What we can learn from Miriam

In this week’s Torah reading, Beha’alotcha, we find that Miriam speaks badly about her brother Moses and is therefore stricken with leprosy. As a result, she is quarantined outside the Israelite camp for seven days, after which she is healed and returns to the camp.

There is not much that we know about Miriam, and here is what we do know.

The Torah refers to her as "Miriam the Prophetess” and the Talmud names her as one of the seven major female prophets of Israel. Scripture describes her alongside of Moses and Aaron as delivering the Jews from exile in Egypt: “For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.” (Micah 6:4)

We recall that when the Jews were slaves in Egypt, the Pharaoh decreed that all Jewish newborn males were to be cast into the Nile River. Personally, I doubt that any mom or dad would actually do this. Now be that as it may, we read that Moses’ mother could no longer hide her baby – Moses – and instead placed him in a basket of reeds, and sent him off on the Nile, hoping someone would find him and take care of him. And to help assure his safety, Moses’ older sister, Miriam, was assigned to watch over him. As it turned out, Miriam was the oldest child of the family, six years older than Moses - so she was just 6 years old when she was guarding her baby brother Moses. Thus, Jewish tradition holds her in high regard, as a brave and courageous soul.

We next find Miriam, many years later, when the Israelites are finally released from Egyptian bondage, cross the Red Sea and begin their travels towards the Promised Land. Moses leads the Israelites in song – in what is known as the Song of the Sea. Then, Miriam herself leads the women in a similar song, which indicates that she has achieved at least some stature in her own right, aside from being Moses’ sister.

Then, we find Miriam, along with her brother Aaron, questioning the authority of Moses, basically proclaiming – Hey, Moses – who/what makes you more special than us – does not God also speak with us as well? The actual text is: “Has the Lord spoken only to Moses? Hasn't He spoken to us too?" (Numbers 12:2)

So, the question is: why did Miriam and Aaron challenge Moses’ authority? Well, from a negative perspective, we can surmise that she and Aaron were jealous that he was the ultimate leader and not them. And we can certainly understand that sentiment, although we may not agree with it.

On the other hand, this came shortly after Moses realized that he had too many arguments and disputes to solve among the complaining Israelites, so he set up a system of courts and spent much of the day judging. From this perspective, Miriam and Aaron could simply have tried to ease Moses’ burdens by claiming that since God speaks to them as well, they can help him out – he does not need to take full responsibility for everything. But, since Miriam was punished, we can assume that God did not see this in a positive way.

Later in the Torah, we are told that Miriam died, and the people cried unto the Lord for there was no water and they were parched. From this, the Rabbis learned that because of the merit of Miriam, a ‘well’ accompanied the Israelites when they were wandering in the dessert. The rabbis explained that when she died, the well dried up; and hence, there was no water for the Israelites. Thus, Jewish tradition holds her as a woman of great worth and esteem.

But wait, there’s more: here is a little-known fact about Miriam. Although there are various opinions throughout Talmudic sources regarding Miriam’s spouse, the most commonly accepted opinion is that she was the wife of Caleb, one of the spies sent to scout the land of Canaan, who expressed trust in Gd’s powers. And as far as we know, she had no children. (We are told about the children of Moses and Aaron.)

And, it has become customary in many families to place Miriam’s cup on the Seder table, much as we do with Elijah’s cup.

Perhaps her very name bespeaks of her life. “Miriam” has been associated with the word “Mar” meaning ‘bitter’, and with the word “Rahm” meaning ‘uplifted’. Modern interpreters look at Miriam as someone who has faced a bitter life –i.e. slavery in Egypt, playing second or third fiddle to her younger brother, not having children … yet, she found a way to ‘uplift’ herself by saving her little brother, becoming a leader of the women and being recognized by God providing water for the Israelites on her behalf.

So, perhaps, the lesson for us is to find ways to remain positive even in the face of adversity.

ETHAN ADLER is the rabbi at Congregation Beth David, in Narragansett.