Two Torah readings -- Parashat Beshallah and Parashat Yitro -- contain some of the most dramatic scenes in the early national life of the Jewish people. In Parashat Beshallah, we read Shirat ha-Yam (Song of the Sea) and the following week in Parashat Yitro we read the ‘Aseret ha-Dibberot (Ten Commandments). The S&P tradition distinguishes these readings with special te'amim (musical notes). Below are recordings of these two distinctive sections: Shirat ha-Yam – fourth aliyah of Parashat Beshallah Sung by Rabbi Ira Rohde, Hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel, New York http://www.shearithisrael.org/content/beshallah-fourth-aliyah ‘Aseret ha-Dibberot – sixth aliyah of Parashat Yitro Sung by Rabbi Rohde http://www.shearithisrael.org/content/yithro-sixth-aliyah Shirat ha-Yam, which begins with the words “Az Yashir,” is also a familiar part of the daily, Sabbath, and holiday Shaharit liturgy, with its own distinctive and beloved tune that is also used for Baruch Haba in Hallel and for Bendigamos. Below are three local variants, from Amsterdam, Bordeaux, and London. Az Yashir liturgical tune, Amsterdam tradition Sung by the late Rev. Abraham Lopes Cardozo (1914-2006), a native of Amsterdam, and later Hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel http://old.piyut.org.il/tradition/2051.html?currPerformance=2689 Az Yashir liturgical tune, Bordeaux tradition Sung by Hazzan Adolphe Attia http://old.piyut.org.il/tradition/2052.html?currPerformance=2687 Az Yashir liturgical tune, London tradition Historical recording, 1950s http://www.londonsephardimusic.org/files/Music/Shabbat/8_WS1_AzYashirMoshe.mp3