Shabbat Shira

This shabbat is called Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song. In the Torah portion we read this week, Beshalach, Exodus 13:17- 17:16,the Israelites cross the Sea of Reeds and sing "Who is like you among the gods who are worshiped?" In Hebrew this is "Mi Chamocha Ba'elim Adonai?" The haftarah, the reading from the prophets includes the song of Deborah, Judges 4:4-5:31. Not coincidentally, my mother, Deborah z"l, was born on this shabbat in 1928.

We also are mourning this week another Deborah, Debbie Friedman, who wrote many of the tunes we use in our prayer services, including the Hebrew-English "Mi Shebeirach," the prayer for healing. Debbie Friedman died this past Sunday.

Shabbat services will be at 7 PM Friday at the temple, 956 J Street in Crescent City.

Torah study continues Saturday from 10 AM to noon. Please join our congregation for these events. We will celebrate the parting of the Sea of Reeds, remember Debbie Friedman, and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Barry Wendell
President
Beth Shalom