Parsha Beshalach - January 11, 2014

Parsha: Beshalach 

Shevat 10/ January 11 

By: Dan Cohen 

Who was Miriam and what can she teach us here in Oakland? 

(This drash is dedicated to everyone who ever volunteered their time, effort, and wisdom at Beth Jacob, OHDS, or in any other community institution)

The big-ticket item from the Parsha, memorialized in our imagination, our stories, and in our movies is the splitting of the Red Sea and the movement of the Jewish people to their physical freedom. This epic incident has inspired commentators and artists alike.

However, this Parsha also re-introduces Miriam, sister of Aaron and Moses.

Miriam often gets a starring role at our Passover Seder. And in the interest of being a father who is worthy of two smart and dazzling daughters, I thought I would take a moment to focus on who she was and some lessons we can take from her life to help our community thrive.

Miriam and her actions are identified in Chapter 15 v 20 & 21.

20. Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21. And Miriam called out to them, Sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.

Who was Miriam?

She was the sister of Aaron and Moshe. We see her discussed in four places in the Torah.

First, Miriam saved her brother Moses, Exodus 2:1-10. This well-known story shows that the survival of the leader of the Exodus, Moses, depended on the courage and ingenuity of one young woman, his sister Miriam. It was Miriam who followed the basket with Moshe down the river and offered the services of a “Wet Nurse” – Moses’ mom Yocheved – when he was taken from the river.

Miriam was a prophetess (Ex. 15:20), the first woman described that way in Torah. According to tradition, she prophesied before Moses' birth that her parents would give birth to the person who would bring about their people's redemption.

At our son’s bris four years ago, which occurred during the same parsha, I was lucky enough to be able to share this story of Miriam’s actions. She was a protector. She was wise. And she was forceful. I assumed this would be a guide for what my little guy’s childhood would be like with two Miriam-esqe older sisters.

Second, we see her in the song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21.

Third, we learn of Miriam’s ordeal in Numbers 12. This is the description of Miriam speaking against Moses’ marriage/divorce of Tzipporah. She also objected to his leadership, noting that he had no monopoly on Divine Communication. For this, Miriam was punished with tzaaras. However, Aaron pled on her behalf, and she was cured.

Finally, Miriam’s death, Numbers 20:1-2. Miriam died in a waterless place in the wilderness, but G-d subsequently caused water to appear there. According to tradition, because of Miriam's righteousness, a well followed the people through the desert throughout their wanderings, and that well remained with them until the day of Miriam's death.

Here is some more Miriam knowledge courtesy of Judaism 101 online.

- Miriam was the older sister of Aaron and Moses. According to some sources, she was seven years older than Moses, but other sources seem to indicate that she was older than that.

- Some sources indicate that Miriam “may” have even been Puah, one of the midwives who rescued Hebrew babies from Pharaoh's edict against them. Puah, meant "Whisperer." She was whispering words of prophecy (Sotah 11b, 12b) in seeing Moses’ future as our leader.

- She is said to be the ancestress of other creative geniuses in Israel's history: Bezalel, the architect of the mishkan (the portable sanctuary used in the desert) and King David.

- Like her brothers, Miriam died in the desert before the people reached the Promised Land. One source said she died one year to the day before the Jews crossed over into Israel.

What we can learn from Miriam

What may be instructive for us to think about are the various roles played by Miriam to the Jewish people – as a model for all of the ways we can contribute here in Oakland. Through her we can see that we may not always be perfect – but that our effort is critical.

First, Miriam was literally the deliverer of the Jewish people. She took on one of the most sacred and dangerous tasks available to her – to deliver Jewish babies and save Moshe our greatest leader. While none of us is called to take on life-giving or life-threatening tasks in the community, we are often asked to do things that take tremendous time and effort. That same task is usually competing with the hundreds of other commitments in our daily lives. Miriam shows us that some tasks, like ensuring Jewish continuity and growth in our Oakland community, are too important to be ignored. After all, we are literally delivering the Jewish future in Oakland every day.

Second, Miriam made mistakes. We are all human in this community. We succeed (and even fail) at all the small and big things we take on to serve each other. We work hard. We do some things well. Other things are still a work in progress. Maybe what Miriam shows us is that we can all take responsibility for building our community at Beth Jacob, at OHDS, and at all the other organizations and institutions that sustain us. It also shows us that if we slip up with the occasional lashon horah or another mistake, we can be mindful about the costs – divine or otherwise – of doing so and do teshuvah.

Finally, Miriam knew how to party. One commentary said that while Moshe sang first as the Red Sea closed, he did so without any musical accompaniment. Miriam was the one who wisely packed hand-drums and timbrels. She knew that surviving a difficult ordeal like leaving Egypt including both the brutal life of slavery left behind and the ending of the infanticide of Jewish children would require an uproarious celebration worthy of such a moment of redemption.

As our community evolves, we shouldn’t forget the importance of what we are building here in Oakland and that it requires hard work. However, whether it’s on Simchat Torah, at various simchas, the non-June Dinner, or even just a restful shabbos, we should take the time to enjoy the moment and fruits of what we are building with our friends here in Oakland. We have earned it.