As at this season of the year we rehearse for the time of our Master's return to establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven under His rulership and that of His children; as through repentance and a renewed commitment to obey we prepare our heart towards the establishment of this Kingdom of Messiah on earth; so in this parasha Moshe prepares the way for the Children of Israel's entry into the Promised land.
This preparation takes the form of a song, a song that will stand not only as an intergenerational time capsule, but as a testimony throughout the ages that Israel is accountable for its action and is fully knowledgeable of the Torah, Its commandments, Its rewards, and Its retributions.
ועתה כתבו לכם את־השׁירה הזאת ולמדה את־בני־ישׂראל שׂימה בפיהם למען תהיה־לי השׁירה הזאת לעד בבני ישׂראל׃
"Therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the people of Isra'el. Have them learn it by heart, so that this song can be a witness for me against the people of Isra'el.
(Deu 31:19 CJB)
We learn History through the songs that people wrote. In the same manner, the songs of Israel tell us of its history. The sages recorded ten such major songs/poems in the Torah. Each contributes to tell of some major event in Israel's history, mainly, military victories through Hashem's Mighty Hand. I will try to list them here. These all could be seen as microcosms of Hashem's final deliverance of His people at the end of this age, which by Jewish eschatological studies should come in the backdrop of the Fall Festivals.
1. Ps 92. SONG OF THE SHABBAT which starts with, " It is good to give thanks to Adonai and sing praises to your name, `Elyon, to tell in the morning about your grace and at night about your faithfulness, to the music of a ten-stringed [harp] and a lute, with the melody sounding on a lyre..." Ps 92 is known to be the song for the Shabbat. The song Adam sang after creation was completed. That is why it is part of Friday nigh Kiddush liturgy. In Hebrews 3 and 4, the apostle Paul compares entering the Land to entering the Sabbath, a microcosm of entering the Messianic Age.
2. Ex 15: SONG OF THE SEA which starts with, Then Moshe and the people of Isra'el sang this song to Adonai: "I will sing to Adonai, for he is highly exalted: the horse and its rider he threw in the sea. Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God: I will glorify him; my father's God: I will exalt him ..." This song also speaks of Israel's salvation, becoming a new nation as they were on their way to enter the Promised Land, which should have happened in less then six months were it not for the incident of the ten spies.
3. Num 21:16-18: SONG OF THE WELL. "From there they went on to Be'er [well]; that is the well about which Adonai said to Moshe, "Assemble the people, and I will give them water." Then Isra'el sang this song: "Spring up, oh well! Sing to the well sunk by the princes, dug by the people's leaders with the scepter, with their staffs!" ... In Hebrew, "Well" in this case refers to a source for water. This Song was sung as a result of the miracle that Hashem created to save the Isrsaelites from being ambushed by the Amorites, who hid in caves as the Hebrews were preparing to cross the second mountain range of two mountain ranges that bordered the Arnon River [now known as: Wady Mojib (or Wady el-Mojib)] in what is now Jordan on their way to Canaan after 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert. Because those who carried the Ark of the Covenant preceded the Israelites, it caused the mountains to sink and the valley to rise, crushing the Amorites in their hideouts in the caves. The Hebrews would not have noticed this if the Well of water which accompanied them did not throw up pieces of the corpses. Thus this miracle created by Hashem with the Well resulted in the Hebrews bursting forth in the "Song of the Well" in commemoration of this miraculous event.
4. Deut 31:30 -32;1 THE SONG OF MOSHE. Then Moshe spoke in the hearing of the whole assembly of Isra'el the words of this song, from beginning to end: "Hear, oh heavens, as I speak! Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth! ..." This song reflects the vicissitudes of the present and future destiny of Israel, the ups and downs, the rises and the declines. It is not a testimony to the past, but rather a warning for the present and the future. It was sung to a people who were mostly already born into physical freedom, so there was no need for the Hebrews to suddenly rejoice in song as at the "Sea at the Sea", but rather, to listen and hear Moses in a restrained and dour manner.
