B'Shallach: The Timbrel Players Matter Too

Let's be honest; the Torah is not the most egalitarian of books. Part of it has to do with being an ancient document produced in an era of near-total patriarchy, and part of it is because the notions of equality, fairness, and issues facing women simply didn't exist in their worldview. I try not to judge

the Torah too harshly for this bias, while also challenging the text - and us, as readers - to give voice to the women of our heritage. After all, they were there too, and suffered all the same slavery, oppression, and violence as the men... if not more so! And for a 2,500-plus year old document, there actually ARE many opportunities to highlight the women of the Bible. Their stories are indeed IN the text... we just need to stop, notice them, and raise them up to an equal level with the other, more male-centered sagas. Take Miriam, for instance.

Not only is Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, a frequently reoccurring character in the Exodus story, but the Torah goes out of its way to mention her role in one of the most dramatic scenes anywhere in the Bible!

The Israelites have escaped slavery... BUT Pharaoh and his chariots change their mind, and they pursue them into the desert. Miraculously, God splits apart the Sea of Reeds, so the Israelites can sprint across on dry land; and as soon as the Egyptians follow them down this path, God hurls the water-walls back onto the chariots, drowning everyone! In celebration, Moses and the people break out in (seemingly) spontaneous song, praising God for their liberation and freedom! Then the text tells us, "Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels. And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to the LORD, for God has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver God hurled into the sea!" (Ex. 15:20-21) This seems a bit odd. If "all" the people already sang the previous, longer song with Moses, why single out Miriam and the women as chiming in with a shorter version of the same refrain??

It is especially interesting, considering we haven't heard anything from Miriam since she watched over Moses' basket when he was an infant, and we won't read about her again until the Book of Numbers. THIS is her moment!

Perhaps the text wants to remind us that this was not a military battle; a clash of two powerful armies. But rather, Pharaoh's entire army attacking a band of slaves, but just male slaves, but women and children as well. They too could have been slaughtered, and they too were redeemed at the Sea. Again, even though the Torah is hardly a champion of women's rights, it does have its moments of acknowledging the role of women in our history and in our tradition. Miriam is recognized as a leader - even named a prophetess - and is shown praising God in her own way, and bringing the women of Israel along with her.

It has become an iconic moment too. The wonderful folk musician, Debbie Friedman (of blessed memory), wrote a piece called "Miriam's Song," which is entirely dedicated to these women at the Song of the Sea. Many progressive

Passover Seders these days include a Miriam's Cup along with their Elijah's Cup, and if you looked to purchase such a thing from a Judaica store, you would likely find one with a painted image of Miriam and another woman or two, and they'd be holding - you guessed it - timbrels. Sometimes we excuse non-inclusive behavior, because it's based on history or text or tradition. But if you remove the bias and just *read* the text (or even ponder history for just a moment...), we know that women were there for all of it, and so were people of different race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and even gender identity. Was it recognized and valued? No. But now that it is, and now that we're striving towards equality and trying to root our values in our heritage, we have every reason to highlight the timbrels and focus on these stories. After all, they were there too.


CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. BenediktGeyer on needpix.com
2. StockSnap on pixabay.com
3. The Sarajevo Haggadah on Wikimedia Commons
4. Israel Giftware Designs on Amazon.com