Song of the Sea: Which God is This? Jan. 27, 2026
Shalom,
That greeting alone, “Shalom—Peace”, is so integral to our Jewish tradition. We have a middah (soul trait) about pursuing peace (rodef shalom), we have a one about peace in the home (shalom bayit), and striving for a sense of wholeness bears the same root as Shalom (Shleimut). Multiple times of day, we recite the Oseh Shalom (and other versions like Shalom Rav and Sim Shalom as examples) in our liturgy. So, Shalom—Peace is integral to our tradition, our Jewish world view, and, hopefully, our way of being in this world.
We see the strife throughout the world, in our beloved Land of Israel and the Middle East, and even in our own nation and we are naturally troubled by the lack of Shalom in our moment. And, as we approach this Shabbat, the Sabbath of Song—Shabbat Shira, as our Jewish world has developed the custom of a music filled Shabbat a question arises for me. In the text of the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15) verse three reads, “Adonai, the warrior, Adonai is his name,” and another translation reads, “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.” (Koren Bible) In our flight from Egypt, seeking a new reality, and just after experiencing a miraculous escape through the parted sea, we sing out God exclaiming God as a warrior, a God of war, as a Divine judge.
Our textual tradition, while Shalom is pervasive throughout, holds many…many examples of God as violent, warrior-like, and judging. Look at Psalm 82, the Psalm recited every Tuesday morning in our tradition depicts God as declaring judgment. It is hard to move through life seeking peace, when our tradition leans also on a seemingly vindictive and judgemental, even violent, God.
It is moments like this that I turn back to a view I hold about our text and our tradition, even our Jewish memory (read: history). The material, the content, of our beloved Jewish tradition is our people’s expression of our lived experience perhaps more so than a detailed account of history, in other words it is our memory. The Song of the Sea holds, in lyrical presentation, our teacher Moses’ expression of jubilation following a narrow escape. It is our people’s exclamation what they experienced: Pharaoh's chariots engulfed in the waters. The Psalmist in Tuesday’s Psalm is yearning for judgment to reflect a higher justice, one that serves all.
So, back to my question. With Shalom so integral to us, how do we hold depictions of Divinity as violent, warrior-like, and of war? I do not have an answer except to attempt to hold both. I respond to this apparent contradiction by knowing that our lived experience, our Jewish memory motivates us to seek and pursue peace knowing there is conflict, injustice, and violence still in our world and so our task remains: Seek and pursue peace.
As we welcome this coming Shabbat, the Sabbath of Song, and notice a violent moment to others born out of our pursuit of freedom replete with a miracle of miracles, may we know gratitude for our freedom and discern ways to alleviate suffering for others, resolve conflict, right injustice, and subdue violence in our world.
Shavua Tov—To a Good, Whole, and More Peaceful Week,
Rabbi Evon
