Shabbat Shalom!
“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.” What question might be asked about this verse from the Torah reading B’shalach, which precedes a one-verse proclamation in song celebrating the Israelites’ successful crossing of the Red Sea/Sea of Reeds? I can just imagine a student in a Religious School class asking, “How did the women have hand-drums if they had all just been slaves in Egypt? Where did they get musical instruments?” In fact, the rabbis asked this very question. The Torah: A Women’s Commentary explains, “Like a mother who remembers to pack all the necessities for a family trip, the women’s confidence that God would deliver them made them bring these instruments along.” A rabbinic midrash suggested that the people “knew that God would perform miracles and mighty deeds when they left Egypt, so they prepared hand-drums and flutes.”
Every day of our lives is a journey which can be marked with challenges or with the possibility of small victories or even miracles. “Preparing for the worst” need not prevent us from “hoping for the best,” but we should also consider “preparing for the best” by expecting that moments of triumph, gratitude and joy will come our way. We may not have hand-drums, flutes, or other instruments ready at our side, but our own outpouring of emotion through internal melody or visible signs of contentment will serve as our own orchestra and ensemble for moments of celebration. May we have many opportunities in our lives to sing new songs of hope, thanks and praise for what we have, who we are and who we can become individually and as one community!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
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