5. Jos 12:10-14 THE SONG OF GIVON, (a song taken from the book of Jasher) Then, on the day Adonai handed over the Emori to the people of Isra'el, Y'hoshua spoke to Adona i; in the sight of Isra'el he said, "Sun, stand motionless over Giv`on! Moon, you too, over Ayalon Valley!" So the sun stood still and the moon stayed put, till Isra'el took vengeance on their enemies. This is written in the book of Yashar. The sun stood still in the sky and was in no rush to set for nearly a whole day. There has never been a day like that before or since, when Adonai listened to the voice of a man; it happened because Adonai was fighting on Isra'el's behalf. Joshua exhorted the "sun [to] stand still upon Gibeon in order to enable him to wage war and to defeat Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem and his allies and enable the Israelites to enter Canaan and set up the divisions of land for each tribe as well as establishingThis Song was sung by the Prophetess Deborah (or "Devorah" in Hebrew) after the Hebrew armies defeated the armies of Canaan, led by their general, Sisera. Devorah also sings about Yael, the wife of Heber the Keni, who used a spike and a hammer to drive the spike through the head of Sisera while he slept. a sanctuary at Shiloh, which served as a holy city and stood for 200 years until the First Temple was built by King Solomon.
6. Judges 5:1-2, THE SONG OF DEBORAH. "On that day D'vorah and Barak the son of Avino`am sang this song: "When leaders in Isra'el dedicate themselves, and the people volunteer, you should all bless Adonai." This Song was sung by the Prophetess Deborah after the Israelite armies defeated the armies of Canaan, led by their general, Sisera. Devorah also sings about Yael, the wife of Heber the Keni, who used a spike and a hammer to drive the spike through the head of Sisera while he slept.
7. 1 Sam 2:1-10: THE SONG OF HANNAH. Then Hannah prayed; she said: "My heart exults in Adonai! My dignity has been restored by Adonai! I can gloat over my enemies, because of my joy at your saving me. "No one is as holy as Adonai, because there is none to compare with you, no rock like our God...." Hannah was the mother of the Prophet Samuel. The Song of Hannah calls attention to the "humiliation" and "misery" of a barren woman, namely Hannah herself (1 Samuel 1:11), who confides her pain to G-d. After her prayers are completed, she is then blessed with a child, Samuel. Essentially, the Song of Hannah is the story of a woman who was barren for a long time and then was blessed with a child.
8. 2 Sam 22/Ps 18. THE SONG OF DAVID. David said the words of this song to Adonai on the day Adonai delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Sha'ul. He said: "Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold and my refuge. My savior, you have saved me from violence..." King David recounts the desperate state of his very survival and existence during parts of his long and varied career. He sings a Song of praise to Hashem and dedicates the Song to Hashem after He saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hands of Saul, the King of Israel prior to David.
9. SONG OF SONG or SONG OF SOLOMON The Ultimate Song, by Shlomo: "[She] Let him smother me with kisses from his mouth, for your love is better than wine..." The Song of Songs is traditionally seen to be an allegory for the relationship between Hashem and Israel by utilizing the example of the love between a man and a woman.
10. Is 26:2-3 SONG OF MASHIACH. This song has not been sang yet. It will be sung during the times of Mashiach or the Messiah, after Mashiach returns to establish His Kingdom on earth, as it is in Heaven. This song will be sang by the 144.000 redeemed Israelites, tjose redeemed as the firstfruit of humanity.
Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Tziyon; and with him were 144,000 [12.000 from each tribe Rev 7]who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing waters and like the sound of pealing thunder; the sound I heard was also like that of harpists playing on their harps. They were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living beings and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who have been ransomed from the world. (Rev 14:1-3 CJB)
Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one -- seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God's fury is finished. I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. They were singing the song of Moshe [Deut 32], the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb [Rev 14:3]:
"Great and wonderful are the things you have done, Adonai, God of heaven's armies! Just and true are your ways, king of the nations! Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name? because you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed." (Rev 15:1-4 CJB)
MAY YOU ALL HAVE A MEANINGFUL FAST!
