(א) אָ֣ז יָשִֽׁיר־מֹשֶׁה֩ וּבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ לַֽיקוק וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אָשִׁ֤ירָה לַֽיקוק כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃ (ב) עָזִּ֤י וְזִמְרָת֙ יָ֔הּ וַֽיְהִי־לִ֖י לִֽישׁוּעָ֑ה זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ אֱלֹקֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃ (ג) יקוק אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה יקוק שְׁמֽוֹ׃ (ד) מַרְכְּבֹ֥ת פַּרְעֹ֛ה וְחֵיל֖וֹ יָרָ֣ה בַיָּ֑ם וּמִבְחַ֥ר שָֽׁלִשָׁ֖יו טֻבְּע֥וּ בְיַם־סֽוּף׃ (ה) תְּהֹמֹ֖ת יְכַסְיֻ֑מוּ יָרְד֥וּ בִמְצוֹלֹ֖ת כְּמוֹ־אָֽבֶן׃ (ו) יְמִֽינְךָ֣ יקוק נֶאְדָּרִ֖י בַּכֹּ֑חַ יְמִֽינְךָ֥ יקוק תִּרְעַ֥ץ אוֹיֵֽב׃ (ז) וּבְרֹ֥ב גְּאוֹנְךָ֖ תַּהֲרֹ֣ס קָמֶ֑יךָ תְּשַׁלַּח֙ חֲרֹ֣נְךָ֔ יֹאכְלֵ֖מוֹ כַּקַּֽשׁ׃ (ח) וּבְר֤וּחַ אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ נֶ֣עֶרְמוּ מַ֔יִם נִצְּב֥וּ כְמוֹ־נֵ֖ד נֹזְלִ֑ים קָֽפְא֥וּ תְהֹמֹ֖ת בְּלֶב־יָֽם׃ (ט) אָמַ֥ר אוֹיֵ֛ב אֶרְדֹּ֥ף אַשִּׂ֖יג אֲחַלֵּ֣ק שָׁלָ֑ל תִּמְלָאֵ֣מוֹ נַפְשִׁ֔י אָרִ֣יק חַרְבִּ֔י תּוֹרִישֵׁ֖מוֹ יָדִֽי׃ (י) נָשַׁ֥פְתָּ בְרוּחֲךָ֖ כִּסָּ֣מוֹ יָ֑ם צָֽלֲלוּ֙ כַּֽעוֹפֶ֔רֶת בְּמַ֖יִם אַדִּירִֽים׃ (יא) מִֽי־כָמֹ֤כָה בָּֽאֵלִם֙ יקוק מִ֥י כָּמֹ֖כָה נֶאְדָּ֣ר בַּקֹּ֑דֶשׁ נוֹרָ֥א תְהִלֹּ֖ת עֹ֥שֵׂה פֶֽלֶא׃ (יב) נָטִ֙יתָ֙ יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ אָֽרֶץ׃ (יג) נָחִ֥יתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ֖ עַם־ז֣וּ גָּאָ֑לְתָּ נֵהַ֥לְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ֖ אֶל־נְוֵ֥ה קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃ (יד) שָֽׁמְע֥וּ עַמִּ֖ים יִרְגָּז֑וּן חִ֣יל אָחַ֔ז יֹשְׁבֵ֖י פְּלָֽשֶׁת׃ (טו) אָ֤ז נִבְהֲלוּ֙ אַלּוּפֵ֣י אֱד֔וֹם אֵילֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹ רָ֑עַד נָמֹ֕גוּ כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י כְנָֽעַן׃ (טז) תִּפֹּ֨ל עֲלֵיהֶ֤ם אֵימָ֙תָה֙ וָפַ֔חַד בִּגְדֹ֥ל זְרוֹעֲךָ֖ יִדְּמ֣וּ כָּאָ֑בֶן עַד־יַעֲבֹ֤ר עַמְּךָ֙ יקוק עַֽד־יַעֲבֹ֖ר עַם־ז֥וּ קָנִֽיתָ׃ (יז) תְּבִאֵ֗מוֹ וְתִטָּעֵ֙מוֹ֙ בְּהַ֣ר נַחֲלָֽתְךָ֔ מָכ֧וֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ֛ פָּעַ֖לְתָּ יקוק מִקְּדָ֕שׁ אדושם כּוֹנְנ֥וּ יָדֶֽיךָ׃
(1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said: I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea. (2) The LORD is my strength and might; He is become my deliverance. This is my God and I will enshrine Him; The God of my father, and I will exalt Him. (3) The LORD, the Warrior— LORD is His name! (4) Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the pick of his officers Are drowned in the Sea of Reeds. (5) The deeps covered them; They went down into the depths like a stone. (6) Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the foe! (7) In Your great triumph You break Your opponents; You send forth Your fury, it consumes them like straw. (8) At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, The floods stood straight like a wall; The deeps froze in the heart of the sea. (9) The foe said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall have its fill of them. I will bare my sword— My hand shall subdue them.” (10) You made Your wind blow, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the majestic waters. (11) Who is like You, O LORD, among the celestials; Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in splendor, working wonders! (12) You put out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. (13) In Your love You lead the people You redeemed; In Your strength You guide them to Your holy abode. (14) The peoples hear, they tremble; Agony grips the dwellers in Philistia. (15) Now are the clans of Edom dismayed; The tribes of Moab—trembling grips them; All the dwellers in Canaan are aghast. (16) Terror and dread descend upon them; Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone— Till Your people cross over, O LORD, Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed. (17)
Where have you experienced awe? When? Did the experience of awe influence your life in any way? What brings awe to your eyes and reverence into your heart?
