(6)In the days of Shamgar ben Anat, in the days of Yael, caravans ceased,
and wayfarers went by roundabout paths.

(4) Now Devorah, wife of Lappidot (alt. "a fiery woman"), was a prophet; she led Israel at that time. (5) She used to sit under Tomer Devorah ("the Palm of Deborah"), between Ramah and Beit-El in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for judgement.

(6) She summoned Barak son of Avinoam, of Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The ETERNAL, the God of Israel, has commanded: Go, march up to Mount Tavor, and take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zevulun. (7) And I will draw Sisera, Yabin’s army commander, with his chariots and his troops, toward you up to Nachal Kishon [the wadi in that region]; and I will deliver him into your hands.” (8) But Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; if not, I will not go.” (9) “I will certainly go with you,” she answered. “[But keep your personal hopes at] zero: there will be no glory for you in the course you are taking, for then GOD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Devorah went with Barak to Kedesh. (10) Barak then mustered Zevulun and Naphtali at Kedesh; ten thousand men marched up after him; and Devorah went up with him.

(11)Now Chever the Kenite had separated from the other Kainites, the descendants of Chovav, father-in-law of Moshe [Rabbeinu], and had pitched his tent at Elon-beTzaanannim ("the oak in Tza'ananim"), which is near Kedesh.

(22) As for Tzillah, she also bore Tuval-Kayin, who forged all implements of copper and iron...

(6) Shaul said to the Kainite, “Go, withdraw at once from among the Amalekites, lest I [accidentally] destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they left Egypt.” So the Kainites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

(17) When Ahab caught sight of Eliyahu, [King] Ach'av said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” (18) He retorted, “It is not I who have brought trouble on Israel, but you and your father’s House, by forsaking the commandments of GOD and going after the Ba'alim. (19) Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, together with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (20) Ach'av sent orders to all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. (21) Eliyahu approached all the people and said, “How long will you keep hopping between two opinions? If the ETERNAL is God, then follow [the ETERNAL]; and if B'aal, follow [Ba'al]! [Monotheism, people! Your attempt to do both at once Does! Not! Fly!]” But the people answered him not a word.

(39) When they saw this, all the people flung themselves on their faces and cried out: “the ETERNAL One alone is God, the ETERNAL One alone is God!”

(40) Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Ba'al, let not a single one of them get away.” They seized them, and Eliyahu took them down to Nachal Kishon and slaughtered them there.

(17) Sisera, meanwhile, had fled on foot to the tent of Yael, wife of Chever the Kainnite; for there was friendship between King Yavin of Chatzor and the family of Chever the Kainite. (18) Yael came out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord, come in here, do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. (19) He said to her, “Please let me have some water; I am thirsty.” She opened a skin of milk and gave him some to drink; and she covered him back up.

(27)At her feet [lit. "between her legs"] he sank, fell, lay there,

"Between her legs" he sank, fell;

Where he sank, there he fell—destroyed.

(28)Through the window peered Sisera’s mother,

Behind the lattice she whined,

“Why is his [lazy] chariot so long in coming?

Why so late, O bells of his chariot?”

(29)The wisest of her ladies give answer; she, too, replies to herself: (30)

“They must be dividing the spoil they have found:

A wench or two [lit. "a uterus or two"] for the head of each man,..."

(33) Samuel said:
“As your sword has bereaved women,

So shall your mother be bereaved among women!”
And Samuel cut Agag down before the ETERNAL at Gilgal.

(24)Most blessed of women be Yael,

Wife of Chever the Kainite,

By women in the tents shall she be blessed.

Rather, say: A sin for the sake of Heaven is equivalent to a mitzvah performed selfishly not for its own sake. The proof is as it is written: “Blessed above women shall Yael be, the wife of Chever the Kainite, above women in the tent she shall be blessed” (Judges 5:24), and it is taught: Who are these “women in the tent?” They are our [grateful matriarchs] Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, whose descendants were saved from violence by the selfless deeds of this brave woman whom they would have been pleased to call Sister.

Brave scouts will ride with the dawn to bring the news to Shamgar ben Anat, the wizened old war chief of the south. Perhaps someday the roads will be safe enough for Yael to travel to see her daughter. Perhaps there are grandchildren now. The soldiers from little villages cheer. Perhaps someday they can go home, too.

Barak is radiant with relief. He has led his people to victory, neither falling short in his faith nor letting his ego make him their enemy.“For twenty years we have skulked around the back roads with no deliverance to be found, until you arose, Devorah!” Barak cheers. “Until you arose, a Mother in Israel.” Devorah dips her head, pleased with the recognition and harmonizes proudly. Even now, it is not considered good manners for a woman to admit she has any worth at all, other than as a helpmeet and a tool for others to use. But God has led her: to deny her worthiness is to belittle God’s choice.

“Who’s here from Ephrayim?” Barak calls. “Raise your voice to God if you had to wend your way around Amalek to get here!” The men of that tribe sing and cheer.

“Let’s hear it for the gangs from Binyamin!” the warriors call. “You ravening wolves, who tore the enemy to pieces!”Ten separate groups of men raise wolf howls from around the field, and the meshorrerot take up the howl themselves.

