How to Celebrate Miriam's Cup
Many Jewish women have begun to include Miriam's Cup as part of their Passover celebrations, recognizing Miriam's importance in the Passover story. As the story explains, Miriam was responsible for saving Moses from death. Modern Jewish feminists were the first to celebrate Miriam's Cup in remembrance of Miriam's well, which followed the Israelites through the desert during the 40 years they wandered.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Place an empty goblet next to Elijah's cup before the Passover seder starts.
-
2
Celebrate the ritual of Miriam's Cup after blessing the second cup of wine but before washing your hands.
-
-
3
Raise the empty goblet, and say the following: "Miriam's cup is filled with water, rather than wine. I invite women of all generations at our seder table to fill Miriam's cup with water from their own glasses."
-
4
Pass Miriam's cup around the table while explaining the significance of filling the cup with water. Tell the story of Miriam's well, the gift given to Miriam to sustain and heal the Israelites in the desert.
-
5
Raise the goblet after it has been filled and recite the following: "We place Miriam's cup on our seder table to honor the important role of Jewish women in our tradition and history, whose stories have been too sparingly told."
-
6
Tell the story of a Jewish woman whom you admire if you wish. Not all Jewish families include this part of the ritual, but some choose to celebrate the memory of admirable women during the seder.
-
7
Dance in Miriam's honor after the final rituals of the seder have concluded. Some families choose to celebrate in this manner to demonstrate the contrasts between Miriam and Elijah.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
You can also recognize Miriam's role in the story of Exodus by adding a piece of fish to the seder plate as some Orthodox Jews do. The fish, lamb and egg symbolize Moses, Aaron and Miriam--the three prophets.
If you wish, you can note the accomplishments women have made in the Jewish community by placing an orange on the seder plate. The orange refers to a possibly mythical story of a rabbi who claimed "a woman belongs on the bimah like an orange belongs on the seder plate." Basically, he meant to say that women do not belong there at all.
