Miriam's Cup

Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the Hebrews' liberation from slavery by the great prophet Moses. Moses would not have survived to free his people, had it not been for the cleverness of his sister Miriam. She set him in a basket on the river Nile, and watched over him until the Pharaoh's daughter found him and took him home to be her own son. 

In this way, Moses survived the dangerous times in Egypt, and grew up with a deep compassion for the Jewish people. In his adult years, he fulfilled his destiny to guide the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt, to form a covenant with God through the Ten Commandments. 

Miriam, perhaps the only woman in the bible, who is not referred to as someone's mother or daughter, has, in more recent times, taken a place of honour at the Passover Seder. As Jewish celebrations and rituals become modernized to fit our new levels of awareness, we turn to the women of the Bible stories, choosing to elevate them to places of importance. In modern Jewish rituals, when the Seder, or religious dinner ritual takes place, many families choose to include Miriam as one of the sacred guests. A cup is filled with water, in her honour, and songs and stories are shared to celebrate her strengths. 

What a wonderful time we live in, where we can honour the importance of the feminine, and include it in a ritual that was formed thousands of years ago. 

Ways to Celebrate

Here are some ways you can learn more about Miriam and celebrate her as well.

Sing Miriam's Song
A beautiful song depicting the spirit of women now and in ancient days.  Here are the lyrics so you can sing along:​

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

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

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

When Miriam stood upon the shores and gazed across the sea
he 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

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

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 and might
We've just lived through a miracle We're going to dance tonight

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

Make Miriam's Cup
Miriam’s cup honours her as a prophet in her own right and allows the opportunity to acknowledge the importance of women in general.  https://creativecynchronicity.com/passover-elijah-miriam-and-kiddush-cups/ 

Listen to the Miriam's Cup Story
Miriam's Cup children's book read aloud. "Miriam watched over her baby brother in the bulrushes, led the women in song when crossing the Red Sea, and kept the Israelites alive in the desert with water from her miraculous well. This beautifully illustrated, deeply spiritual book celebrates a beloved prophet and brings alive the magic of holidays and remembrance."