Torah Portion Summary
The sixteenth reading from the Torah is named Beshalach, which means "when he sent." The title comes from the first verse of the reading, which can be literally translated to say, "And it happened when Pharaoh sent out the people." The reading tells the adventures of the Israelites as they leave Egypt, cross the Red Sea, receive miraculous provision in the wilderness, and face their first battle.
Haftarh Portion Summary
The Haftarah for parashat Beshalach concerns the leadership of the prophetess Deborah (דְּברָה), during the murky period of history when the judges (שֹׁפְטִים) ruled Israel. It was Deborah's practice to sit beneath a certain palm tree (תָמָר) between Ramah and Bethel where the people would come to seek justice and a verdict from heaven. One day she sent for a man named Barak (בָּרָק), telling him that the LORD commanded him to take an army of ten thousand to Mount Tabor (הַר תָּבוֹר) where he would rout the Canaanite army of King Jabin. Barak, however, refused to go unless she accompanied him. She agreed, but foretold that because of this, Sisera (the chieftain of the Canaanite army) would be felled by the hand of a woman and not by Barak.
Deborah then went to Kadesh and Barak assembled an army of 10,000 Israeli warriors. When Sisera heard the news, he arrayed 900 iron chariots and a large Canaanite army to meet them at Mt. Tabor. As Deborah had foretold, the LORD routed the armies of Sisera and no Canaanite soldier escaped the edge of the sword; however, Sisera escaped on foot and hid himself in the tent of Yael (יָעֵל), a Kenite woman (i.e., a descendant of Moses' father-in-law Jethro, the Midianite). When Sisera fell asleep exhausted, Jael drove a tent peg through his temple and he died. The Israelites then went on from the main battlefield into the territory of King Jabin, razing the inhabitants until King Jabin himself was killed.
On the day of their victory, Deborah and Barak sang a song of victory to the LORD (commonly referred to as the "Song of Deborah"). Because of Deborah's courageous leadership, Israel then experienced quiet for 40 years.
B'rit Chadashah Portion Summary
There are a number of parallels between the Torah portion and the selection from the Gospel of John. For example, Yeshua's power over water (i.e., walking on water) alludes to the miraculous crossing of the Sea of Reeds; Yeshua calling Himself the "Living Bread" and the "Bread of Life" alludes to the giving of the manna; and Yeshua's statement that all who believe in Him shall never thirst alludes to the miraculous flow of water at Rephidim, and so on. Indeed it is fascinating to note that the Apostle Paul correlated this life-giving Rock (renamed the "Well of Miriam" in later Jewish tradition) with the Messiah (1 Cor. 10:4). In other words, Yeshua Himself was the Source of Life for the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness of Sinai. He was the Living Waters then, just as He is today.... The Cup of Miriam we use at our Passover Seder, then, commemorates the Presence of Yeshua as the Jews trekked their way to the Promised Land. Paul draws further analogies to warn the Corinthians against the sin of idolatry (1 Cor. 10:1-5).