Pesach5 min read

Miriam Packed Tambourines Before the Sea Split

While Israel packed silver and gold, Miriam and the women packed tambourines. Nobody told them the sea would split. They brought instruments anyway.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Question Nobody Asks About the Verse
  2. Miriam's Earlier Argument
  3. Pharaoh's Daughter at the River
  4. The Faith That Was Already Done When the Sea Split

The Question Nobody Asks About the Verse

Miriam took the timbrel in her hand, the verse in Exodus says, and led the women in song and dance after the crossing of the Red Sea. Most readers skip past the detail and stay with the song. The Mekhilta stopped at the timbrel and asked the obvious question that everyone else had been skipping: where did it come from? The Israelites had left Egypt in haste, fleeing a country that had enslaved them for over two hundred years, moving on foot into a desert with no certain destination. They had taken food and borrowed silver and gold. Who packs musical instruments for a desperate flight into the wilderness?

The answer in the Mekhilta is precise. The righteous women, the tzadkanyot, knew with absolute certainty that God would perform miracles on their behalf during the Exodus. Not hoped. Not believed. Knew. They had packed the tambourines in Egypt before they left because they had already decided the instruments would be needed. They brought them through the plagues, through the night of the tenth plague, through the flight from the city, down to the shore of the sea, and then through the crossing. On the eastern bank, the instruments came out. The song was waiting for them.

Miriam's Earlier Argument

The faith that carried the tambourines to the far shore of the sea had been demonstrated thirty-plus years earlier, when Miriam was a young girl watching her father divorce her mother. Pharaoh had decreed that all newborn Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile. Amram was the leader of the Sanhedrin, and he made a decision. If the boys would be drowned anyway, there was no point in having them. He divorced Jochebed. All the other Israelite men followed his example, separating from their wives, hoping that preventing births was better than watching infants murdered. Hope died in Egypt that day, and Amram had killed it.

Miriam argued with him. She told her father his decree was worse than Pharaoh's. Pharaoh's decree applied only to boys, she said. Her father's decree eliminated girls as well. Pharaoh's decree threatened life in this world. Her father's decree threatened life in the world to come. Pharaoh was wicked. Her father was righteous. A wicked man's decree might not be fulfilled. A righteous man's decree would be. She talked him back. He remarried Jochebed. All the other men remarried their wives. Moses was born three months later.

Pharaoh's Daughter at the River

When Moses was three months old and could no longer be hidden, Jochebed put him in a basket in the Nile, with Miriam watching from a distance to see what would happen. Pharaoh's daughter came to the river to bathe, and the tradition preserved in the Talmud's tractate Sotah says she was not bathing for cleanliness. She was immersing herself to wash away the spiritual contamination of her father's idolatry. Rabbi Yohanan, in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai, said she was converting to the God of Israel, the act of immersion marking her transition from her father's world to something else.

Her handmaidens tried to stop her from taking the basket. She was the king's daughter. The king had issued the decree. His household, above all, was expected to observe it. She overruled them. The angel Gabriel struck all the handmaidens dead. What remained was a princess standing in the Nile, a basket before her, a Hebrew baby inside, and a choice that she made alone, without witnesses who were still alive to report it. She lifted the child from the water. Miriam materialized from the reeds and offered to find a Hebrew wet-nurse. Pharaoh's daughter agreed. Miriam went and returned with Jochebed, who was paid by the royal household to nurse her own son.

The Faith That Was Already Done When the Sea Split

The tambourines at the far bank of the Red Sea were not a spontaneous response to an unexpected miracle. They were the culmination of a long demonstration that some people in Israel had been running for decades. Miriam had demonstrated it when she challenged her father. She had demonstrated it watching the basket in the reeds. She had demonstrated it standing at the side of a princess and offering to solve the problem. The women who packed their tambourines before leaving Egypt were her students in a curriculum whose lesson was the same every time: act as though the miracle is coming because the miracle is coming, and have the instrument ready for the song.

PesachMiriamSong Of The SeaWomenExodusProphecyRed Sea
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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Mekhilta Tractate Shirah 10:16Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

The Mekhilta asks a practical question that most readers skip right over. The verse says Miriam took "the timbrel in her hand" and led the women in song after the crossing of the Red Sea. But where did the timbrels come from? The Israelites had just spent forty years worth of preparation fleeing Egypt in haste. They were in the middle of a desert. Who packed musical instruments?

