Sefer Miriam: Shiru L'Adonay/ Sing Right Now (IV)

(28) The waters turned back and covered the chariots and the riders—Pharaoh’s entire army that followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. (29) But the Israelites had marched through the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left... (1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Oneness. They said: I will sing to Oneness, for It has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver It has hurled into the sea....(18) Oneness will reign for ever and ever! (19) For the horses of Evil Speech, with their chariots and riders, went into the sea; and Oneness turned back on them the waters of the sea; but the God-wrestlers marched on dry ground in the midst of the sea. (20) Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, picked up a hand-drum, and all the women went out after her in dance with hand-drums. (21) And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to Oneness! For It has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver It has hurled into the sea....

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances. And Miriam called out to them: 'Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously…'"

One must consider: Why does the verse emphasize that she led all the women out? What is it teaching us? And also, the word "and with dances" (u-bemacholot) seems superfluous—yet in our holy Torah, not even a single letter is unnecessary.

Additionally, why did Moses say, "I will sing to the Lord" (Ashira), in future tense, while Miriam said, "Sing to the Lord" (Shiru), in present tense?

It seems this passage hints at a deeper mystery based on what is stated in the Talmud:

"In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will form a circle (machol) for the righteous, and He will sit among them, and each one will point with his finger, saying: 'Behold, this is our God for whom we have hoped'" (Talmud, Ta’anit 31a).

Rashi explains that machol means a circle, like the circle of a vineyard.

To understand this, consider:

Before creation, the divine infinite light (Ein Sof) was boundless. But when it arose in His simple will to create the world, He contracted His light (tzimtzum), forming a circular space (the iggul). Afterward, He extended a straight line (kav yashar) into the void, and through this, the worlds were created.

This structure means that the higher worlds receive and influence the lower worlds, like a giver and receiver (mashpia u-mekabel). The higher world bestows light upon the lower world, and the small must learn from the great.

This system of giver and receiver (duchra v’nukva, masculine and feminine) creates hierarchy—some stand at the head, some at the end, and those closer to the beginning are nearer to the infinite.

But in the future, each soul will be perfected, refined back to its root. The outer shells (klipot) will fall away, and the divine light will shine equally upon all creation. Then, the circle and the line will be equal—there will be no more giver and receiver, all will receive the divine light directly.

Just as in a circle dance (machol ha-kerem), where no one stands ahead or behind—the center is equally close to all—so too, in the future, all will grasp divine truth equally. As the verse says:

"They shall no longer teach one another, saying 'Know the Lord,' for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest" (Jeremiah 31:33).

This is the meaning of the Talmudic teaching: "In the future, the Holy One will make a circle for the righteous and sit among them." There will no longer be giver and receiver, only direct awareness of divine light.

This is also why we circle with the Torah on Hoshana Rabbah and Shemini Atzeret—as in the verse: "The female will encircle the male" (Jeremiah 31:21)—to draw down this future divine light where giver and receiver no longer exist.

This was Miriam’s insight. She led the women out in a dance (machol), forming a circle, symbolizing the future state where masculine and feminine, giver and receiver, will be equalized.

This is why Moses sang in the future tense ("I will sing"), because his song came from a world where hierarchy still existed—where the light had not yet fully descended. He sang in anticipation of a greater revelation to come.

But Miriam’s song was immediate—Shiru la-Hashem!—because in her dance of encirclement, she already drew down the higher light, reaching a level beyond grasp, where all distinctions dissolve.

This is the meaning of the verse:

"And Miriam took the timbrel… and all the women followed her with timbrels and in dances"—meaning, she led them in a circular dance (machol ha-kerem), manifesting the future light where giver and receiver are one.

And this is why she declared: "Sing now!"—for in that moment, they had already reached the highest perception possible.

(3) בתפים ובמחלת WITH TIMBRELS AND WITH DANCES — The righteous women in that generation were confident that God would perform miracles for them and they accordingly had brought timbrels with them from Egypt (Mekhilta).

...And furthermore, she intended that, as a prophetess, even in a time of distress, she needed to take the tambourine to awaken the prophetic power..."And therefore, she needed to awaken prophecy through the tambourine, as it is written (I Samuel 16:23), 'And when the musician played,' meaning that the song was also to be said with divine inspiration." For this is the nature of prophecy while awake, which is a level higher than her usual prophetic experience.

(5) In another chamber, Yocheved comes, the mother of Moshe the faithful prophet, and so many thousands and thousands of women with her. In this chamber, there is no announcement at all, but three times each day, she acknowledges and praises the Ruler of the world, she and all the women with her. They sing the Song of the Sea every day, and she herself recites from "And Miriam the Prophet...took her timbrel in her hand..." (Shmot 15:20). And all these righteous women there in Gan Eden listen to her pleasant voice, and countless holy angels acknowledge and praise the holy Name with her.

(1) מרים הנביאה, “Miriam the prophetess;” the word “prophetess” is used here to describe Miriam’s extraordinary ability of oral expression, like when it says "And Aaron your brother will be your prophet."

In the meantime, two brothers came to the marketplace. Elijah said to Rabbi Beroka: These two also have a share in the World-to-Come. Rabbi Beroka went over to the men and said to them: What is your occupation? They said to him: We are comics, and we cheer up the depressed. Alternatively, when we see two people who have a quarrel between them, we strive to make peace.

(10) This is (Exodus 15:21), Vataan Lahem Miriam Shiru L’Hashem (“Miriam led them in song, ‘Sing to God’”), the first letters of which form the word ShaLOM. <In other words,> through <the voice> they merited peace.

(2) And this is the explanation of the verse (Isaiah 61:10), "Joy, I will rejoice in the Lord": This means to say that a person rejoice in that which they brings joy with their actions to the Holy One, blessed be They. And that is the understanding of "joy" - that I am joyful and happy about that which "I will rejoice in the Lord," that I cause joy, that I bring joy to the Creator, blessed be They; as it were, I bring joy. And our master, our teacher, our rabbi, the holy light, our teacher, the rabbi, Rabbi Dov Berish, may his memory be for a blessing in the world to come, also spoke about this verse in this fashion: "Joy, I will rejoice in the Lord" - that I will rejoice in that which I made the Creator, blessed be They, rejoice with commandments. However our words are that I rejoice in [the actual reality of] that which I cause joy to the Creator, blessed be They. And that is an obligation for every person, that they should rejoice in that which the holy God rejoices in them and delights in their service. And behold, if a person is modest and say, "What am I, and what is my life, that I should cause joy to the Creator, blessed be Them," they should then understand in their heart and say in their heart, "This is truly one of the kindnesses of the Divine and of the wonders of the the Creator, blessed be They, that humans who are formed from material should cause joy, pleasure and happiness to the Power of the powers and the Master of the masters, who is higher than all the high and loftier than all the lofty." It is like the poet said (Psalms 104:31), "may the Lord rejoice in Their creatures (maasav, those that They made)." And it is "in maasav," in the world of action assiyah, the lower world, that they make a pleasant spirit for the Creator, blessed be They. Since God, blessed be They, [derives] a pleasant spirit from people that are from the seed of God-wrestlers, Their servant; from these great delights, They brings down the bountiful flow to all Created, Formed and Made. And so too wrote the hymnist, "They set up and cast Their cornerstone in order to delight in Their fear."

(21) And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to Oneness, for They have triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver They have hurled into the sea. (22) Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur...

(12) “And Moshe had Israel travel from the Red Sea ….” (Shemot, 15:22)
When Moshe Rabeynu saw that Miriam the Prophetess sang the song at the sea, then he knew that it was time for them to move on from their place.