SOLU Israel (סולו ישראל) is an indigenous Hebrew-speaking worship ministry based on the edge of the Judean Desert. The name comes from Isaiah 57:14: סֹלּוּ סֹלּוּ פַּנּוּ דֶרֶךְ ("Solu solu panu derech", "Build up, build up, prepare the way"). The verb solu is a qal imperative plural of ס.ל.ל ("to pave, build up a road"), the prophet's call to clear the road for the return of the people to their land. The collective writes contemporary Hebrew worship songs rooted in biblical and liturgical texts, performed bilingually.
Exodus 15:1-18 is the Song of the Sea, sung by Moses and the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, watching Pharaoh's army drown behind them. It is the first song in the Torah, and one of the oldest passages of Hebrew poetry preserved anywhere. In Jewish liturgy, it is recited every morning in the Pesukei d'Zimra (verses of praise) of Shacharit, and it is the haftarah moment on the seventh day of Pesach.
The opening words "Az yashir Moshe u'vnei Yisrael" ("Then Moses and the children of Israel sang") use an unusual imperfect verb to describe a past action, read by the rabbis as a sign that the song belongs to every generation, sung again whenever God delivers. The opening line of V1 ("ashira l'Adonai ki gao gaa, sus ve-rochevo rama vayam") is the chorus of Shirat HaYam.
Exodus 15:2 contains one of the most-quoted lines in Jewish prayer: "Ozzi v'zimrat Yah, vayehi-li lishu'ah" ("The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation"). Note the short divine name יָהּ (Yah), used here for poetic reasons (the long Tetragrammaton יְהוָה appears in 15:1). Yah is the root of Halleluyah ("praise Yah") and many theophoric names (Yeshayahu / Isaiah, Eliyahu / Elijah).
The verse continues: "Zeh Eli ve-anvehu, Elohei avi va-aromemenhu" ("This is my God and I will glorify Him, my father's God and I will exalt Him"). The verb anvehu is from a rare root נ.ו.ה ("to beautify, glorify"); va-aromemenhu is a polel form of ר.ו.ם ("to be high, exalt"), these are the two verbs of praise that bracket the verse.
This is one of the most famous lines in the prophetic books. The prophet Zechariah (late 6th century BCE) is shown a vision of a golden menorah fed by two olive trees, and the angel interprets: "Lo b'chayil ve-lo b'koach, ki im b'ruchi, amar Adonai Tsva'ot", "Not by might, and not by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). The verse was addressed to Zerubbabel, the governor rebuilding the Second Temple, and the message is: this rebuilding will not succeed through political/military strength but through divine spirit.
The line is famously sung in modern Hebrew worship (Debbie Friedman's setting, this SOLU Israel arrangement, and countless others). Chayil usually means "army / valor / strength"; koach means "power / capacity". The pair is exhaustive, every form of human strength. Ruach ("spirit / wind / breath") is the counterweight.
The opening of the liturgical Al HaNissim insertion reads "al ha-nissim ve-al ha-purkan..." (without "kol"). SOLU Israel's title "Al Kol HaNissim", "for all the miracles", adds the universalizing word kol, broadening the prayer's scope beyond Hanukkah/Purim to every miracle in every generation. This phrasing also resonates with Psalms ("kol ha-nifla'ot", all the wondrous works) and is theologically inclusive, every salvation, ancient or contemporary, falls under the same praise.
נֵס (nes), plural nissim, comes from נ.ס.ה / נ.ס.ס, "to be elevated, lifted up like a banner". A miracle is something raised above the natural order, like a flag on a pole. נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla'ot) is the plural of the niphal participle of פ.ל.א ("to be wonderful, surpassing"), wonders, things beyond ordinary capacity.
1. Master V1 and V2 first, they are direct Torah quotations and the most repeated parts of the song. Knowing them by heart connects you to a 3000-year-old liturgical tradition recited every morning in synagogue.
2. The bridge (V4, Zechariah 4:6) is short and powerful, ideal for memorization. It's also one of the most-quoted prophetic verses in modern Hebrew, so learning it pays dividends beyond this song.
3. For SOLU Israel's full English chorus and the bilingual structure of the recording, follow the song on Chordify, YouTube, or Spotify. The Hebrew you learn here will let you sing along with the verses; the chorus is in English in their arrangement.