The answer reveals something extraordinary about Israelite faith. The righteous among them, the tzaddikim (a righteous person) (the righteous), knew with absolute certainty that God would perform miracles and mighty acts on their behalf when they left Egypt. They were so certain of divine deliverance that they prepared celebration materials in advance. Before they knew how God would save them, before the sea split, before the Egyptian army drowned, they packed timbrels and dance instruments alongside their unleavened bread.

This detail transforms our understanding of the Exodus. The Israelites were not merely fleeing in panic. At least some of them were preparing to celebrate. They carried the tools of joy into the wilderness because they trusted that joy was coming. The timbrels were an act of prophetic faith, physical objects that declared: we will have reason to dance.

They were right. When the sea closed over the Egyptians and Miriam raised her timbrel, those instruments were not improvised. They had been waiting in Israelite bundles since the night of departure, packed by people who believed in miracles before they saw them.

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Legends of the Jews 4:37Legends of the Jews

The familiar version gives us the big picture: slavery, plagues, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the individual choices, the moral dilemmas, the moments of despair and resilience that shaped those times?

Let’s rewind, back to the moment Pharaoh issued his horrifying decree: every newborn Hebrew boy was to be thrown into the Nile. Imagine the terror, the grief. According to Legends of the Jews, this is when Amram, a leader of the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court) – that’s the Jewish high court – made a radical, heartbreaking decision. He believed the situation was so dire, so hopeless, that the best course of action was for husbands and wives to separate completely.

Can you Ceasing to bring children into such a world?

Amram, as a respected leader, set the example. He divorced his wife. And because of his standing, the men of Israel followed suit.

Now, why Amram? Why did his decision carry so much weight? Well, he wasn’t just any leader. He was a Levite, a member of the tribe of Levi. Legends of the Jews highlights that the tribe of Levi remained remarkably faithful to God even in the face of Egyptian oppression. While other tribes faltered, even abandoning the sign of the covenant – brit milah, circumcision – and seeking favor with the Egyptians, the Levites held firm.

The text goes on to tell us that this wavering faith of the other tribes had consequences. According to this account, God turned the Egyptians' former fondness for the Hebrews into a burning hatred, fueling their desire for the Hebrews' destruction. It’s a stark reminder of the connection between faith and fate as seen through this lens.

Initially, Pharaoh resisted the Egyptians' malicious plans. Remember, it was Joseph, a Hebrew, who had saved Egypt from famine. Pharaoh argued, "We owe everything to these Hebrews! Are you crazy?" But the Egyptians were relentless. They actually deposed Pharaoh, imprisoning him for three months until he relented and agreed to carry out their genocidal plan.

Talk about a fall from grace! A ruler forced to turn against the very people who had brought prosperity to his kingdom. According to Legends of the Jews, Pharaoh then sought to bring about the ruin of the children of Israel by every conceivable means. This was the "retribution they had drawn down upon themselves by their own acts".

It makes you wonder, doesn't it? About the weight of our choices, both individually and collectively. About the consequences of losing faith, and the enduring power of those who hold steadfast. These early chapters in the story of Exodus, as recounted in Legends of the Jews based on earlier sources, are a powerful reminder that even in the darkest of times, hope and resilience can still flicker.

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Legends of the Jews, IV. Moses In Egypt, Miriam Rebukes Her Father and Moses Is BornLegends of the Jews

The story of Moses' birth is a powerful evidence of that kind of bravery, laced with faith and a touch of the miraculous.

It all begins with a decree from Pharaoh, ordering the death of all newborn Hebrew boys. A truly horrific situation. Amram, a prominent Israelite, decides to separate from his wife, Jochebed, thinking it's better to prevent births than to have his sons murdered. This decision, though understandable, causes a ripple effect throughout the community. Everyone follows suit, and hope seems to dwindle.

It's Amram’s daughter, Miriam, who steps up with a profound and insightful argument. “Father," she says, "your decree is worse than Pharaoh's!" According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, she points out that Pharaoh only targets the boys, while Amram's decree prevents all future life, girls included. It's a powerful and persuasive critique, highlighting the long-term consequences of despair.

