Fourth Cup

LaurieAnn Yeisley-Drogin. 2022. Miriam's Cup 5782.

Artist Statement: 

"Daughter of"

"Sister of"

You had a name

Guardian of the young and helpless

Sustainer of your people

Prophet raising spirits in celebration

Daughter, Sister, Guardian, Sustainer, Prophet

Every woman of every generation

Has wandered her own desert

Guarding, sustaining, raising spirits

From generation to generation

Women have kept the stories of our people alive

From generation to generation

Women have been guardians of the young and helpless

Hiding children in baskets on the Nile and in attics and under floorboards in Berlin and Kiev

From generation to generation

Women have been sustainers of our people

Telling the stories, sharing the recipes, lighting candles in the darkness

From generation to generation

Women have been prophets of hope

Leading songs of defiance, celebration, and deliverance in the face of tyranny and despair

From generation to generation

Your story sustains your daughters as living water sustained those who wandered at G-d's direction

We raise your cup

We say your name

Miriam

This piece came to me as a dream, with women of varying hues, of many generations, carrying Miriam's Cup to establish our place at the seder. As we celebrate the deliverance of the Exodus, one of many survival stories of our people, we remember the women who have been at the heart of every Passover meal, generation after generation, and we celebrate them.


haggadah Section: Hallel