The Emanuel Synagogue religious school students practice their musical selections for Shabbat Shira.

Shabbat Shira, the annual Shabbat service devoted to song that commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and their crossing of the Red Sea on dry land, fell this year on Saturday, Jan. 11. And, to mark the occasion, children from The Emanuel Synagogue Religious School in West Hartford participated in a musical service, followed by a special program focusing on the theme of risk-taking based on faith. Judith T. Fox, the school’s director of education, told a story illustrating the positive impact that can be had by taking a risk for faith – such as leaving Egypt and following God’s command to march into the Red Sea. Students and their parents then shared stories of their own risk-taking and related what they learned from these experiences.