by Rabbi Dov Ber Weisman
This Shabbat is one of the few throughout the year that is given a special name. The day we read Parshat Beshalach is called Shabbat Shira (the Shabbat of Song), commemorating the glorious and awe-inspiring event when, after the miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Children of Israel simultaneously burst forth into a song of praise to Hashem.
This Shabbat is one of the few throughout the year that is given a special name. The day we read Parshat Beshalach is called Shabbat Shira (the Shabbat of Song), commemorating the glorious and awe-inspiring event when, after the miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Children of Israel simultaneously burst forth into a song of praise to Hashem. However, beyond giving praise to Hashem for miraculously saving us, the concept of shira (song) has a far deeper significance in correlation to our mission and goal in life.
The great Talmudic sage Hillel taught in Ethics of Our Fathers, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" The Chiddushei Harim, a great Chassidic Rebbe and one of the outstanding Talmudic scholars of the 19th century, explains that everyone is born with certain G-d given talents, strengths, and perceptions; has his own unique personality traits, likes, and dislikes; and is born and raised in a specific environment, with specific parents, siblings, etc. All of these factors are given to each one of us individually as our special tools with which to accomplish our own unique mission in life. Therefore, by definition, no two people are exactly alike since each human being has his own unique situations and circumstances. No two people relate to Torah in exactly the same manner. No two people perceive an event in exactly the same way. Each person has his own unique perceptions of life's experiences.