6053 - Women at the Forefront of Communal Influence

The holy letters of the Rebbe, Volume 16, letter number 6053. Baruch Hashem, the 14th of Shevat, 5718, Brooklyn. Addressed to the young man Aharon, may he live, Serbranski of Melbourne. Shalom u’Bracha.

In this letter, the Rebbe addresses the importance of being active in involving women in all aspects of Yiddishkeit.

The Rebbe opens by noting that he is responding close to the day of the hilula of Yud Shevat, and that the pidyon nefesh will be read at an auspicious time on the holy tziyun of the Baal Ha-Hilula, his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe.

The Rebbe refers to what the recipient wrote about his activities, which he describes in his own words as something “new of its kind,” meaning involvement and outreach relating to girls and women. The Rebbe addresses this characterization directly.

He explains that this is not something new at all, but rather yashan noshan—very old. The Rebbe notes that he had already spoken about this at the farbrengen on the previous Motzaei Shabbos.

The Rebbe brings proof from the verse “Vataan lahem Miriam”—“And Miriam answered them”—in the Song of the Sea. At first glance, this seems puzzling. Miriam led the women, as the verse later states “Vatetzeina kol hanashim”—that Miriam went out with the women, with tambourines and dancing. If so, why does the Torah use the masculine form lahem (“to them”) rather than the feminine lahen (“to them,” feminine)?

The Rebbe cites the Midrash Tanchuma, which explains that after the splitting of the sea, both the Jewish people and the ministering angels wished to sing praise to Hashem. Hashem told the angels to allow the Jewish people to sing first.

After the men completed their song, the question arose again: who would sing first—the women or the angels? Rabbi Chiya explains that the angels sang first, followed by the women, which would account for the masculine form lahem, referring to the angels.

However, Levi strongly disagrees and swears that he will not accept this view, insisting that the women sang first. According to this opinion, the women clearly preceded the angels. Even according to the first opinion, the angels still required permission from the women before they could sing. (Thus, “Vataan lahem Miriam” means that Miriam responded to them by granting permission.)

From this, the Rebbe demonstrates that the prominent role of women is not new at all, but deeply rooted in Torah and Midrash. The Rebbe further references a talk of the Frierdiker Rebbe from Shvi’i Shel Pesach, given twenty years earlier, highlighting the special virtue of the women who praised Hashem with tambourines, dancing, and joy—an expression that even surpassed the song of Moshe and the men.

The Rebbe concludes by telling him that involvement with women is not an innovation, but an ancient and essential part of Jewish life. He offers a heartfelt blessing that this work should meet with outstanding success—especially by increasing both the number of women being influenced and those who, in turn, influence others.

He concludes by praising those engaged in this work and blessing them with good news in all the above.