This preparation takes the form of a song, a song that will stand not only as an intergenerational time capsule, but as a testimony throughout the ages that Israel is accountable for its action and is fully knowledgeable of the Torah, Its commandments, Its rewards, and Its retributions.
ועתה כתבו לכם את־השׁירה הזאת ולמדה את־בני־ישׂראל שׂימה בפיהם למען תהיה־לי השׁירה הזאת לעד בבני ישׂראל׃
"Therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the people of Isra'el. Have them learn it by heart, so that this song can be a witness for me against the people of Isra'el.
(Deu 31:19 CJB)
We learn History through the songs that people wrote. In the same manner, the songs of Israel tell us of its history. The sages recorded ten such major songs/poems in the Torah. Each contributes to tell of some major event in Israel's history, mainly, military victories through Hashem's Mighty Hand. I will try to list them here. These all could be seen as microcosms of Hashem's final deliverance of His people at the end of this age, which by Jewish eschatological studies should come in the backdrop of the Fall Festivals.
1. Ps 92. SONG OF THE SHABBAT which starts with, " It is good to give thanks to Adonai and sing praises to your name, `Elyon, to tell in the morning about your grace and at night about your faithfulness, to the music of a ten-stringed [harp] and a lute, with the melody sounding on a lyre..." Ps 92 is known to be the song for the Shabbat. The song Adam sang after creation was completed. That is why it is part of Friday nigh Kiddush liturgy. In Hebrews 3 and 4, the apostle Paul compares entering the Land to entering the Sabbath, a microcosm of entering the Messianic Age.
2. Ex 15: SONG OF THE SEA which starts with, Then Moshe and the people of Isra'el sang this song to Adonai: "I will sing to Adonai, for he is highly exalted: the horse and its rider he threw in the sea. Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God: I will glorify him; my father's God: I will exalt him ..." This song also speaks of Israel's salvation, becoming a new nation as they were on their way to enter the Promised Land, which should have happened in less then six months were it not for the incident of the ten spies.
3. Num 21:16-18: SONG OF THE WELL. "From there they went on to Be'er [well]; that is the well about which Adonai said to Moshe, "Assemble the people, and I will give them water." Then Isra'el sang this song: "Spring up, oh well! Sing to the well sunk by the princes, dug by the people's leaders with the scepter, with their staffs!" ... In Hebrew, "Well" in this case refers to a source for water. This Song was sung as a result of the miracle that Hashem created to save the Isrsaelites from being ambushed by the Amorites, who hid in caves as the Hebrews were preparing to cross the second mountain range of two mountain ranges that bordered the Arnon River [now known as: Wady Mojib (or Wady el-Mojib)] in what is now Jordan on their way to Canaan after 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert. Because those who carried the Ark of the Covenant preceded the Israelites, it caused the mountains to sink and the valley to rise, crushing the Amorites in their hideouts in the caves. The Hebrews would not have noticed this if the Well of water which accompanied them did not throw up pieces of the corpses. Thus this miracle created by Hashem with the Well resulted in the Hebrews bursting forth in the "Song of the Well" in commemoration of this miraculous event.
4. Deut 31:30 -32;1 THE SONG OF MOSHE. Then Moshe spoke in the hearing of the whole assembly of Isra'el the words of this song, from beginning to end: "Hear, oh heavens, as I speak! Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth! ..." This song reflects the vicissitudes of the present and future destiny of Israel, the ups and downs, the rises and the declines. It is not a testimony to the past, but rather a warning for the present and the future. It was sung to a people who were mostly already born into physical freedom, so there was no need for the Hebrews to suddenly rejoice in song as at the "Sea at the Sea", but rather, to listen and hear Moses in a restrained and dour manner.
