Bursting Forth In Song

בס"ד

The Medrash [Shemos Rabba 23:4] goes to great lengths to praise the Jewish people for singing a Shira to Hashem. Even implying that G-d was waiting for such a thanks since the beginning of time.

What makes a shira a better medium for expressing thanks and praise than any other? Seemingly, it even trumps the korbanos that were offered for this purpose!

Let's analyze Shira and see what we come up with.

Shira is made up of two components : niggun(melody) and words.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev is quoted as saying that when a Jew sings a niggun his neshama is communicating directly with Hashem. More popular is the phrase, "music is the language of the soul". So we see that there is a special significance to praising Hashem through a niggun rather than just expressing yourself in plain words.

However, even the words of a shira are different. There are constraints and limitations within formal verse structure. The more complex the Shira, the more specific the phraseology has to be. And it is precisely through these constraints that a greater beauty takes shape. By focusing and narrowing the expression of the narrative, the shira actually brings out higher praise. If the melody of the Shira is the contribution of our neshama, the phrases are the input of our mind.

What are the two unique aspects of Hashem's crowning achievement of creation? Man's soul and man's mind. Adam was created at the tail end of creation with these two unique facets. The human mind is an unparalleled testament to the divine wisdom that created it and the precious neshama that we carry in our selves is an embryonic connection to the same. By utilizing, specifically, those two tools to create and weave a magnificent symphony of tribute to Hashem, the form of shira is fulfillment incarnate. Perhaps it is this completeness that shira personifies which leads the Medrash to declare that when Moshiach comes we will greet him with none other than shira to Hashem for this final redemption.

Can this edifice of thanks be improved upon? Yes. The women of that generation go even one step further. As Miriam leads them in an instrument accompanied song, they praise Hashem with their neshamos, minds and even their bodies.

Let us take this Shabbos Shira and utilize our precious, divine gifts. Firstly, to recognize Hashem's kindnesses, and secondly, to praise and thank Him for them. May we all reach a level of gratitude that is expressed by our minds and souls, and even extends even to our lowly physicality, as the passuk states "כל עצמותי תאמרנה ד' מי כמוך" "Let all my limbs declare before you, Hashem, who is comparable to you", and may our shira echo the last, greatest shira to usher in the geulah shleimah, amen.

Hatzlacha !