TELL May-June 2020

think about why this particular ritual
has resonated so deeply. Matia Rania
Angelou writes “It seems to me that
Stephanie discovered this custom more
than she created it. It seems that Kos
Miriam had been lost in history and
just now it is being rediscovered. She
quotes P’nina Adelman: “the ritual is
“new” in the sense that such a cup had
never been used on the seder table…
or for a bat mitzvah celebration…or
during any of the other myriad uses
this particular group found for the
cup of Miriam. However the ritual
is ancient and even traditional in the
sense that …it felt so natural to start
blessing this cup full of pure spring
water from Miriam’s well, using
it at appropriate times” (Moment
Magazine, August 1997).
A number of years ago a beautiful
congregant gave me a special cup to
use as my Kos Miriam because I did
not have a particular one dedicated
to that purpose. It is a special
reminder of the women of the
Pesach story, the ability of creative
rituals to still resonate deeply, and
of the scope for innovation that we
all have for our sedarim. I hope that
this year many of us will add a cup
for Miriam, fill it with water, and
celebrate the diversity of experiences
of our ancestors as they left
Mitzrayim.
____
Vanessa L. Ochs “Setting a Cup for
Miriam” in The Women’s Passover
Companion
Peninah Adelman Moment Magazine
August 1997
Matia Rania Angelou “Discovering
the Cup of Miriam” in The Women’s
Seder Sourcebook
Parashat HaShavua -
Weekly Parasha Study
Every Wednesday from 8:15pm
- Musings on our Texts -
A contemporary look at our ancient texts. We will delve
into our weekly portion looking at difficult passages,
inspiring texts, and stories that you think you know to
cast new light on the stories essential to our identity.
https://zoom.us/j/93124176951
In Conversation
Sunday June 7
from 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins
with Mark Sofer,
Ambassador for Israel
details to follow
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