“Let’s give it up for the leaders of Machir, prince of Menashe!” the prophetess calls, “whose resources fed our troops and equipped our farmers.” The musicians strike up the Song of the Feast.

“Let’s hear it for the marshals of Zevulun!” call those same noblemen under the black flags of the auroch-ox. “Give it up for the students from their academies, who ate more in one month than ten thousand men could do in a year!” There is good-natured shoving and catcalling among the men, and some of them call out, “Let’s hear it for the scribes of Zevulun,who put away their scribal tools and laid their hands to the bow!”

A great crowd of men under the blue flag of the sun & moon continue the chant. “The princes of Yissaschar are with Devorah!” calls the prophetess as she harmonizes. “Let’s hear it for Barak,” those men respond, “The thunderbolt of Kedesh Naphtali!”

Barak laughs and ululates YIYIYIYEEEEE with the meshorrerot. He grows merry. “Let’s hear it for the great hearts of Reuven, who thought about coming to our aid!”

The whole field laughs and boos and catcalls. They know there is no one here from that tribe. “Reuven stays in the field with his sheep!” they howl. “They thought about coming to our aid, and still they are thinking.”

“Is anyone here from Gil’ad?” Barak asks sardonically. The princes of Machir wave their black flags and beat their drums and boo loudly. “They remained across the river! To come to our aid, they would have had to wet their tender feet.”

Yael’s sides ache with laughter. It is hard for twelve tribes to come together. Now they are making sport of the seafearing tribes. “Let’s hear it for the navies of Dan and the coastal fortresses of Asher, who secured the coast against the navy of Yavin Melech K’naan!” This is too much for Yael, who joins in the singing. “What a pity that Yavin Melech K’naan has no coastal territory and cannot put to sea!” The student volunteers from Zevulun harmonize with a jolly tune, “When C’naan reared its ugly head, they all got on their ships and fled! Brave, brave, brave, brave, Dan and Asher’s men."

“Let’s raise a cup!” calls Barak more soberly. “To all our brothers of Zevulun who have died in the fighting, and to those here who risked death to bring them home.”

“To Naphtali!” call the men of Zevulun. “Who risked their necks taking the high ground so we could succeed in doing so.”

Kings came, and fought over, but they got no spoil of silver. This war was not for profit, nor for armchair philosophers without death at their own doors.

“To all of the kings, judges, and messengers,” Barak intones, “on earth below and in heaven above, who, all across this land, took a stand against this brutality without thought for material gain!”

“Our fight was from heaven!” the prophetess assures them. “If we followed God’s will and did no harm, the stars in their courses will fight against Sisera.”

“Curse those who turn away from innocent blood and call their ignorance their justification!” roars Barak. “Who cheer for bloodshed and rapine when it is comfortably far away but protest when the roaring tide brings violence and blood to their own shores.”

But a roaring tide has done the Israelites a good service.

“Up with Nachal Kishon!” Yael chimes in, and the students began the Chant of Mighty Waters. “The mighty Kishon, a road for those who try to stem the bloodshed and a river to sweep away all those who fight to uphold the rule of evil!” The Thunderbolt of Naphtali harmonizes with them, “Ah, my soul, may you march on in strength to do likewise!”

“Blessed is Yael, wife of the Master Armorer!” sings the prophetess, and there is a great chant of YaYaYaYaYaaaa from the edges of the field. Yael’s slavewomen are singing from the doors of her tent, and a crowd of women has joined them, rescued slaves and orphans and the wives and sisters of the Hebrew tribesmen.

“From all the women in tents shall her praises rise!”

“For those within, who do not dare step out!” calls one woman.

“For those laid low by men who should have honored their places!” calls another.

“For those who have had to bow and serve power and wickedness against the wishes of their hearts and their gods!” calls Gataru, Yael’s oldest and most trusted slave.

“For all those who have asked, ‘What can I do?’”

The holy woman acts out Yael’s story for all to know the truth of what happened, and the men keep time for her, AIYAYAYAYAI-ing as she sets the record straight. The men lean forward eagerly as she tells how Yael soothed the man to sleep with his bloody hands, how he tossed the empty cup away and lay down to greet Death.

My translation of the Shirah ends here. The final verse of Devorah’s song, though insightful with feminine perspective, explores truly unprintable sentiments and are dealt with in the last section of story. Look for the man with a woman on either arm, and the reclaiming of the embroidery by those whose families sewed it--clearly a family of Israel trying to rebuild their lives after a tragedy, not growing rich on wartime theft and seizure.

How may we defeat your enemies, O God, and bring peace after eighty years to your war-torn land?

...As it is written: “It is a day of sounding the shofar [t'ruah] to you” (Numbers 29:1), and we translate this verse in Aramaic as: It is a day of yevava to you. And to define a yevava, the Gemara quotes what is written about the mother of Sisera: “Through the window she looked forth and wailed [vateyabev], the mother of Sisera” (Judges 5:28). One Sage, the tanna of the baraita, holds that this means moanings, broken sighs, as in the blasts called shevarim. And one Sage, the tanna of the mishna, holds that it means whimpers, like a child. Or like one who has lost a child.