5. Jos 12:10-14 THE SONG OF GIVON, (a song taken from the book of Jasher) Then, on the day Adonai handed over the Emori to the people of Isra'el, Y'hoshua spoke to Adona i; in the sight of Isra'el he said, "Sun, stand motionless over Giv`on! Moon, you too, over Ayalon Valley!" So the sun stood still and the moon stayed put, till Isra'el took vengeance on their enemies. This is written in the book of Yashar. The sun stood still in the sky and was in no rush to set for nearly a whole day. There has never been a day like that before or since, when Adonai listened to the voice of a man; it happened because Adonai was fighting on Isra'el's behalf. Joshua exhorted the "sun [to] stand still upon Gibeon in order to enable him to wage war and to defeat Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem and his allies and enable the Israelites to enter Canaan and set up the divisions of land for each tribe as well as establishingThis Song was sung by the Prophetess Deborah (or "Devorah" in Hebrew) after the Hebrew armies defeated the armies of Canaan, led by their general, Sisera. Devorah also sings about Yael, the wife of Heber the Keni, who used a spike and a hammer to drive the spike through the head of Sisera while he slept. a sanctuary at Shiloh, which served as a holy city and stood for 200 years until the First Temple was built by King Solomon.
6. Judges 5:1-2, THE SONG OF DEBORAH. "On that day D'vorah and Barak the son of Avino`am sang this song: "When leaders in Isra'el dedicate themselves, and the people volunteer, you should all bless Adonai." This Song was sung by the Prophetess Deborah after the Israelite armies defeated the armies of Canaan, led by their general, Sisera. Devorah also sings about Yael, the wife of Heber the Keni, who used a spike and a hammer to drive the spike through the head of Sisera while he slept.
7. 1 Sam 2:1-10: THE SONG OF HANNAH. Then Hannah prayed; she said: "My heart exults in Adonai! My dignity has been restored by Adonai! I can gloat over my enemies, because of my joy at your saving me. "No one is as holy as Adonai, because there is none to compare with you, no rock like our God...." Hannah was the mother of the Prophet Samuel. The Song of Hannah calls attention to the "humiliation" and "misery" of a barren woman, namely Hannah herself (1 Samuel 1:11), who confides her pain to G-d. After her prayers are completed, she is then blessed with a child, Samuel. Essentially, the Song of Hannah is the story of a woman who was barren for a long time and then was blessed with a child.
8. 2 Sam 22/Ps 18. THE SONG OF DAVID. David said the words of this song to Adonai on the day Adonai delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Sha'ul. He said: "Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold and my refuge. My savior, you have saved me from violence..." King David recounts the desperate state of his very survival and existence during parts of his long and varied career. He sings a Song of praise to Hashem and dedicates the Song to Hashem after He saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hands of Saul, the King of Israel prior to David.
9. SONG OF SONG or SONG OF SOLOMON The Ultimate Song, by Shlomo: "[She] Let him smother me with kisses from his mouth, for your love is better than wine..." The Song of Songs is traditionally seen to be an allegory for the relationship between Hashem and Israel by utilizing the example of the love between a man and a woman.
10. Is 26:2-3 SONG OF MASHIACH. This song has not been sang yet. It will be sung during the times of Mashiach or the Messiah, after Mashiach returns to establish His Kingdom on earth, as it is in Heaven. This song will be sang by the 144.000 redeemed Israelites, tjose redeemed as the firstfruit of humanity.
Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Tziyon; and with him were 144,000 [12.000 from each tribe Rev 7]who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing waters and like the sound of pealing thunder; the sound I heard was also like that of harpists playing on their harps. They were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living beings and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who have been ransomed from the world. (Rev 14:1-3 CJB)
Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one -- seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God's fury is finished. I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. They were singing the song of Moshe [Deut 32], the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb [Rev 14:3]:
"Great and wonderful are the things you have done, Adonai, God of heaven's armies! Just and true are your ways, king of the nations! Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name? because you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed." (Rev 15:1-4 CJB)
MAY YOU ALL HAVE A MEANINGFUL FAST!
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