"I WILL SING TO HASHEM, FOR VERY EXALTED IS HE!"
(Exodus 15:1)
The seventh day of Passover, "a holy convocation" just like the first day of Passover, celebrates the miraculous splitting and the successful crossing of the Sea of Reeds, which took place on the seventh day after Israel marched out of Egypt. The Hebrew Yam Suf, which is translated as the Sea of Reeds, if pronounced slightly differently, can be understood as Yam Sof - the End Sea, as the Hebrew word ‘sof’ means end, or conclusion. When the escaping Israelites first beheld the vast body of water before them they thought "this is it. The end of the line." The great adventure, performing the Passover offering, painting their doorposts with the blood of the lamb, baking matzah and eating bitter herbs, was all well and good while it lasted. But now it appears that bitter reality has returned. Their despair can be heard in their biting words to Moshe: "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt?" (Exodus 14:11) They had but two choices: die or raise the white flag and return to slavery.
But a third option, and truly, the only option, was staring them in the face: trust in HaShem! And this is exactly how Moshe responded to their bitter lament: "Don't be afraid! Stand firm and see HaShem's salvation that He will wreak for you today, for the way you have seen the Egyptians is only today, but you shall no longer continue to see them for eternity. HaShem will fight for you, but you shall remain silent." (ibid 14:13)
But to trust in HaShem we must first trust ourselves, and this is the hard part. Tradition has it that it was one Nachshon from the tribe of Yehudah, who mustered the courage to trust in HaShem, and strode into the sea with nothing but his unshakeable faith to preserve him. And as the water reached his nostrils, HaShem, inspired by Nachshon's trust in Him, split asunder the sea, allowing for all of Israel to pass through on dry land. Not mud, not shifting sands, but dry, solid earth.
No sooner had Israel crossed the sea and watched the pursuing Egyptian cavalry drown in the rush of the returning waters, than she burst into song.
"And Israel saw the great hand, which HaShem had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared HaShem, and they believed in HaShem and in Moshe, His servant. Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang this song to HaShem, and they spoke, saying, I will sing to HaShem, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea..." (ibid 14:31-15:1) Free at last! Free at last from their servitude in Egypt. Free at last from the fear of being captured, or worse, the entire nation of Israel burst into song! Is there any greater expression of freedom and of gratitude than song? Is there any higher form of praise for HaShem than song? Perhaps only dance can rival song in its transcendent expression of wordless rhythm and rhyme. And no sooner had Israel concluded the Song of the Sea, than "Miriam, the prophetess, Aharon's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances," (ibid 15:20) and led a reprise of the song.
The Song of the Sea was Israel's first conscious realization that their lives and the lives of their children and their children's children, had changed forever. It was their first outburst of a proud national identity, one filled with purpose. So great was Israel's prophetic vision at that moment that she foresaw far into the future. "You shall bring them [Israel]," she sings, "and plant them on the mount of Your heritage, directed toward Your habitation, which You made, HaShem; the sanctuary, HaShem, which Your hands founded." (ibid 15:17) Just moments from the clutches of Egypt, Israel is already envisioning the ultimate expression of her freedom and sovereignty in her own land, blessed forever by the presence of HaShem in His Holy Temple.
Of course, the road to this freedom was long and still before Israel. Only when she received Torah at Sinai would she acquire the means to truly achieve freedom, freedom from fear, freedom from oppression, freedom from the hatred of others. And it would take many thousands of Nachshons to conquer the land of Israel and build the Holy Temple. So too, today, it is the courage and the faith of thousands of Nachshons which sustain Israel in her often painful, but steady march toward true freedom, whose ultimate expression is the freedom to make a pilgrimage three times a year: "Three times in the year, every one of your males shall appear before HaShem, your G-d, in the place He will choose: on the Festival of Matzot and on the Festival of Shavuot, and on the Festival of Sukkot, and he shall not appear before HaShem empty-handed. Every man shall bring as much as he can afford, according to the blessing of HaShem, your G-d, which He has given you." (Deuteronomy 16:16-17)
The Song of the Sea is sung aloud and in unison by Jewish congregations every day of the year in the morning prayer service. Every morning it renews our love for our freedom and our gratitude to HaShem. Every morning we cross the sea on dry land, leaving our troubles behind. On the Seventh day of Passover we read from the Torah the entire passage describing Israel's arrival at the sea, her initial dilemma, and, of course, that dilemma's miraculous resolution. Different Jewish communities have many different traditional songs and psalms and customs that they share on the Seventh of Passover. One such practice is waking up early on the Seventh and singing the Song of the Sea aloud. By doing so, tradition has it, one's deepest prayers will be answered. "I will sing to HaShem, for very exalted is He!"