Amram, recognizing the wisdom in her words, brings the matter before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. They agree that he was the one who initiated the separation, so he should be the one to reverse it. And so, in a public display of renewed hope, Amram remarries Jochebed under a wedding canopy. Aaron and Miriam dance, and according to tradition, the angels themselves proclaim, "Let the mother of children be joyful!"

This remarriage isn't just a personal decision; it’s a spark that ignites a wave of hope throughout the Israelite community. Others follow Amram's example, returning to their wives and rekindling the possibility of a future. The text even suggests that Jochebed, despite her age, is rejuvenated, her youth returning as a sign of divine favor.

But pregnancy brings new anxieties. Amram turns to God in prayer, begging for deliverance from the suffering of his people. And in a dream, God reassures him. He promises that the child Jochebed carries will be the very one who will deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian oppression. This child, the dream reveals, will be hidden from those who seek to destroy him, and his memory will be celebrated for generations, even among strangers. His brother will establish a priestly lineage.

Miriam, too, has a prophetic dream. She sees a man in fine linen who tells her that the child born to her parents will be cast into the water, but through him, the waters will become dry, and he will lead Israel to salvation. These dreams, layered one upon another, build an atmosphere of anticipation and divine purpose.

Jochebed's pregnancy is unlike any other. She feels no pain, and at the moment of birth, the house is filled with a radiant light, brighter than the sun and moon. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, pious women were not included in the curse pronounced upon Eve, decreeing sorrow in conception and in childbearing. Even more remarkably, the infant, not yet a day old, begins to walk and speak, refusing his mother's milk as if he were already an adult.

Jochebed conceives Moses six months after conception instead of nine. For three months, they manage to hide the baby, despite the constant watch of Egyptian bailiffs. Imagine the fear, the tension, the constant vigilance! But eventually, Amram, fearing discovery and death for both himself and his son, makes the agonizing decision to place the child's fate in God's hands. He trusts that Divine Providence will protect the boy and fulfill the promise he received in his dream.

And so, the stage is set for one of the most iconic moments in Jewish history: the placing of baby Moses in a basket and setting him adrift on the Nile. But that, as they say, is a story for another time.

What strikes me most about this part of the Moses narrative is the interplay of human action and divine intervention. Amram and Jochebed make difficult choices, driven by fear and hope. Miriam speaks truth to power. And God responds, not by magically solving everything, but by offering guidance, reassurance, and a promise of a brighter future. It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, faith, courage, and a willingness to act can pave the way for miracles.

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Sotah 12bTalmud Bavli, Sotah

She placed him in a marsh, as it is written: “The reeds and willows [suf] shall wither” (Isaiah 19:6). The verse states: “And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe [lirḥotz] in the river” (Exodus 2:5). Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: This teaches that she came down to the river to cleanse herself from the impurity of her father’s idols, as she was immersing herself as part of the conversion process.

And similarly it states: “When the Lord shall have washed [raḥatz] away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of destruction” (Isaiah 4:4). This washing clearly refers to the purging of spiritual sins, rather than bathing for the sake of cleanliness. The verse continues: “And her maidens walked along [holekhot] by the riverside” (Exodus 2:5).

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This walking is nothing other than the terminology of going toward death, and similarly it states: “Behold, I am going [holekh] to die” (Genesis 25:32). The verse continues: “And she saw the ark among the willows” (Exodus 2:5). Once her maidens saw that the daughter of Pharaoh was intending to save Moses, they said to her: Our mistress, the custom of the world is that when a king of flesh and blood decrees a decree, even if all the world does not fulfill it, at least his children and members of his household fulfill it, and yet you are violating the decree of your father.

After the maidens tried to convince her not to save Moses, the angel Gabriel came and beat them to the ground and they died. The verse concludes: “And she sent amatah to take it” (Exodus 2:5). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya disagree as to the definition of the word “amatah.” One says that it means her arm, and one says that it means her maidservant.

The Gemara explains: The one who says that it means her arm explained it in this manner, as it is written “amatah,” which denotes her forearm. And the one who says that it means her maidservant explained it in this manner because it does not explicitly write the more common term: Her hand [yadah]. Therefore, he understands that this is the alternative term for a maidservant, ama. The Gemara asks: And according to the one who says that it means her maidservant, didn’t you say earlier: Gabriel came and beat them to the ground and the maidservants died, so how could Pharaoh’s daughter send her?

