Thursday 12 April 2012

Standing for the Shirah

It is my opinion that the standing for the Torah Reading of the Shirah stems from the standing for the Sh'chinah - along the lines of standing for Kiddush/Birkat L'vanah

Follow the bouncing ball

At the Yam we said Zeh Eili at the Revelation of the Sh'chinah at the Yam Suf.

In Parshas Hachodesh it says Hachodesh Hazzeh. The Talmud says that the common nexus between the 2 cases of "ZEH" is Kabbolat P'nei Hashchincah

We therefore stand for Kiddush L'vanah because it is related to the revelation on the yam by means of ZEH. It stands to reason that if Birkas L'vanah is a reminder of Zeh Eili, then Kol shekein the Laining of Shiras Hayyam itself - that contains the very passuk Zeh Eili - should require/suggest standing

By extension Maamad Har Sinai involved a Kabbolat P'nei Hashchincah - witness "illuy Kervanu Lifnei Har Sinai v'lo bassan lanu es hattorah" that the revelation of the Sh'chinah is itself noteworthy.

This answers the Rambam's difficulty of "How can We stand for some P'sukkim and not for others?

The answer is not that the words themselves are any better rather -when laining certain events - we recall the Revelation of Sh'chinah, and therefore we stand just as we do at Kiddush L'vanah.

This begs the question - why not stand for Parshat Hachodesh, too?

Sanhedrin 42
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מסכת סנהדרין פרק ה

דף מב,א גמרא

וא"ר אחא בר חנינא א"ר אסי א"ר יוחנן כל המברך על החדש בזמנו כאילו מקבל פני שכינה כתיב הכא (שמות יב) החדש הזה וכתיב התם (שמות טו) זה אלי ואנוהו תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל אילמלא <לא> זכו ישראל אלא להקביל פני אביהן שבשמים כל חדש וחדש דיים אמר אביי הלכך נימרינהו מעומד


Hag Kasher v'Samei'ach,
RRW

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