Wishing all a Chag Sevi'i shel Pesach Sameach - a very happy Seventh of Passover and Shabbat Shalom!
PASSOVER: FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM!
Freedom! It is a blessing from HaShem, one we must earn every day by exercising our freedom, by remembering and appreciating and by never taking for granted our freedom. And by fighting for our freedom when it is imperiled.
Passover is the Festival of Freedom, during which we not only commemorate our deliverance from Egyptian slavery by the outstretched arm of HaShem, but we retell and relive our own exodus from Egypt, because, just as surely as the sun rises, we too were among the Israelite souls who marched out of Egypt on the 15th of Nisan, after observing the first of nearly 3,600 Seders, which have been conducted every year since that initial moment of liberation.
At the Seder meal, conducted on the first night of Passover, we eat from a strange assortment of dishes. We eat matzah and bitter herbs, and charoset, a fruit based paste designed to recall the mortar with which we built the cities of Egypt. Each dish has its own unique flavor, but each dish also tastes of freedom. Soon, with the help of G-d, we will once again be partaking of the Korban Pesach, the Passover offering, the ultimate food of freedom, for the Passover offering is inextricably tied to the Holy Temple, the end goal of the exodus and an invitation for freedom for all humanity.
The Hebrew word for freedom is cherut, spelled the exact same way as the Hebrew word charut - which means engraved. Israel's eternal Declaration of Independence from worldly masters is engraved in the Ten Commandments, brought down from Sinai by Moshe. From the first aleph of "Anochi HaShem - I am HaShem your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," we acquired our freedom for all time. Tyrants and emperors have tried again and again to subjugate Israel, but no earthly power can erase the words inscribed on the Tablets of the Torah, upon our flesh and in our hearts.
We are all created in G-d’s image and we are all deserving of freedom. May this Passover bring with it the blessing of freedom for all.
The Temple Institute wishes for all our friends and followers, for all who generously support our efforts, and for the entire house of Israel, a Chag Pesach Kasher veSameach - have a Happy and Kosher Passover!
52 Israelis are still languishing in horrific and inhumane conditions in Gaza. We pray for their speedy rescue and return to family and freedom.
PARASHAT TERUMAH & THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE!
This week we are reading the Torah portion of Terumah, (Exodus 25:1 - 27:19), which begins with HaShem's historic disclosure to Moshe that He desires to dwell amongst His people Israel:
"HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying:
'Speak to the children of Israel and let them take for Me a portion; you shall take a portion for Me from every person whose heart is so moved by a spirit of generosity. And this is the portion that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and crimson wool, fine linen, goats’ hair; tanned ram skins, tachash skins, and acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; shoham stones and stones for setting, for the Ephod and for the Breastplate.'
And they shall make Me a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them." (Exodus 25:1-8)
The continuation of parashat Terumah and much of the rest of the book of Exodus will focus on HaShem's instructions how to build for Him a Sanctuary, the many details of the construction of the Tabernacle, the sacred vessels of service to be used by the kohanim, and the fashioning of the priestly garments, focusing on the eight garments to be worn by the Kohen Gadol (High Priest).
For the Temple Institute these verses are nothing less than the breath of life that informs everything we do, from research and writing, to reproducing the sacred vessels and the priestly garments, to creating an unparalleled archive of paintings depicting life in the Holy Temple, all of which can be experienced in person at our Jerusalem exhibition; from seasonal reenactments of the pilgrimage holiday Temple offerings, to intensive work to produce the longed for ashes of the red heifer, and to the recreation of the Levitical Choir which is already engaged in special holiday performances.
Just as HaShem called upon Israel to open its heart to make possible His dream of dwelling amongst His children, we at the Temple Institute call upon all who long for G-d's nearness and to live in a world worthy of His presence, to give generously to help us to continue our sacred work.
HELP US MAKE G-D’S DREAM COME TRUE!
THE SCROLL OF ESTHER AND THE PURIM-HOLY TEMPLE CONNECTION!
Megillat Esther, (the scroll of Esther), the story behind the Purim festival, has all the trappings of a fairy tale: a powerful king, a sumptuous feast, a girl's rise from orphan to queen, betrayal, entrapment, and deliverance! But just beneath the surface is the historical account of the struggle to rebuild the Holy Temple amidst a storm of international intrigue!
Shlomo Deutsch is a former guide at the Temple Institute's Jerusalem exhibition. He is currently studying at Aish HaTorah.
