Miriam's Sea Song

The Feminine Version of Moses' Famous Shirat Hayam

What's in a song?

In this week's Soul of the Parsha shiur we dive deep into Miriam's sea song – the feminine version of Moses' famous shirat hayam. Three interpretations by the great Chassidic master the Maor vaShemesh elucidate three stages in the evolution of feminine spirituality. Enjoy!

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Parsha Beshalach: Womanspirit Rising

Notes starting minute 52:

... According to the Arizal, there is Infinite light before creation. He has a desire to create the world, He creates a sphere, a circular space, and He pushes His light to the side, the light is still there but it appears empty, but it is full from His Perspective. Then He brings a line of light into the space, like a thread of light into this empty space and from that line of light all the worlds were created, each world is a circle that echoes the original surrounding light of Hashem. The surrounding light is that He is everywhere at the same time, permeating all the worlds equality, regardless on how much Torah we know. It is in the holiest and least holiest to the same degree. The line is the filling light.If it is a small vessel this is a little light. If we grow and mature, we have more filling light. Someone who is more tzaddik has more light.

Circle & Line

There is a circle and a line. On the line, we can point to where we are on the line. There are tzaddikim all the way down. The circle, the surrounding light, in that, everyone is equal.

How can Moshe be more humble than anyone on earth? He assumes someone else could have done a better job if they had the same merits. That is being attuned to the surrounding lights.

We need to appreciate the hierarchy, that we learn from teachers and teach others, we have a purpose and place in the hierarchy. However, we have to have the feeling of the surrounding light. We need to see that everyone is totally equal. If we have a circle of all the lines, turn the wheel, each is the top of its own hierarchy.

If we see someone and we judge someone as more or less, it is not true. we can find a perspective that he does it better than anyone else. From a circle perspective, everyone is the best at something, he is the top point on that line. Thus we are all equal. there are endless ways of looking at things and each is the King of his own universe. This is the surrounding light perspective.

Regardless if someone has a large vessel or a small vessel, a king or taking care of a garden, each is doing what he is supposed to be doing and in that realm he is the king of the nation or the king of the garden and in that way, regardless of the vessel size, we are all equal. there is no high or low.

In the circle point of view there is no way of judging which is superior to another. Everyone is equal.

From the point of view of behira, on the filling light, we see that Moshe's song came from that linear masculine perspective where there is higher and lower. Moshe brings the Torah. In our era, we are forced to use hierarchies to see who is greater than whom. We can't fill anything without this perspective. Women's song is outburst in the moment. Miriam was able to embody and convey how the surrounding light was experienced at the moment, everyone equal, attuned to the correct perspective where we are all perfected. the surrounding light perspective can be adopted by the woman spirit - Miriam - and see how everything is equally good.

When we do hakafot, it is gratefulness for rain and for Torah. Everyone is dancing in circles, connected to the surrounding light. When we are, in the future, connected to that light, we will see how each is connected.

We are on guard against an overly hierarchical perspective that "takes away" the "right" to the surrounding lights. This is not up to us to do, to diminish anyone. We really do not know anything when it comes to understanding what each other knows. We want to bring the surrounding lights more and more into the world and letting go of the judgmental hierarchy way we see other people.

The role of the feminine is to pull down light into the circles to bring it into the surrounding lights. The circle preceded the line, but it equalizes feminine and masculine spirituality. We need both at the same time.

I absolutely love this shiur and what Miriam is suggesting...here is why...both of them are leading us past what feels like our hearts to our true heart and identity. What I heard rabbi Menussi saying is we are attentive viscerally to what is "like" our heart, namely all our natural reactions. By learning more Torah, we find our true heart, a plane of existence where we see the peaceful silent strength of Hashem and know He is doing everything and we are here to bring forward that light from our true heart.

-SK