Moving Forward-Rabbi Boris' Blog

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

Joan Walsh Anglund

This week, on this special Shabbat of Shabbat Shira,  we read the story of the Israelites crossing the Sea of Reeds.  After the community experiences this miracle, they gather together to sing with joy, a flowing and profoundly beautiful poem unlike anything else in the Torah.  In fact, the song is so unique that it is laid out entirely differently in the Torah scroll: the lines of the song are arranged “brick on brick”, like a divided tower with the words stacked on top of each other, providing a perfect visual image of the split sea.  Mi Chamocha, the prayer which we sing during our Friday and Saturday services also comes from this text: "Who is like You, O God, among the gods that are worshiped? Who is like You, O God, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, working wonders? Adonai will reign forever and ever (15:11,18) 

Because of the Song of the Sea, our tradition has named this day Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of Song.  Keeping to this theme, many communities have turned the day into a celebration of music, with special melodies, concerts, or maybe just a little more joy as the songs are sung.  (And I hope to see many of you at this year’s Shabbat Shira concert with Lenka Lichtenberg!) It is a day to enjoy the power of music, and remember the ways that it has kept our community strong.

But there is another ritual of the day that is often forgotten, and outside of Orthodox communities it is not commonly practiced--the tradition of feeding birds.  While we don’t know for sure the origin of this ritual, there are a few possibilities.  It could be that we are simply acknowledging the birds’ joyous song with the singing of the Israelites as they crossed the sea.  Others have connected birds to a midrash about Datan and Aviram, who tried to trick the Israelites and discredit Moses, who said that there would not be any manna on Shabbat, by putting out manna on Friday evening.  Birds came (as they often do) to eat up the free food, and sure enough, Moses’ prediction came true. 

This ritual created an interesting halachic problem for the rabbis.  According to Jewish law, one is only permitted to feed domesticated animals, including pets on Shabbat, not wild ones.  As some have pointed out, it would be possible if a person wanted to strictly keep the law, to “accidently” let crumbs drop from a napkin or plate to the ground below, but this is not the point.  On a day when we celebrate joy and remember the blessings of freedom, we also give thanks to our bird friends, who all year long surround us with their music.  The song which so naturally came from the mouths of the Israelites during their time of celebration at the Sea of Reeds was a unique moment, and we only have one Shabbat Shira.  But for the birds!  For the birds every word is a song, every day an opportunity to sing.  And for this we give them a little treat on this day.

There is plenty to worry about these days, but today, we can be reminded of all that exists in our world which can make us sing.

Let us remember that as the Israelites stood at Mt. Sinai just before receiving the Torah, God responded to their fear about their upcoming journey by once again evoking the soaring image of a bird who welcomes them into God’s embrace:   "I will carry you on wings of eagles, And bring you near to me."  So let us sing!  And don’t forget to leave a little Challah for the birds...