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THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE LEVITICAL CHOIR PERFORMS ACHEINU KOL BEIT YISRAEL
On Passover, (2024/5784) the Temple Institute's Levitical Choir performed an outdoor concert in Jerusalem's Old City Jewish Quarter Central Plaza. Among the songs they performed was Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael, (Our brothers, the whole house of Israel), an ancient prayer for the safe delivery of Jews in distress, wherever they may be. In light of today's global assault on Jews by jihadists, woke leftists and assorted hate camp followers, the words of Acheinu Kol Yisrael seem more urgent than ever.
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THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE: BUILDING THE HOLY TEMPLE!
The three weeks of mourning which stretch from the fast of the 17th of Tammuz to the fast of the 9th of Av may be a time for some people to look backward and dream about the Holy Temple that was. Not so for the people that make up the Temple Institute. The Temple Institute is forever looking forward and working tirelessly to educate Israel and the world about the importance of the Holy Temple in our future, while always training and preparing in every way possible for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the renewal of the Divine service, soon, and in our days!
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LEVITICAL CHOIR PERFORMS AT THE SOUTHERN WALL OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT!
Last week, during the intermediate days of Sukkot, the Temple Institute's Levitical Choir joined dozens of other musical Levites in a festive performance of Psalm 27. The Temple Institute's Levitical Choir performers can be recognized by their Levitical uniforms, and, of course, the silver trumpets are those reproduced by the Temple Institute. The concert was a joint production of The Temple Institute, the East Jerusalem Development Company, the Municipality of Jerusalem, and others.
The performance took place on the steps leading up to the ancient Hulda Gates on the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount, the gates through which thousands of pilgrims once ascended from the City of David to the Holy Temple.
"One thing I ask of HaShem, that I seek - that I may dwell in the house of HaShem all the days of my life, to see the pleasantness of HaShem and to visit His Temple all the days of my life."
TEMPLE TALK: NADAV & AVIHU: WHAT WENT WRONG?
THE ECSTASY OF SEEING THE GLORY OF HASHEM!
GREAT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS & THE VIRTUE OF SILENCE!
Parashat Shemini describes the events of the greatest of days: the inauguration of the desert Tabernacle, the appearance of the glory of HaShem and the first that swept down from heaven and consumed Israel's first offerings! But also the untimely deaths of Nadav and Avihu, two sons of Aharon, "nearest" to HaShem.
Remember: Helping to make HaShem's dream of a Sanctuary in which His Presence can dwell amongst us, is the work of the Temple Institute! Join us in our efforts!
WEEKLY TORAH STUDY:SHEMINI/×©×ž×™× ×™
Breaking the rules seems to be something deeply ingrained in human nature. It's in our DNA. Often times we can get away with breaking or bending the rules. Sometimes, however, rules are meant to be followed, no exceptions allowed.
Shemini (Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47)
Parashat Shemini is read on Shabbat:
Nisan 28, 5785/April 26, 2025
TISH'A B'AV: BUILD A HOUSE FOR HASHEM!
"Be strong and have courage! Build a House for HaShem!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, the prophet Samuel charges King David with the task of building the Holy Temple!
TISH'A B'AV: THE GLORY OF THIS LAST HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FIRST!
"The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, Zerubavel from the house of David and Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yehoshua consult with the prophet Haggai who instructs them to waste no time in rebuilding the Holy Temple!
THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE: BRINGING THE HOLY TEMPLE TO LIFE!
"Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering..." (Ex. 25:2)
Thus begins Terumah, this week's Torah reading, in which HaShem reveals His desire that Israel "make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst." (Ex. 25:8)
The Temple Institute is dedicated to making the Holy Temple a reality in our day, and toward this end, the Temple Institute has, for 36 years, been building and planning and researching and teaching and sharing with you our reconstructed sacred vessels and priestly garments, our books and paintings, our red heifer candidates, our teachings and insights and our love for HaShem and the Holy Temple!
It is only through the generosity of your hearts that we are able to continue our important work. Only together can we build for HaShem a sanctuary and "a house of prayer for all nations!"
THE RED HEIFER!
The ashes of the red heifer, essential for the renewal of the Divine service in the Holy Temple, is one of the Torah's most fascinating and mysterious commandments. In our brand new in-depth entry, learn what constitutes "a perfectly red unblemished cow," how the ashes are made and how they are applied, the history and the mystery of the red heifer, and current efforts to raise a red heifer. Beautifully illustrated and extensively footnoted!
On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality.
We invite you to join us in our worldwide effort to produce the longed-for ashes of the red heifer!
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