As a nursemaid carries an infant he was held in the hands of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He knew “Hakadosh Baruch Hu is managing this; I trust Him completely, with closed eyes.”
This is the meaning of the puzzle. Each person's life is made of puzzle pieces; things happen that seem random and inexplicable. Why was I there? Why did I meet that person? Why did that happen to me? And then, years later, a piece clicks into place and suddenly you see the whole picture was being assembled all along. One man told me the following story at a shiur in Ramat Gan: he had been a senior member of a corporate board, a prestigious and well-paying position. One day the chairman called him in and dismissed him, without explanation and without cause. He felt humiliated. He walked out crushed. Then he said: “Ribbono Shel Olam, You know why; I do not.” And he moved on.
Some time later, the company was caught up in a corruption scandal. Every member of the board was arrested in a single night, spending between one week and two months in detention. Every member – except him. He had not been invited to a single lunch. Nothing. He had nothing to do with it. And then he said: “Ribbono Shel Olam, how good that You removed me from there. Happy is my portion!"
That is the nature of the puzzle. You do not see it from within, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a plan. And in that plan, you are a piece. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will not abandon you. He is running the whole thing – the One riding upon seven.
Moshe Rabbeinu, when he saw the suffering increase, did not yet see where the אָ ז was going. His mistake was not evil intent – it was incomplete trust. And so, when the puzzle finally completed, the sea split, the enemy drowned, Bnei Yisrael stood on the other shore, and Moshe sang: א ָ ז י ָ שׁ ִ י ר. Now, he said, the circle is closed.
What is a שׁ ִ י ר – a song? The Gemara (Shabbat) says: an animal goes out in a שׁ ִ י ר on Shabbat. What is a שׁ ִ י ר in this context? A ring – something circular, like a loop. When Eliezer brought bracelets to Rivka it says צְמִ ידִ ים עַל יָדֶ יהָ – Bracelets on her hands. The word used for bracelets is related to שׁ ִ י ר – a circular band. A שׁ ִ י ר is something that forms a closed circle.
When a circle closes, when the pieces of the puzzle come together and you see the whole picture, that is the moment of שׁ ִ י רָ ה. That is why Moshe sang. He saw how every step of the suffering had a purpose: the increased quota of bricks, the oppression, the apparent worsening – all of it was necessary to complete the tikkun, to bring the Geula into full form. The circle closed.
And Miriam? Why did she take a תּ ֹף – a drum and sing together with all the women? Because a drum – a תּ ֹף – is circular. A closed circle. Miriam had been five years old when she prophesied that her parents should reunite because a savior of Bnei Yisrael would be born from them. When Moshe was born and the house filled with light, her father Amram kissed her. Three months later, when Moshe was placed in the Nile, Amram struck her: “Where is your prophecy now?” She could say nothing. Eighty years passed. Moshe grew up, received his mission at the burning bush, led Bnei Yisrael through the makkot, and brought them to the sea. How long was it from the moment of Miriam's prophecy to the moment it was fulfilled? Eighty years. When the circle closed – eighty years later – Miriam took a drum. The closed circle. The תּ ֹף is her circle; she had her own rotation.
And when a person's circle closes, it brings them to שׁ ִ י רָ ה. Moshe Rabbeinu said: “Now, seeing how You have led the world, seeing every detail of how it unfolded – א ָ ז י ָ שׁ ִ י ר. Now I can sing. Not because I understand the whole picture. But I see enough to know: the circle closed. The One rides upon seven, and it is all held together.”
