Each table should have a designated “Miriam’s cup.” Participants should pass this empty cup around and fill it with a bit of water from your own cup.
One participant will lift the filled Miriam’s cup as we read:
Miriam’s cup, which we fill with water from each of our cups, is a symbol of Miriam’s Well, the source of water that nourished the Israelites as they wandered the forty years in the wilderness.
Her merit and character ensured that our people had life-sustaining waters wherever they travelled. Her boldness and bravery in saving her infant brother to be nursed by his mother Yocheved further reminds us of how she created the conditions for our survival. The rabbis teach “Im ein kemach, ein Torah”–If there is no sustenance, there can be no Torah for us. We must live in bodies to be able to live also in the world of the spirit; the world of what is possible beyond now. The rabbis continue, “Im ein Torah, ein kemach”–if there is not Torah, sustenance has no meaning.
In a moment, we will turn our attention to Elijah the prophet, the bringer of the the news of the Messianic Age. So, too, do we need the leadership of Miriam’s prophecy, sustaining us for the journey toward the world we are building; the repaired world we envision.
Let us place our Miriam’s cups at the center of our tables, filled now with the energy, sustenance, and participation of each of us…together we water the arid world; together we will make Miriam’s prophecy a reality.