The Gemara answers: It must be that Gabriel left her one maidservant, as it is not proper that a princess should stand alone. The Gemara asks: And according to the one who says that it means her hand, let the Torah write explicitly: Her hand [yadah]. Why use the more unusual term amatah? The Gemara answers: This verse teaches us that her arm extended [ishtarbav] many cubits.

As the Master said in another context: And similarly you find with regard to the hand of Pharaoh’s daughter that it extended, and similarly you find with regard to the teeth of evildoers, as it is written: “You have broken [shibbarta] the teeth of the wicked” (Psalms 3:8), and Reish Lakish said: Do not read the word as shibbarta, rather read it as sheribbavta, you have extended. The next verse states: “And she opened it and saw it [vatirehu], even the child” (Exodus 2:6).

The Gemara comments: The verse states: “And she saw it”; it should have stated: And she saw. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: In addition to Moses, she saw the Divine Presence with him. This is indicated by the usage of “saw it.” The verse states: “And saw it, even the child [yeled]; and behold a lad [na’ar] that wept” (Exodus 2:6).

The verse calls him “a child [yeled],” and the same verse calls him “a lad [na’ar].” A Sage teaches: He is the age of a child but his voice is as loud and deep as a lad; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Neḥemya said to him: If that is so, you made Moses our teacher blemished, since his voice was unusually deep. Rather, this teaches that his mother made a canopy of youth, i.e., a small canopy, for him in the ark, as she said: Perhaps I will not merit to see his wedding canopy.

The verse concludes: “And she had compassion on him, and said: This [zeh] is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6). The Gemara asks: From where did she know that he was a Hebrew child? Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: As she saw that he was circumcised. The Gemara comments: The Pharaoh’s daughter said: “This [zeh] is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6).

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This teaches that she prophesied unknowingly, as the intention of the word “zeh” was: This one falls, i.e., is cast, into the water, but no other will fall by means of water, for on that day Pharaoh’s decree was canceled. The Gemara explains: And this is what Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And when they shall say to you: Seek unto the necromancers and the diviners, that chirp [metzaftzefim] and that mutter [mahggim]” (Isaiah 8:19)?

The explanation of their chirping and muttering is: They see [tzofin], but they do not know what they are seeing; they enunciate [mahggim], but they do not know what they are enunciating. Although necromancers and diviners do have some insight into the future, they do not see clearly enough to understand what they are actually seeing. The Gemara applies this to Pharaoh: Pharaoh’s astrologers saw that the savior of the Jewish people would be stricken by water.

Therefore, they arose and decreed: “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22); they thought that their vision indicated that Moses would be killed in the water. Once Jochebed cast Moses into the water, although he was protected in an ark, the astrologers said: We no longer see in the stars anything like that sign we saw as to the downfall of the leader of the Jews by water, and therefore at that moment they canceled their decree.

But they did not know that what they saw foretold that Moses would be stricken on account of the waters of Meribah. They envisioned a downfall for Moses by water but didn’t fully comprehend their vision. And this is what Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “These [hemma] are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them” (Numbers 20:13)?

The verse indicates that these are the waters that the astrologers of Pharaoh saw and on account of which they erred. And this is what Moses said: “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot [ragli]; and yet You have said: I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month” (Numbers 11:21). Moses said to the Jewish people: On account of me, which is an alternative meaning of the word ragli, all of you were saved, as the decree to throw all males into the river was canceled on my account.

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa says: That day that Moses was placed in the river was the twenty-first day of the month of Nisan. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, should the one who in the future will say the Song at the Red Sea on this day be stricken on this day? As this was also the date on which the Red Sea would be parted during the salvation of the Exodus.

Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina says: That day was actually the sixth day of the month of Sivan. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, should the one who in the future will receive the Torah on Mount Sinai on this day be stricken on this day? As this was also the date on which the Torah was received. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says that Moses was placed in the water on the sixth of Sivan, you find that there can be three months during which Moses was hidden after his birth; as the Master said (Tosefta 11:7): Moses died on the seventh of Adar, and Moses was born on the seventh of Adar.

And based on this, from the seventh of Adar until the sixth of Sivan there are three months, which correspond to the three months Moses was hidden before being placed in the water. But according to the one who says that it was on the twenty-first of Nisan, how can you find that he was hidden for three months? The Gemara answers: That year was a leap year in which there were two months of Adar. Moses was hidden most of the first month of the three, from the seventh day of the first Adar when he was born, and most of the last month of the three, i.e., all of Nisan until the twenty-first, and the entire middle one.

