Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam called out to them, “Sing to Hashem, for He is very exalted; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.” (Shemos 15:20-21)
After all the spontaneous song over the destruction of the Egyptian army and the splitting of the Red Sea, we are finally treated to a snippet of the small sample of the concert performance of Miriam and the womenfolk. It’s a little curious why these specific words are chosen. Out of the entire grandiose experience of witnessing the amazing salvation of the entire Nation via the direct hand of G-d, Miriam’s choir is caught up with the refrain about the horse and its rider being tossed into the sea. Why is that point in particular singled out by the female singers?
There is a curious Mishnah in Makkos that analyzes why the Torah needed to add that three witnesses are valid to put a perpetrator to death. If two witnesses do the job, then what value is there in adding a third? In order to properly appreciate Rabbi Akiva’s solution, it is first important to know what a zomeim witness is. When witnesses give testimony, they are imposing a judgment on the person being testified about. It might cost him money, or it might cost him his life, depending on the nature of the accusation. There is a reflexive clause in the Torah that puts the witnesses themselves equally at risk. If it is found out that they, the witnesses, were somewhere so distant from the event they claim to have seen that it is impossible for them to have actually witnessed anything of the sort, then they are visited with whatever they are trying to do to the accused, whether it is money, lashes, or life itself. The third witness is not necessary for the establishment of the testimony, but his joining in puts him at risk, and he shares the exposure with the first two claimants. There is an inherent and perhaps object lesson implied here.
About this, Rabbi Akiva says that the third witness in the group only comes to be stringent on him and that you would make him a zomeim (even though the third person in the group is not necessary for forming a valid group of witnesses). And if the Torah punishes those who assist transgressors as it does transgressors, all the more so reward will be paid out to those who assist in the performance of mitzvos as it is to those who perform mitzvos. (Makkos 1:7)
The women who are exiting Egypt now are excited by the splitting of the sea because they saw the largest impediment had just been removed, and they are one giant step closer to Mount Sinai and the reception of the Torah. The only problem is that the men are absolutely required to study the Torah, while the women are not saddled with that obligation.
The Talmud asks and answers: “What is the great merit of our women? That they educate their children, encourage their husbands to go out and learn Torah, and wait for them until they return from the study hall.” (Berachot 17a) Women play a critical role in helping their husbands and children learn Torah. What value, what benefit do they get? Miriam alerted the women about this point, and they were cheering about that. What had the horses of the Egyptians done so wrong that they deserved to be thrown into the sea? They were only helping their masters. Well, they were punished too for that assistance. How much more so is there a reward for those who help with mitzvos.
RABBI LABEL LAM
