Alternate Title: 
Mi Chamocha
First Line: 
And the women dancing with their timbrels

Reference

Culture: 

About the Song

Miriam was the sister of Aaron. She is referred to in Exodus 15:20-21 as a prophet.

And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song

Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted
Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long

G - Dm G / - - F D / 1st / Dm G Em G

And Miriam was a weaver of unique variety
The tapestry she wove was one which sang our history
With every strand and every thread she crafted her delight!
A woman touched with spirit, she dances toward the light

As Miriam stood upon the shores and gazed across the sea
The wonder of this miracle she soon came to believe
Whoever thought the sea would part with an outstretched hand
And we would pass to freedom and march to the promised land!

G - Dm G / Dm G Em G ://

And Miriam the prophet took her timbrel in her hand
And all the women followed her just as she had planned
And Miriam raised her voice in song, she sang with praise & might
We've just lived through a miracle (yelled) we're going to dance tonight!!

  

 

Commentary: When Debbie wrote this song in 1988, she described it with these words: "The beauty of the 'Mi Chamocha' to me and the way in which I've experienced it in this particular rendition, is that things aren't always very tentative for us. And sometimes we're in bondage and we don't know it. But we find it more comfortable to stay in bondage than to move into freedom. And this 'Mi Chamocha' is about standing at the shores of the sea and making the leap, into the water, into freedom -  because each of us every day of our lives, stands at the shores." Original Hebrew (from liturgy): Mi Chamocha means "Who is like you, God?" 

 

Mi chamocha ba’eilim, Adonai?
Mi kamocha, ne’edar bakodesh
Nora t’hilot, oseh feleh?
Nora t’hilot, oseh feleh?

Malchut’cha ra’u vanecha
bokai’ah yam lifnei Moshe
Zeh Aili, anu v’amru
Adonai yimloch, Adonai yimloch
l’olam va’ed