By Cantor-Rabbi Penny S. Myers

‘Gone Girls’

In this week’s parsha, בשלח Beshalach, we revisit one of the most significant moments in our history, יציאת מצרים, ye’tziat mitzrayim (going out of Egypt) or as we commonly call the ‘Exodus’.

The narrative within Beshalach describes the celebration after the Israelites crossed through the sea of reeds. This is one of only two sections in our entire Torah scroll that is not formatted in typical עמודים amudim (columns), the vertical columns we observe in 52 out of the 54 parshayot in Torah. שירת הים  Shirat HaYam (song of the sea) is different. I believe this design presents itself like the sea. Half column on left, full column in center, half column on the right. I fancy looking at this section in Torah because it reminds me of waves that are undulating in a body of water.

When the שיר shir (song) is over and the sofer (scribe) resumes formatting the text in vertical columns, suddenly Miriam the prophetess appears. Without much chronicling of Miriam within our Torah, she is one of the first woman to be bestowed with the name ‘prophet’ and it was only at this point.

It makes me wonder why her voice is muted for much of Torah, and yet this second time she appears she is named a prophetess. We met her in the beginning of the Book of Exodus and now, she reemerges in the narrative, albeit at the end of the song when they reached the shores. 

Native fellow Buffalonian, Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell, writes in The Women’s Torah Commentary, ‘Water is a central metaphor in the unfolding of the exodus narrative’ she continues, ‘But tradition teaches that Miriam is the true source of the waters that nourish people throughout parts of their travels through the wilderness.’ Nevertheless, Miriam’s presence materializes in drips and drabs throughout their sojourn through the wilderness and is “hidden” until book of Numbers.

The Haftarah portion to Beshalach is from the Book of Judges and features two of the strongest female characters we have in any of our readings. How fortunate to have three women’s narratives on the same Shabbat! Out of nowhere these radical, bold, biblical women suddenly appear. 

Hashem instructs Deborah to send Barak into battle against the Canaanites, with promise of victory. Deborah tells Barak that he will not be able to claim the victory, as Sisera was overpowered by the hand of a woman (Judges 4:9).

Sisera escapes to the house of Yael where he believes he is safe as there was peace between these two households. He was wrong. Yael kills Sisera by driving a tent peg directly into in his head.

I’ve always wondered why strong female voices are mostly muted within the entirety of Torah and yet, Miriam, the Prophetess, helped sustain an entire people who depended on her for water. Deborah, the Judge, was also a prophetess who an entire people depended on for judgment (Judges 4:5).

Just like cupping water in our hands which ultimately disappears through our fingers. Miriam and Deborah appear and then their narratives slip through the parchment.

May your individual voices continue to resonate throughout our community, may you continue to have the strength to endure during this difficult era in our world, and may you continue to be visible, even when and especially when you feel invisible.

Cantor-Rabbi Penny S. Myers, founder of Kehillat Chesed, an independent minyan, serves as Regional Chair of the Cantors Assembly and is a member of the Cantors Assembly Executive Council.