During the Hallel service, we sing “ozi v’zimrat ya vayahi li lishu’a” – my strength and a divine song are for me liberation. This line is found both in Psalm 118 and Exodus 15, thus recited a great deal throughout a year, including a myriad of times during Passover in particular.
As part of the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), sung at the climax of the Passover story, the context of this verse is one of strength, victory, and might. In the verse prior, the Israelite song celebrates the army of Mitzrayim being thrown into the sea. In the following verse, the divine is referred to as “G-d, Man of War.”
Thinking about this verse this week, a time when we tell the story of Passover over and over again, I am left wondering what leads a people to celebrate war at a moment of liberation. We also see this week the celebration of, as President Biden put it, “world peace” in signing a bill for $95 billion in military aid to support US interests worldwide.
It is hard for the Israelites to see outside of war, military, defense, and offense. Throughout the book of Numbers, the tribes are arranged in a protective, war-ready stance around the mishkan, for example, as they traverse the wilderness.
As we sit at seder tables and contemplate our ancient mythology-that-we-are-participants-in throughout this week and through the omer, let us wonder how we might continue to shed our attachment and celebration of militarism.
Perhaps then we will realize a shalom ba’olam – peace throughout the world. Bit by bit.
Shabbat shalom, mo’adim l’simcha, and chag same’ach,
R’ David
As part of the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), sung at the climax of the Passover story, the context of this verse is one of strength, victory, and might. In the verse prior, the Israelite song celebrates the army of Mitzrayim being thrown into the sea. In the following verse, the divine is referred to as “G-d, Man of War.”
Thinking about this verse this week, a time when we tell the story of Passover over and over again, I am left wondering what leads a people to celebrate war at a moment of liberation. We also see this week the celebration of, as President Biden put it, “world peace” in signing a bill for $95 billion in military aid to support US interests worldwide.
It is hard for the Israelites to see outside of war, military, defense, and offense. Throughout the book of Numbers, the tribes are arranged in a protective, war-ready stance around the mishkan, for example, as they traverse the wilderness.
As we sit at seder tables and contemplate our ancient mythology-that-we-are-participants-in throughout this week and through the omer, let us wonder how we might continue to shed our attachment and celebration of militarism.
Perhaps then we will realize a shalom ba’olam – peace throughout the world. Bit by bit.
Shabbat shalom, mo’adim l’simcha, and chag same’ach,
R’ David
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