Miriam’s Legacy of Leadership
If you were asked to rapidly rattle off the top three iconic biblical leaders, which would you name? There is a high probability that Moses would appear on the list or, possibly, Aaron or Abraham. Even if valued, Miriam most likely would not make the cut. In Parashat Hukkat, Miriam appears in one verse: 鈥淭he Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there鈥� (20:1). Immediately following her death, 鈥淭he community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron鈥�(20鈥�2). I imagine that this week, clergy, junior congregation facilitators, teachers, and camp counselors will discuss and advance text studies that explore the following: the Israelites鈥� restlessness and mistrust of their leaders to guide them to health and safety; Moses鈥檚 impatience with the Israelites鈥� enduring lack of gratitude and culture of complaint; the fallout of Moses鈥檚 riffing on God鈥檚 instructions to order a rock to produce water.
This brief mention of Miriam, however, inspired a series of midrashim that honor her as a leader and protagonist from Shemot through Bemidbar. According to the varied accounts of Miriam鈥檚 Well, Moses鈥檚 and Aaron鈥檚 sister was the true source of the mayyim hayyim (waters of life) in the desert. Some versions of the midrash suggest that Miriam鈥檚 Well was as old as the universe itself, created on either the second day (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, 3) or on the eve of the very first Shabbat (Avot 5:6). While our biblical narratives are infused with chance meetings and negotiations at wells, Miriam鈥檚 Well was uniquely designed, and provided nourishment and comfort of care for the Israelites as they traveled with the Mishkan throughout the desert:
It [the well] resembled a rock the size of a beehive, from which, as out of a narrow-necked jug, water coming out in a trickle shot high up in the air like a geyser. The well rolled up mountains with [the people of] Israel and went down into valleys with them. Indeed, whenever Israel encamped, the well rested close by on an elevated spot opposite the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.(Tosefta Sukkah 3:11鈥�13; Numbers Rabbah 1:2)
Many have adopted the modern ritual of placing a Miriam鈥檚 Cup of mayyim hayyim alongside Elijah鈥檚 Cup of wine at the Passover seder to celebrate Miriam鈥檚 agency and leadership in the Exodus narrative. This ritual enables us to induct Miriam into the league of male voices within Haggadah. After all, God created the mayyim hayyim to honor Miriam as a woman of enduring initiative: she watched over Moses as he floated down the Nile, and much later, lead the people in song and music immediately upon safely crossing the Sea of Reeds (Sefer Ha-Aggadah).
The legend of Miriam鈥檚 Well offers a deeper understanding of Chapter 20. The Israelites were parched because, with Miriam鈥檚 death, the Well disappeared (Talmud Bavli, Tractate Ta鈥檃nit 9a). Rashi comments on this, saying that the rock that 鈥淢oses . . . struck . . . twice with his rod鈥� (20:11) was the no-longer-functional Miriam鈥檚 Well. When the Israelites complained that there were 鈥渘o grain or figs or vines or pomegranates鈥� (20:4), they were expressing their profound alarm that the mayyim hayyim that had once watered their gardens herbs, seeds, and trees had dried up (Sefer Ha-Aggadah). Read through the lens of the legend of Miriam鈥檚 Well, it is no wonder that the Israelites were disoriented by the sudden disappearance of their constant water source. Likewise, Moses鈥檚 striking of the rock can be seen in a more compassionate light鈥攁s a desperate attempt to revive what had until now sustained the multitudes of people in his charge.
The story of Miriam鈥檚 Well suggests that her death left a void that stretched beyond the lack of material sustenance. Miriam added a dimension of creative thinking and artistic, active, joyous participation within the Exodus narrative. Miriam鈥檚 legacy of leadership is that she modeled for the recently released slaves how to unshackle their former identity, and to take pleasure in what free people have time, mind-space, energy, and desire to do鈥攋oin together in song and dance:
And the women dancing with their timbrels followed Miriam as she sang her song, sing a song to the one whom we鈥檝e exalted, Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long.鈥� (Debbie Friedman, 鈥淢iriam鈥檚 Song鈥�)
While many discussions of Miriam鈥檚 positive contributions to the Exodus focus solely on her role in ensuring Moses鈥檚 survival, her leadership at the Red Sea demonstrates that she was not simply an adjunct character. She was an innovator of creativity. It would not be surprising, then, that immediately following her death, the Israelites鈥� grief would manifest through a limit of creative thinking about potential sources of sustenance, or that when water reappears in Chapter 21, so does the Israelites鈥� artistic creativity. We are told that the Israelites arrived in Beer, 鈥渨hich is the well where the Lord said to Moses, 鈥楢ssemble the people that I may give them water鈥欌��(21:16). It is here that 鈥淭hen Israel sang this song: 鈥楽pring up, O well鈥攕ing to it鈥欌�� (21:17).
The reading of Parashat Hukkat offers an opportunity to honor Miriam and her legacy of Jewish leadership. While one of the central mitzvot of the Passover seder is to tell the story of the Exodus, we infuse the evening with multisensory delight, with song and movement, with the joyful celebration that Miriam modeled. We ask our nieces, nephews, children, and neighbors鈥� children to sing along with the tunes that they know best. Next year, when we prepare for our own seders, we can opt to include a Miriam鈥檚 Cup if we desire. Or we can whistle, clink a glass with our fork, or just sing with extra abandon. This is Miriam鈥檚 legacy.
[1] Music and lyrics by Debbie Friedman (based on Exodus 15:20鈥�21), 漏 A SIDE MUSIC LLC
