Shoftim 5: Wake up Devorah! Wake up!

Like Moshe after the defeat of the Egyptians, the Israelites after the defeat of Og, and Moshe again at the end of his life, Devora composes an epic poem describing her victory. The Song of Devora is a complex poem that includes rhymes (e.g., verse 3—“melachim” and “roznim”):repeated words (the word “az” appears five times), narrative (verses 24–30 recalling the story of Yael):midrash (verse 20: “The stars fought from heaven, From their courses they fought against Sisera”):praises (verse 18: “Zebulun is a people that mocked at death, Naphtali—on the open heights”):זְבוּלוּן עַם חֵרֵף נַפְשׁוֹ לָמוּת וְנַפְתָּלִי עַל־מְרוֹמֵי שָׂדֶה(Judges 5:18)and curses (verse 23: “Curse Meroz!” said the angel of the LORD. “Bitterly curse its inhabitants, Because they came not to the aid of the LORD, To the aid of the LORD among the warriors”):אוֹרוּ מֵרוֹז אָמַר מַלְאַךְ ה׳ אָרוֹר אָרֹר יֹשְׁבֶיהָ כִּי לֹא־בָאוּ לְעֶזְרַת ה׳ לְעֶזְרַת ה׳ בַּגִּבּוֹרִים(Judges 5:23)Devora also references herself twice: “Deliverance ceased, Ceased in Israel, Till I arose, O Deborah, Arose, O mother, in Israel!” (verse 7)חָדְלוּ פְרָזוֹן בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל חָדֵלּוּ עַד־שַׁקַּמְתִּי דְבוֹרָה שַׁקַּמְתִּי אֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל(Judges 5:7)and “Awake, awake, O Deborah! Awake, awake, strike up the chant! Arise, O Barak; Take your captives, O son of Abinoam!” (verse 12).עוּרִי עוּרִי דְבוֹרָה עוּרִי עוּרִי דַּבְּרִי־שִׁיר קוּם בָּרָק וּשְׁבֵה שֶׁבְיְךָ בֶּן־אֲבִינֹעַם(Judges 5:12)Focusing on these last two verses, what do these two verses mean? Why does Devora need to wake herself up? The Talmud in Pesachim 66b explains that the second verse is a direct result of the first verse. In the first verse, Devora was haughty and claimed that she was the reason that the Israelites were saved. Even if this was true, she was not humble. Because she was not humble, she lost the divine spirit. A true prophet, like Moshe, needs to be humble. The second verse is the literal wake‑up call for her to snap out of her haughtiness and return to her humble roots. She displays this by immediately praising Barak, and not herself. When she does this, the divine spirit returns.This is a nice message but does not seem to match the story. This chapter is simply the epic poem recounting the story. If she lost her divine spirit mid‑song, it does not seem to be so consequential. Because this is an epic poem, it is not out of the ordinary that part of it would be praise for the songwriter. In fact, the message could be against those who doubted that a woman could achieve such a victory.There is also a grammatical issue. The translation of verse 7 could be “deliverance ceased, ceased in Israel until you arose, O Devorah…” This phrasing would imply that a chorus sang this part to Devora. The chorus would then appear in verse 12, calling out to Devora to awaken. Isaiah uses this double phrase in chapters 51 and 52 of Isaiah. Because Isaiah lived after Devora, he must have borrowed the phrasing and meaning from her poem. • Isaiah 51:9עוּרִי עוּרִי לִבְשִׁי־עֹז זְרוֹעַ ה׳ עוּרִי כִּימֵי קֶדֶם דֹּרוֹת עוֹלָמִים“Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the LORD; awake as in days of old, generations long past…”• Isaiah 51:17הִתְעוֹרְרִי הִתְעוֹרְרִי קוּמִי יְרוּשָׁלִַם אֲשֶׁר שָׁתִית מִיַּד ה׳ אֶת־כּוֹס חֲמָתוֹ“Rouse yourself, rouse yourself, arise, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath…”• Isaiah 52:1עוּרִי עוּרִי לִבְשִׁי עֻזֵּךְ צִיּוֹן לִבְשִׁי בִגְדֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ יְרוּשָׁלִַם עִיר הַקֹּדֶשׁ“Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city…”Both times it’s symbolic of God and Jerusalem awakening to achieve glory and strength once again. Therefore, it’s possible that the chorus here is rousing Devora to victory.