The Song of the Sea is probably the oldest poem in continual liturgical use on the planet. Newly liberated from Egypt, newly saved from the threatening Egyptian army, our ancestors burst out in song. Exuberant in its militancy, it is a celebration of violence.
This makes a lot of people nervous. Some prayer books omit it altogether. Others fudge the translation. As Ellen Frankel wrote, “The fact is that, although the ancient Egyptians are long dead, we are still uncomfortable gloating over their defeat….we would rather not purchase our victory at another people’s expense.”
Isn’t that nice?
There’s only one problem: with what to the best of my knowledge is the singular exception of Sweden peacefully granting independence to Norway in 1905, victories are always purchased at another people’s expense.
And that puts us in a quandary. As Rabbi Elliot Dorff has written, “…there is something disturbing and even embarrassing about this song…the image of G-d as a warrior is probably not what most of us have in mind when we think of G-d or what we have in our heart when we pray to Him.”
There’s a popular word for this attitude. It’s called “privilege.” Trust me, our ancestors were neither “disturbed” nor “embarrassed,” and were perfectly happy to “gloat over the defeat” of their tormentors.