All of this together is considered as three months. The Gemara now discusses the next verse in Exodus: “Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter: Shall I go and call you a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” (Exodus 2:7). The Gemara asks: And what is different that Pharaoh’s daughter would specifically want a nurse of the Hebrew women? The Gemara answers: This teaches that prior to this, they took Moses around to all the Egyptian wet nurses and he did not agree to nurse from any of them, as he said: Shall a mouth that in the future will speak with the Divine Presence actually nurse something impure?

And this is as it is written: “Whom shall one teach knowledge? And whom shall one make understand the message?” (Isaiah 28:9). The prophet is asking: To whom shall God teach the knowledge of the Torah, and to whom shall God make to understand the message of the Torah? The answer is as the verse continues: “Them that are weaned from the milk, them that are drawn from the breasts” (Isaiah 28:9).

The conclusion of the verse indicates that the Torah should be taught to the one who did not want to nurse from the milk of a gentile woman, i.e., Moses. The next verse states: “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: Go. And the maiden [ha’alma] went and called the child’s mother” (Exodus 2:8). Rabbi Elazar says: This teaches that she went quickly like a maiden, i.e., with the strength of one of marriageable age, and not as the young child that she was.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: The word ha’alma is related to the word meaning to hide [le’alem], for she hid her words and didn’t tell Pharaoh’s daughter that she was bringing the baby’s mother. The next verse states what Pharaoh’s daughter said to Jochebed: “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: Take this [heilikhi] child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it” (Exodus 2:9).

Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: Pharaoh’s daughter is prophesying and she does not know what she is prophesying, as the word heilikhi means: This is yours [ha shellikhi], i.e., this is your child. The next part of the verse states: “And I will give you your wages.” Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: This teaches that with regard to righteous people, not only is it so that God arranges that their lost items are returned to them, but He also arranges that they get their wages, as the son of Jochebed was returned to her and she also received payment for nursing him.

Elsewhere, the verse states with regard to Miriam: “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances” (Exodus 15:20). The Gemara asks: Why is Miriam referred to as “the sister of Aaron,” and not the sister of Moses? Rav Amram says that Rav says, and some say that Rav Naḥman says that Rav says: This teaches that Miriam already prophesied when she was still the sister of only Aaron, i.e., before Moses was born.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 4:59Legends of the Jews

It wasn't just a lucky break; it was a carefully orchestrated act of bravery and quick thinking by his sister, Miriam.

The scene: Pharaoh's daughter, Thermutis (some traditions even call her Bithiah), has just rescued a baby from the Nile. She names him Moses, meaning "drawn from the water." But the baby, naturally, needs a wet nurse. And he refuses to take milk from any of the Egyptian women brought to him.

What's a princess to do?

That's where Miriam steps in. As we find in Legends of the Jews, Miriam casually strolls up to Thermutis, as if she just happened to be passing by and admiring the child. She suggests, ever so subtly, that perhaps a Hebrew woman would have better luck. After all, the baby might just prefer someone from his own nation.

It's a brilliant move. Thermutis, desperate to care for the child, agrees. She tells Miriam to fetch a Hebrew woman.

And here's where Miriam's true genius shines. She doesn't just grab any random woman. She races home, "with winged steps, speeding like a vigorous youth," the verse says. She brings back her own mother – Moses's own mother, Jochebed. But, crucially, no one in the palace knows that this Hebrew woman is actually the baby's mother!

The plan works perfectly. The baby, without hesitation, latches onto Jochebed’s breast and holds on tight. Thermutis, delighted, entrusts the child to Jochebed's care.

And here's the truly amazing part: Thermutis, without even realizing it, utters a prophecy. She tells Jochebed, "Here is what is thine." As Legends of the Jews points out, it's an unconscious divination. She then says, "Nurse the boy henceforth, and I will give thee two silver pieces as thy wages."

So, Jochebed gets to raise her own son, to instill in him the values and traditions of their people, and she gets paid for it!

It's a beautiful story about courage, family, and the power of a well-placed suggestion. Miriam's quick thinking not only saved her brother's life but also ensured that he would be raised knowing his true heritage, setting the stage for his future role as the leader who would deliver the Israelites from slavery. What a evidence of the strength and wisdom of women in our tradition!

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