Parshat Shavua B'Shalach, Shabbat Shira, and Shiloh

Celebrating 29 Years Back in Shiloh!

How ironic, the Parsha, Torah Portion of the Week, B'Shalach, which tells of the Jewish People's complaints about lack of water in the early stages of the trek out of Egypt, is read on what is frequently a very rainy Shabbat.

It was a rainy and stormy night when we got together to celebrate 29 years since the Jewish People returned to Shiloh, its ancient capital. As we like to do on such occasions, we reminisced about the early days.

The first post 1967 Six Days War Jewish pioneers had planned to settle in Shiloh before any other location. The group which ended up in Ofra had wanted to be in Shiloh, since Shiloh was Joshua's capital and where the Mishkan, Holy Tabernacle, was for 369 years. The problem was that the government stipulated that Jewish groups could only go where there were habitable buildings. What is today Ofra had some old barracks, so they ended up there.

In B'Shalach, (Exodus 13:17-17:16), davka after experiencing G-d's miracles, the Jewish People lose their nerve and say:

"Why did you have to bring us out here to die in the desert? You should have just left us alone to work for the Egyptians!" (Exodus 14:11-12)

Acharai! It takes Nachshon's bravery, marching into the sea and not stopping, even when the water reached his nostrils, for the sea to split.

Water, yes, water.

In Egypt water wasn't a problem; there was always enough from the Nile. We can't live without water, and the Jewish People, fresh out of the "security" of slavery went into a panic. No water.

There aren't too many natural water sources here in Israel, and stories of the early days in the various yishuvim are frequently about the lack of it.

I'll never forget that first Shabbat we spent in Shiloh 26 years ago. We arrived a couple of hours before Shabbat and were impressed by everyone's welcoming warmth and friendliness.

Shiloh then consisted of an old building converted into a synagogue and yeshiva, and the people lived in "tromasbestim," caravans (rickety reinforced, cardboard trailers.) There were also a few pre-fab cement structures.

Everyone looked clean and ready for Shabbat. Suddenly we noticed that people were all excited:

"Water has arrived!"

"What?" I asked.

"We had run out of water, and a new tankful just arrived, and it's now filling up our little storage tank."

I couldn't believe it. We had almost spent an entire Shabbat in this isolated community of young families, lots of babies and no water! What had we gotten ourselves into?

By the end of Shabbat, the water had again run out, but by then I was totally enamored with the place and its people. Also, I knew that I had to learn how to adapt the שלוה shalva, peaceful confidence and calm I had encountered in Shiloh.

It was the heroism of the women which made modern settlement of the Land of Israel possible. My neighbors who established modern Shiloh are like Miriam in this parsha and Dvora and Yael in the Haftara.