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Pharaoh finally lets the Hebrews go – their G!d has wreaked enough havoc, and Egypt realizes their insufficiency before the deity protecting this nation – or so the story goes. This is just the beginning, though. Parashat Beshalach is like a crash course through the beginning of the nation’s wandering, filled with terrifically terrifying miracles, journeys, and stories.

The parting of the Red Sea leads to great praises sung by both the men and women – a repetition of thanking G!d for their salvation, the latter song filled with musical instruments. For this reason, we celebrate Shabbat Shirah: a Sabbath of (the) Song. This year, Shabbat Shirah fell about a day before Tu Bishvat and Martin Luther King Day.

The Israelites are ruing their escape from what was a stable, albeit enslaved and difficult, living situation. This parsha begins to present the series of complaints they level against their leaders, both human and divine. In response, G!d sends them food from heaven, the manna and quail that have fascinated scholars ever since. We remember this miracle each week on Shabbat with two loaves of challah, one for each of the double portion of manna the Israelites took each Shabbat.

Finally, the run-in with Amalek and G!d’s resulting curse against that line finish the section. This foreboding enemy of the Hebrew people will continue to follow them in scripture, wreaking havoc again, and causing us to question until today who is related to Amalek.

The journey of the Hebrew people has just begun. We will follow them through the wilderness for the remainder of the year as we read the Torah.

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Komps kaos has amped up again with the beginning of a new semester. I am in need of more organization, although I’m pushing through more reading.