Word Prompt – SHIRA – Daniel Finkelman

From the High Holiday cantorial pieces to the zemirot sung at the Shabbat table, from the teary-eyed chupah music to the Mah Nishtana at the Passover Seder, the Jewish year is a musical one.

Why is song such a major player in the Jewish arena?

A song is the pen of the heart. It expresses the deepest parts of our hearts and souls, that which cannot be expressed through the medium of finite syllables.

Song is a journey inward, to one’s self, bringing our truest self to the forefront of our consciousness. You don’t have to be musically wired to appreciate the power of a melody. You don’t have to hold the title of a singer in order to sing. All you need is a heart.

The greater part of the Torah reading of Ha'azinu consists of a 70-line “song” delivered by Moses to the Israelites on the last day of his earthly life.

Why is Moses singing on the last day of his life? Why was the longest piece of poetry in the Torah chanted on one of the seemingly saddest days of Jewish history?

Perhaps Moses wanted to leave us with the power of song. He taught us how to maintain the flame of Judaism whether in the gas chambers – where Jews sang the Ani Ma'amin on the way to their deaths – or sitting at the Shabbat table surrounded by family and friends.

On his last day of leadership, Moses gave us the means to persevere: song.