The Song of Miriam

This week’s Parsha contains the Song of Moses, known as the Shira. It is a song of praise upon the Exodus from Egypt. This song of praise contains some of the loftiest language found in the Torah. What is curious is the fact that after the Song concludes, the Torah tells us of Miriam’s Song. According to the Torah, Miriam took musical instruments and sang a song with the women. The excerpt given to us by the Torah is identical to the Song of Moses theme. The questions we confront is why the Torah felt the need to give us the extraneous material that merely duplicates that which has already been described. Why do we need to know that Miriam had a song of praise comparable to Moses? Moses was the nation’s leader; Miriam, a righteous woman, was not in an equal position. Why is she mentioned at this time?

An answer offered by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik is that Miriam gets her “due” at the time of the Exodus due to a past deed she had performed. Miriam stood by the basket of Moses when he was placed in the Nile. She guarded the life of Baby Moses. When Moses reaches his pinnacle of success, Miriam is given mention due to the value of HaKarat HaTov–the need to be grateful. The Torah “thanks” Miriam for her selfless act at this time in order to show how she facilitated the Exodus story. She too is therefore mentioned at the time of Redemption from Egypt.

The Sefer HaChinuch tells us that respect for parents, a paramount obligation, is based on the human obligation to express gratitude. Our families may not be perfect but we must take the time to be thankful for what they have done and will continue to do. It is true for parents, siblings and children. Being grateful is a basic Jewish value; have you told a loved one ‘thank you” of late? It is always a good time to do so.