Pesach

Tanakh

וַתִּקַּח֩ מִרְיָ֨ם הַנְּבִיאָ֜ה אֲח֧וֹת אַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶת־הַתֹּ֖ף בְּיָדָ֑הּ וַתֵּצֶ֤אןָ כׇֽל־הַנָּשִׁים֙ אַחֲרֶ֔יהָ בְּתֻפִּ֖ים וּבִמְחֹלֹֽת׃

וַתַּ֥עַן לָהֶ֖ם מִרְיָ֑ם שִׁ֤ירוּ לַֽיי כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃ {ס}

"Miryam the prophetess, Aharon's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her, with timbrels and with dancing.

'Sing to Hashem, for he has triumphed, yes triumphed, the horse and its charioteer he flung into the sea!'" — Beshalach, Shemot (Exodus) 15:20-21; 1995 Schocken Bible Everett Fox translation

Talmud, Midrash, and Commentary

מִרְיָם — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן״, וְלֹא אֲחוֹת מֹשֶׁה, אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר רַב: שֶׁהָיְתָה מִתְנַבְּאָה כְּשֶׁהִיא אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, וְאוֹמֶרֶת: עֲתִידָה אִמִּי שֶׁתֵּלֵד בֵּן שֶׁיּוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁנּוֹלַד נִתְמַלֵּא כָּל הַבַּיִת כּוּלּוֹ אוֹרָה, עָמַד אָבִיהָ וּנְשָׁקָהּ עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, אָמַר לָהּ: בִּתִּי נִתְקַיְּימָה נְבוּאָתִיךְ. 

"Miriam was a prophetess, as it is written explicitly: “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand” (Exodus 15:20). The Gemara asks: Was she the sister only of Aaron, and not the sister of Moses? Why does the verse mention only one of her brothers? Rav Naḥman said that Rav said: For she prophesied when she was the sister of Aaron, i.e., she prophesied since her youth, even before Moses was born, and she would say: My mother is destined to bear a son who will deliver the Jewish people to salvation. And at the time when Moses was born the entire house was filled with light, and her father stood and kissed her on the head, and said to her: My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled." — Megillah 14a:14; William Davidson Talmud

ומרים אמרה שירה לנשים. אע"פ שלא נכתב במרים רק פסוק הראשון, מ"מ קצר וסמך על השירה הנזכרת:  

"Miriam sang the song for the women. Although regarding Miriam only the first stanza is written, [she sang the whole song]. Scripture abbreviated, relying on the fact that the song is written above." — Sifrei Chakhamim, Exodus 15:21:1

Date Finished: 

April 18, 2025

Description:

Chag Pesach Sameach! The seventh day of Pesach is when the Israelites actually manage to escape Egypt via the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. I wanted to draw Miryam who has obtained an elevated status especially within Jewish feminist thought. 

I liked the Prince of Egypt design, but I wanted to make my own design from scratch. Because of her constant association with water, I tried to include as many waves as possible in her design. I also based her design and colors on the bitter greens (maror) that would have been present in Egypt like watercress, dandelion, chicory, and wild lettuces. The Samaritans (Israelites from the northern kingdom) consider only the leaves of the common sow thistle to be fit for maror.  I based Miryam's clothing on what Egyptian peasants and enslaved people wore (the white linen underlayer). However, I combined this with some overskirts based on some paintings and late Bronze Age jewelry (necklace and bracelet) received from the Egyptians as reparations right before the tenth plague. I gave Miryam jewelry that represented all the precious metals used in the Mishkan: a gold necklace, a silver bracet, and a bronze timbrel. I always saw Miryam as a petite woman who neverthelss stands tall in the face of oppression with her timbrel.

Name:

Miryam's name means "rebellion." If you vowelize her name differently, you can get "bitter" (marim), "lift up" (meyrim), or "rebels" (morim). Breaking her name into its components without vowels sees the words: mar meaning "to be strong" or "mistress" in its noun version, mir ("a drop, flowing down"), and mor (myrrh) as nouns combined with the word for sea (yam).