In last week's Parsha, the Jewish people fled from the Egyptian army only to find the YamSuf blocking their path of escape. They pleaded to Hashem and Hashem miraculously split the sea before them, allowing them to escape. The Egyptians, who had followed them drowned. Their bodies were spat out by the sea, onto the shore by the feet of the Jewish people. Upon seeing their enemies dead in front of their eyes, and realizing the great miracles that were performed for them, the Jewish people broke out in song, thanking Hashem for their salvation. The Song, as we all know, is AzYashir, the ultimate expression of praise and thanks to Hashem. Although there is much to be learned from the words of this song, there is something about its structure that needs clarification.

In Tefillah there is a general rule that the doubling of the last stanza signifies the conclusion of a song. For example, Pesukei D'Zimrah ends with the doubling of the verse "Kol neshama tihallel  kah hallelukah," "Let all souls praise G-d, Hallelukah!" But in AzYashir this rule is not followed exactly. After the doubling of "Hashem yimloch li'olam va'ed," "Hashem shall reign for eternity." The song continues with the words "Ki vahsus Paroh..." When Pharaoh's cavalry came..." Why?

Rav Hutner in his sefer Pachad Yizchok quotes the Maharal in answering this question. The Maharal says that for a song of praise of Hashem to have an ending implies that there is a finite amount of praise available to be given. That would be a disgrace to Hashem, because it is impossible to adequately express praise of Hashem. To rectify this issue, the last passuk of "Az Yashir" is links the end of the song to the beginning. It is to be read like this; "When Paroh's cavalry came... into the sea and Hashem turned back the waters of the sea upon them the children of Israel walked on dry land amid the sea.... (go back to the beginning) Then (Az) Moshe and the children of Israel chose to sing (Yashir)...." The result is one endless circle of praise of Hashem. The ultimate song that never ends - constantly expressing our appreciation of everything Hashem does for us.

Now that we know that Az Yashir is the greatest expression of thanks that we can possibly give, we can ask the following question. In this week's Parsha we find that Yisro the convert is the first to say "Baruch Hashem." The Gemarah in Sanhedrin (92a) quotes Rabbi Papyas,"It is to the discredit of Moshe and the six hundred [Jews who experienced the Exodus] that they did not say Baruch Hashem [upon being saved from the Egyptians], until Yisro came and said Baruch Hashem." Rabbi Dovid Goldberg in his Sefer "Shiras Dovid" asks if "Az Yashir" is the ultimate expression of gratitude, isn't that a lot better than "Baruch Hashem"?

It is possible to answer with the following Abudraham (circa 1340). The Abudraham explains that the seven praises cited in the Tefillah "Ubimakheilos" (recited as part of the Morning Prayers on Shabbos) represent the seven levels of Heaven. We learn from this, that praising Hashem has to be on all levels. It is not enough to go to the highest and seemingly all encompassing level of praise. One has to touch on all levels, in order to express true appreciation for what Hashem does for us. From this we can learn a lesson concerning all areas of service of Hashem. All too often as we grow in our observance we tend to focus on the "bigger and better" while giving less significance to "minor" aspects of Judaism. May we fully appreciate all aspects of Judaism and in that merit help to bring Moshiach, speedily and in our days.