Shabbat Parshat Beshalach - 5763
“Shabbat Shira”
The Feminine Spirit of Prophecy

Parshat Beshalach contains the magnificent “Shirat HaYam,” the Song of the Sea, sung by Moshe and the Children of Israel after the miraculous splitting of the Sea of Reeds. Following the “Shirah,” the Torah relates (Shemot 15:20-21) “And Miriam the Prophetess, the sister of Aharon, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam called to them ‘Sing to the L-rd, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has He thrown into the sea.’”

Miriam began her prophecy in Egypt, when she foresaw that Amram and Yocheved would produce the “redeemer of Israel.” And indeed, according to the Midrash, when Moshe was born, and light filled the house, Amram saw that his daughter’s prophecy had been fulfilled. It was Miriam also who succeeded in having Yocheved nurse her baby. And Miriam’s nurturing continued throughout the Generation of the Wilderness, as the miraculous Well of Miriam accompanied the people throughout its wandering.

The Talmud in Masechet Megilah 14a identifies the seven women in Jewish history who were endowed with the gift of prophecy: “...Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Chanah, Avigayil, Chuldah and Esther.”

An incident in Sefer Bereshit is cited in which Avraham and Sarah are engaged in a conflict over whether to send Yishmael away. HaShem intervenes on the side of Sarah, who favors banishment, telling Avraham (Bereshit 21:12), “Whatever Sarah says to you, heed her voice.” On these words, Rashi comments, “We learn from this that Avraham was on a lower level than Sarah in prophecy.”

In the Haftarah, taken from the Book of “Shoftim,” Judges, Chapters 4 and 5, we encounter Devorah, the Prophetess and Judge, who was the leader of her generation, as the fourth of the fifteen Judges. This alone was a unique situation, to have a woman as leader, as well as a Torah scholar, about whom it is written (Shoftim 4:5), “And the Children of Israel came up to her for judgment.” She is pictured as engineering the victory of Israel over Yavin, king of Canaan, and his huge army, commanded by the great general, Sisera. Devorah offers command of the army of Israel to Barak ben Avinoam, who refuses to go unless accompanied by Devorah. Devorah agrees but informs Barak that he has forfeited the chance to be remembered as a hero, for the victory over Sisera will be attributed mainly to herself and to Yael (who, as it turns out, will plunge a tent peg into the head of the sleeping general).

After the victory, Devorah sings a song to HaShem, which is the reason that this Haftarah was selected to be read on “Shabbat Shira,” the Sabbath of Song. Her song concludes with the immortal lines (Shoftim 5:31), “So will be destroyed all Your enemies, O G-d, but those who love Him, will be as the sun, rising in its might...”

Chanah, the mother of “Shmuel HaNavi,” Samuel the Prophet, whose story appears in I Samuel (1-2:11), prays for a son with such intention and devotion that many of the Laws of Prayer are derived from her behavior. When HaShem answers her prayers, she responds with another immortal song of gratitude and prophecy. In Megilah 14a we find “In Scripture it is written, ‘And Chanah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the L-rd, my horn is exalted in the L-rd’. (I Samuel 2:1) ‘My horn is exalted’ and not ‘my pitcher is exalted.’ This means that the dynasties of David and Solomon, who were anointed with oil from a horn, will be prolonged, while the dynasties of Shaul and Yehu, who were anointed with oil from a pitcher, will be cut short.’” The entire prayer of Chanah is also interpreted as a prophecy concerning Sancheriv, Nevuchadnezzar and Haman (Yalkut Shimoni, Shmuel).

Avigayil, the wife of Naval, who intercepts with a load of provisions David and his band of warriors who are on their way to kill her husband and his shepherds, because Naval has insulted David and denied him any provisions, blesses David and prophecies concerning him (I Samuel 25:28-29), “For the L-rd will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fights the battles of the L-rd, and evil has not been found in you all of your days. Though a man rises to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord is bound in the bond of life with the L-rd your G-d, and the souls of your enemies shall He sling out, as out of the hollow of a sling...”

Chuldah the Prophetess, who appears in II Kings (22:14-20), identifies the holy manuscript that had been found in the Temple as the warnings of HaShem to the City of Yerushalayim that it faces destruction for its sins, but that Yoshiyahu the king will be spared because of his repentance.

(Incredibly, Arutz-7 reports today, 1/13/03, the discovery on the Temple Mount of an inscribed stone tablet from the time of Yehoash, King of Yehudah. The black stone tablet contains ten lines of Phoenician script and appears to describe activities carried out by Yehoash in the First Temple some 2,700 years ago. The inscription corresponds to the Biblical account as recorded in II Kings 12, including King Yehoash’s call to the kohanim (priests) to collect money from the public for the purpose of renovating the Temple)

Chazal identify Chuldah as one of the three prophets of the generation (the others being Tzafaniah and Yirmiyah). They say also that she prophesied to the women, as Miriam had sung to the women, and as the Midrash says concerning Avraham and Sarah, regarding the reference “...and the souls that they made in Charan” (Bereshit 12:5); namely, that Avraham would preach to the men and Sarah would preach to the women.

Queen Esther, the Prophetess, for whom the Megilah is named, of course needs no introduction, nor do her deeds require elaboration. The Sages (Megilah 14a) interpret the reference “And Esther put on her royal apparel” (Megilat Esther 5:1), as meaning that she clothed herself with the spirit of prophecy.

Thus, we see that these seven great women who as bearers of life, had keen senses of human nature as well as an inexhaustible reservoir of love for their children and their people, were rewarded also by HaShem with the gift of prophecy.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel

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