B’SHALACH SHABBAT SHIRA 5772

AS MIRIAM AND THE WOMEN SANG...

Then Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went after her in dance … and Miriam chanted for them, Sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider has He cast into the sea. [Exodus 15: 20, 21]

O my dove … let me see your face; let me hear your voice, for your voice is aruv (sweet) and your face is comely. [Song of Songs 2: 14]

Miriam took timbrel in hand and led the women in this one verse song. Some unanswered questions are: Did the women sing after the men had finished or did they sing at the same time and if so were there separate venues? If they sang after the men had finished, did the men listen to them, as they did to the men?

The answers to these questions depend on whether one accepts the restrictions of what is called kol isha, i.e., that man must not hear a woman’s voice in song. The recent incident in the Israeli Army when “religious” men walked out of a program in their base because women soldiers were singing became front page news and heightened public awareness of the issue.

The background to this ban is a cryptic comment by Shmuel, a third century sage whose teachings and opinions are accorded great weight by the Talmud and later authorities. He reinterpreted one word in the beautiful verse in Song of Songs when the young lover says of his beloved, thy voice is aruv – sweet, to ervah, often translated as sexual incitement. (BT Br’achot 24a) This reading became the basis of forbidding men to listen to women sing, lest the “erotic” experience cause an explosion of male hormones.

This restriction is consistent with other limitations placed upon women in public places e.g., the Synagogue, and continues to be operative in many, but not all, Orthodox circles and Congregations. Those who abide by this tradition perceive it as a halachic norm to be observed no less than other halachic rulings. They interpret the text “and Miriam chanted for the women” that she and all the women sang by themselves at the far end of the camp far from the earshot of the men. This interpretation of the women singing separately buttresses the ban of kol isha.

The text can also be interpreted that Miriam and the women sang along with the men in what was a total community celebration of the miracle at the sea. This view rejecting Shmuel’s reading of aruv as ervah affirms that the sweet sound of women in song is a delight, and has an added dimension of sweetness and spirituality when raised in praise of God.

Congregation Shirah Chadasha (lit. New Song) is today one of the most popular synagogues in Jerusalem. The mechitza, drawn vertically down the center, separates men and women, and the Service follows the Orthodox liturgy. Yet women not only sing there with great gusto, but they also lead sections of the Service and read from the Torah. While this is commonplace in non-Orthodox services, Shirah Chadasha identifies itself as an Orthodox Synagogue.

Kol isha continues to resonate within segments of the Jewish world, but the voices of women are heard in many Orthodox Services even as many Orthodox men attend concerts and plays where they enjoy the sweet sound of women singing.

The Army will ultimately work out a compromise to respect the religious sensitivities of those who observe the ban of kol isha. The haredim, on the other hand, will continue to construct more and more boundaries for gender separation based on Samuel’s teaching. Yet his insistence that we replace aruv with ervah will continue to be rejected by the vast majority of the community including many who are committed to a halachic observance.
We who read aruv, perceive Miriam and the women singing side-by-side with men openly, sharing with them the great joy of God’s deliverance. This is as it should be, and I believe the sounds of women in song is no less favorable in God’s eyes (and ears) than the song of men.

May we all experience special moments in which we sense God’s presence in our lives, and may our joy find expression in the songs we sing to Him and to one another.

From the holy city of Jerusalem, Rae joins me in wishing all a Shabbat shalom u’mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and of blessing and fulfilling.

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
Senior Rabbinic Scholar
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
February 2, 2012
9 Shevat 5772