In this week's portion, Beshalach

In this week's portion, Beshalach, we read the song of the Children of Israel led by Moses after the splitting of the Red Sea and the special song of the women led by Miriam the Prophetess.
In the Egyptian exile, it was Miriam who relayed the prophecy that a redeemer would emerge. Even when the leaders of that generation could not foresee an end to servitude and oppression, she spread hope and trust among her people.
When her mother was forced to place Moses, the future redeemer of the Jews, in the Nile, her father Amram approached Miriam and asked her, "What will be the result of your prophecy? How will it be fulfilled?"
Miriam remained at the banks of the Nile and "stood at a distance to know what would happen to him." Our Sages explain that, in addition to her concern for her brother's future, she was concerned about the fate of her prophecy. How indeed would the redemption come about?
In a metaphorical sense, this narrative is relevant to all Jewish women, those living at present and those whose souls are in the spiritual realms. Concerned over the fate of the Jewish people, they anxiously await the Redemption.
The anxious anticipation of the redemption felt by Miriam - and by all of the Jewish women in Egypt - was paralleled in its intensity by their exuberant celebration when, after the miracles of the Red Sea, that redemption was consummated. After the men joined Moses in song, the women broke out in song and dance, giving thanks to G-d with a spiritual rejoicing which surpassed that of the men.
The Torah's description of this celebration also testifies to the deep faith inherent in Jewish women. The commentaries relate that as the women prepared to leave Egypt, they were so confident that G-d would perform miracles on behalf of their people in the desert that they took tambourines with them so they could rejoice when the time came.
In the very near future, we will celebrate the ultimate Redemption. We can now experience a foretaste of this impending celebration. Although we are still in exile, the confidence that the Redemption is an imminent reality should inspire us with happiness. For the Jewish people have completed all the Divine service necessary to bring the Redemption. To borrow an analogy of our Sages, the table has already been set for the feast celebrating the Redemption, everything has been served, and we are sitting together with Moshiach. All that is necessary is that we open our eyes.
The experience of such happiness demonstrates the strength of our trust in the promise of the Redemption, and the expression of this faith will, in turn, hasten its realization. Adapted from a talk of the Rebbe, Shabbat Beshalach 5752-1992