Awe is a human experience of the transcendent piercing apparent reality, a glimpse of the supreme within the mundane. However it may come to us, a moment of awe gives us a small taste of the cosmic mystery, and an intuitive intimation of the divine. Awe does not protest phenomenal reality; rather it offers direct affirmation of the eternal that lies within the worldly. Awe is the invitation to seek, delivered directly to the heart.
Awe—does it belong to either category, the eternal or the ephemeral. Is the experience of awe an invitation or is it the show?
(י) רֵ֘אשִׁ֤ית חָכְמָ֨ה ׀ יִרְאַ֬ת יקוק שֵׂ֣כֶל ט֭וֹב לְכָל־עֹשֵׂיהֶ֑ם תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹ עֹמֶ֥דֶת לָעַֽד׃
(10) The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD; all who practice it gain sound understanding. Praise of Him is everlasting.
The Sages taught that God grants to humans everything except for the "the fear of the heavens." Read along with this Psalm, the lesson suggests that wisdom lies in a particular purview of humankind. What is this purview of "the fear of heavens?" In other words, what wisdom is there in orienting oneself to the awe/fear of the heavens?
Awe inspired by God's magnitude, exaltedness, and awesome power never leaves a person or parts from them all the days of their life. It is the gateway to pure love and intense yearning.
Out of all human yearnings and strivings, is awe one a central one we aspire for? Is it central to you? Why is that the case?
To what may awe be likened? To the tremor of fear that a father feels when his beloved young son rides his shoulders as he dances with him and rejoices before him, taking care that he not fall off. Here there joy that is comparable, pleasure that is incomparable. And the fear tied up with them is pleasant too. It does not impede the freedom of dance.
Have you ever lived on the edge of the line separating—yet yourself overlapping both—joy and fear?
(12) And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the LORD your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
Think of the commandment to respect one's parents. How does fear/awe interact with, or breed, love and loving relationship? When have you experienced too much fear/awe? Have you ever experienced too much love and not enough fear/awe from someone, especially from a respected person?
Awe causes us to distance ourselves from God, not to become overly familiar, to take God's presence for granted. But this yir'ah also exists in balance with love. If the love of God brings me close to the One, what place is there for awe and distance? This paradox is answered by a well-known mystical reading of the Song of Songs: "His left hand is beneath my head, while His right hand embraces me" (2:6). The left hadn't of God, representing din [judgement], seems to insist on yir'ah, to demand a distance between God and the soul. But even as that left hand of God pushes me away, I know that God also embraces me to draw me near.
Consistent in these texts is the understanding that God is the source of Awe. When do you feel close to the source of Awe? When do you feel distant from the source of Awe?
Rabbi Simcha Bunam of Pzhysha once said to his students: "Everyone must have two pockets, so that he can reach into the one or the other, according to his needs. In his right pocket are to be the words: 'For my sake was the world created,' and in his left: 'I am but dust and ashes.'"
The grandeur of Awe often inspires the smallness of humility. Humility ennobles and denigrates; it is perhaps the midah/trait that is most difficult trait to balance out. How do you take Rabbi Bunam's teaching to heart?
The only language that seems to be compatible with the wonder and mystery of being is the language of music. Music is more than just expressiveness. It is rather a reaching out toward a realm that lies beyond the realm of verbal propositions. Verbal expression is in danger of being taken literally and of serving as substitute for insight. Words become slogans, slogans become idols. But music is a refutation for human finality. Music is an antidote to higher idolatry. While other forces in society combine to dull our mind, music endows us with moments in which the sense of the ineffable becomes alive.
No comment. Just listening and feeling and...transcending.