshat Be’Shalach

There is a beautiful Dvar Torah from the Shemen Hatov on this
week's sedra.

In the Torah there are two examples of Shira, song of praise to Hashem. There
is Shirat Hayam, the song at the splitting of the sea in Beshalach, and in
Parshat Chukat there is the Shirat Be'er, the Song of the Well, sung in
honor of the miraculous well that had accompanied Bnei Yisrael
throughout their 40 year journey in the desert.
However there is a glaring distinction between the Shira of the Sea and the
Shira of the Well.

The shira in Parshat Beshalach begins with the words:
"AZ YASHIR MOSHE UVENEI YISRAEL ET HASHIRA HAZOT - Then sang Moshe and the children of Israel this song."
The Shira of the Well, however, begins with the words:
"AZ YASHIR YISRAEL ET HASHIRA HAZOT - Then sang Israel this song."
Moshe's name does not appear. This seems to be a stark omission.

Many commentaries explain that the reason Moshe's name was deleted from this
Shira was due to the incident of Mei Meriva, and the well served as the
only blemish on his otherwise impeccable record as leader of Israel.
Therefore, his name is not mentioned in connection with the Shira of the
Well.

The Shemen Hatov suggests a completely different reason
why Moshe's name wass omitted.
One of the differences between the Shira of the Sea and the Shira of the
Well is that the former was sung right at the beginning of the sojourn in
the desert, and the latter was sung right at the end, forty years later.
One marked the beginning of Moshe Rabbeinu's leadership of the Jewish people,
and the other marked its conclusion as the Jewish people were on the
threshold of the Land of Israel

The Shemen Hatov suggests that the absence of Moshe's name from the Shira
of the Well is the greatest possible testimony to the success of his mission
as leader and teacher.
Forty years earlier it had been necessary for Moshe to instruct his flock: "Ladies and Gentlemen we have just witnessed a miracle at the splitting of
the Red Sea." He had to take them by the hand, so to speak, and instruct them:
"My children, this is what you do when you witness a miracle- you sing
praise to Hashem." That is why the Torah had to emphasise, "Az yashir Moshe
uvenei Yisrael - then sang MOSHE and the children of Israel."

Forty years later, Moshe had been so successful as a teacher that he was able
to sit back, as it were, and watch the Jewish people, now described as
Yisrael not Bnei Yisrael, initiate on their own an appropriate spiritual
response to the miracles they had witnessed. This says it all. The deletion
of Moshe's name does not speak to his detriment. On the contrary, it speaks to his success as a leader and a teacher.

This really is the job that parents and teachers have. To get their
children to the point where they know what to do on their own.
When they are younger they must be taken by the hand and explicitly told
what should be done and what should not be done. If parents and teachers
are successful, at a certain stage in life they should be able to stand back
and say: "Ok- you can now do it yourself."

We are over half way through our year at Shvilei, and we are all soon to
embark on adulthood. Our parents and teachers are doing a fantastic job by
being terrific role models and showing us what we should do just as in
Shirat Hayam. Soon we hope to be able to sing Shirat Be'er on our own,
having learned from their teachings.

Shabbat shalom