Song Preparing Land's Conquest

ענין השירה זו שלא נזכר בה מרע"ה

The matter of this shirah (song) is that Moshe Rabbeinu is not mentioned within it.

The shirah in Chukas (the song of the well) notably leaves out Moshe Rabbeinu, unlike the Shiras HaYam which opens with "then Moshe and Bnei Yisrael sang." This absence is the question the piece sets out to address.

כי שירה זו הי' הכנה לביאת הארץ ולמלחמות עם מלכי האומות כדכתיב רוממות אל בגרונם וזה לחרב פיפיות בידם

For this shirah was a preparation for the entry into the Land and for the wars against the kings of the nations, as it is written, "The lofty praises of Hashem are in their throat," and "this is the double-edged sword in their hand" (Tehillim 149:6).

The shirah's purpose was to ready Bnei Yisrael for conquering the Land, pairing spiritual praise ("the praises of Hashem in their throat") with the power of the sword in their hand — praise of Hashem and victory go hand in hand.

וכתי' תשורי מראש אמנה

And it is written, "You shall behold from the top of Amanah" (Shir HaShirim 4:8).

He brings a pasuk from Shir HaShirim about beholding from the heights of Amanah as a hint connected to shirah and the entry into the Land.

דרשו חז"ל על שירת הים

Chazal expounded this concerning the Shiras HaYam (the Song at the Sea),

Chazal applied that pasuk of beholding from Amanah to the Shiras HaYam, linking the act of shirah to the act of emunah.

דכתי' ויאמינו

as it is written, "and they had emunah" (Shemos 14:31).

The proof is that after the splitting of the sea Bnei Yisrael "had emunah," tying the shirah directly to emunah (echoing the word "Amanah").

מראש שניר וחרמון י"ל על שירה זו שהי' בעת מלחמת מלכי אמורי שהוא שניר וחרמון

"From the top of Senir and Chermon" (Shir HaShirim 4:8) — one may say this concerning this shirah, which was sung at the time of the war against the kings of the Emori, who are Senir and Chermon.

The continuation of the pasuk, "from Senir and Chermon," is read as pointing to this shirah of the well, since it accompanied the war against the kings of the Emori associated with those mountains.

ובודאי שירות האלו היו התעוררות משמים בפיהן של בנ"י כדכתיב אז ישיר שבא להם דברים אלי בפיהם כדכתיב ואשים דברי בפיך

And surely these shiros were an arousal from Shamayim placed in the mouths of Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "then Bnei Yisrael sang" (Bamidbar 21:17), for these words came to them into their mouths, as it is written, "and I have placed My words in your mouth" (Yeshayahu 51:16).

Both shiros were an arousal from Shamayim placed by Hashem in the mouths of Bnei Yisrael rather than a human composition; "then they sang" implies the words were given to them from Above, as the pasuk "I have placed My words in your mouth" shows.

ושירת הים הי' הכנה לתורה שבכתב וזהו לנטוע שמים

And the Shiras HaYam was a preparation for the Torah Shebichsav (the Written Torah), and this is the meaning of "to plant the heavens" (Yeshayahu 51:16).

The Shiras HaYam corresponds to and prepared Bnei Yisrael to receive the Torah Shebichsav, which the pasuk expresses as "planting the heavens."

ושירה זו לתורה שבע"פ ולארץ ישראל וזה וליסוד ארץ

And this shirah was a preparation for the Torah Shebe'al Peh (the Oral Torah) and for Eretz Yisrael, and this is the meaning of "and to lay the foundation of the earth" (Yeshayahu 51:16).

The shirah of the well corresponds to the Torah Shebe'al Peh and to Eretz Yisrael, expressed by "laying the foundation of the earth" — earth representing the grounded, applied dimension of avodah.

ועמ"ש מזה בשביעי של פסח

And see what is written about this in the piece for the seventh day of Pesach.

He refers the reader to his fuller treatment of these themes in his piece for the seventh day of Pesach.

וכתיב לישרי לב שמחה

And it is written, "for the upright of heart, gladness" (Tehillim 97:11).

He cites the pasuk linking uprightness of heart with gladness, introducing the role of inner joy in this avodah.

ובודאי כפי התיקון שנמצא בנפשות ולבות בנ"י ובאין לשמחה לשורר לפניו ית' מתוך שמחת הלב שזה עדות השירה על עבודה השלימה שלהם בזה הכח מנצחין אח"כ האומות

And surely, in accordance with the tikkun (rectification) found in the neshamos and hearts of Bnei Yisrael, they come to gladness, to sing before Him Yisbarach out of the joy of the heart — and this is the testimony that the shirah bears regarding the completeness of their avodah; and through this power they afterward prevail over the nations.

When the neshamos and hearts of Bnei Yisrael are rectified, genuine joy wells up and they sing before Hashem; that very shirah testifies to the wholeness of their avodah, and this inner power is what enables their later victory over the nations.

ומעין זה קודם התפלה דשעת צלותא שעת קרבא הקדימו שירה ופסוקי דזמרה כדאיתא בגמ' אין עומדין להתפלל אלא מתוך שמחה של מצוה:

And of this same nature is that which precedes the tefillah, for since "the time of tefillah is the time of battle," they placed before it shirah and Pesukei DeZimra, as is brought in the Gemara, "one may stand to daven only out of the joy of a mitzvah" (Berachos 31a).

The same dynamic applies before daily tefillah: since davening is likened to battle, we precede it with shirah and Pesukei DeZimra, because, as the Gemara teaches, one may stand to daven only out of the joy of a mitzvah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the shirah of the well in Chukas leaves out Moshe Rabbeinu, and answers that this shirah was specifically a preparation for entering Eretz Yisrael and waging the wars against the kings of the Emori — a setting in which praise of Hashem and victory in battle are bound together, for "the praises of Hashem in their throat" become "the double-edged sword in their hand." Drawing on the pasuk "behold from the top of Amanah... Senir and Chermon," he pairs two shiros that came as an arousal from Shamayim: the Shiras HaYam, which prepared Bnei Yisrael for the Torah Shebichsav ("planting the heavens"), and the shirah of the well, which corresponds to the Torah Shebe'al Peh and to Eretz Yisrael ("laying the foundation of the earth"). The deeper principle is that genuine shirah arises from the joy of the heart once the neshamah is rectified through tikkun, and this song bears testimony to the completeness of Bnei Yisrael's avodah — the very inner power that grants them victory over the nations. He concludes that this is why we precede the tefillah, itself a kind of battle, with shirah and Pesukei DeZimra, for one may stand to daven only out of the joy of a mitzvah.