This week is Shabbat Shira – the Sabbath of Song & poetry. It is thus named because the weekly Torah reading contains Shirat Hayam, the song sung in exultation after the miraculous parting of the Sea of Reeds. In truth, though, there are two songs sung. One by Moses and the other by Miriam.
The 18th century Hassidic writer the Meor V''Shemesh shares a powerful paradigm shifting commentary that contrasts these two songs.He bases his writings on the Kabbalistic principles of linear verses circular consciousness. According to Kabbalah, line consciousness is essentially masculine. It is hierarchical, progress-oriented, future-directed, competitive; the epitome of the world''s current state of affairs. Line consciousness correlates with Moses'' song, rendered in the future tense of “Az Yashir – I will sing”.
Circle consciousness, on the other hand, is egalitarian, rooted in the present, supportive, non-hierarchical. It is a feminine paradigm. And more than that, it epitomizes Messianic consciousness, the glowing state of affairs towards which our world is presently evolving. Miriam''s song, in keeping with good circle consciousness, is thus sung in the present tense with women dancing in circular form. Each woman stands equadistance from the center, all with equal access to God, where everyone is holy and wholly rooted in their own source of wisdom. These circle-enacting women, according to the Meor V''shemesh, were able to access a higher revelation than Moses, history''s greatest prophet.
We live in promising times where fundamentals of circle consciousness are at the core of the work that so many of us are engaged in today. I have the honor of leading weekly women''s circles here in Jerusalem. Our meetings are based on a model of group work culled directly from what we call, “The Miriam Code” - the enigmatic 2 verses of Miriam''s song and dance. We strive to create a safe and sacred enviroment for growth by using the circle principles of full embodiment, presence, inclusivity, creativity and a pervasive sense of equality. It is deep and powerful work. (To read more about the Miriam Code please go to: http://www.havayah.com/tools.html)
I bless us all that we may each in our own way taste the fruits of circle consciousness flooding into and rounding out the angles of our all-too-linear world.
What Miriam Sang
Women raise your voices in rightful raucous
beat drum, sing songand stun anyonewho ever calledyou too timidto sing
For the Spirit aloneinstructs your lips andlimbs as to the allowanceof their bend
and propriety is defined bythe prophetesswho abides within
for she will be the one to pull the coversof your tressesto dress her modestas she launchesinto her loudest campaignfor you to stand and dance majesticon this well-sanded stage
sisters, this is why we wear our drumsready on our shoulder blades
this is why we strumthe strings that cinch and clasp us close
to seize this moment at the seathat it may become a fable famousand decreefor as long as historyneeds a precedentto utter unabashedriffs of praise
here we are heldresponsible to singof the God-drenched thingswe have seen
and we will whirl castles out of sandwith our danceunhamperedunashamedin''tranced
for we handmaidshave a mandate to hand-makeour own music,to move musclesand meet quotasof creative outputthrough inspirationand through struggle
to sway on sand-dunesundone by a tune
to be emboldenedin our God-given rightto self-expression
and let us ignite eachother''sdormant scorch of dreams and vision
for the secret encodedin our circular choruswill speak for generationsof a new paradigm of being
of how to be connected and consciouseven amidst conflictwith a promise of resolutionthrough attunementto the circle of lifeto which we are all enchained and our dance willevoke an approaching era when the ailmentsborn of institution & competitionwill dissolve into a thick collodial solventof equality
and common dignityfor all willincorporateirregardless of positionon the no-longer existent ladderof hierarchy our circle will modelwhat it is to be fully embodied in the presenta servant to the womb of the Moment
with no future tenseimpending & impeadingthe flowing rhythm of our spin
here we are freefrom the hamperings ofwill-be''s or has-beens
Temporality is our templein this circlewhere all is ampleand transparent
ours, a choreographyof equalityinclusivityof bringing all-of-meinto this welcoming crucible ofcommunal commitmentknown as a circle
here we offer limb to reach beyondthe limitationsof a linear world gone wrong
here we are egalitarianand elegantresponsiveand penetrant
embodying ideasand idealizing emotioninvoking insightat the lips of the ocean
holding up mirrorslike the windows of waves-reflecting eachotherface to effervescent face
and so it was, is and will bein one graceful gestureat the parting seathat the women set out with clapping feetto circle in a consciousnessof present tenseand equality