Miriam’s Cup, like Elijah’s cup, is symbolic cup of the seder table. It is filled with water, as a symbol of Miriam’s Well, which was the source of water for the Israelites in the desert. Miriam’s Cup symbolises the importance of Miriam, women and other minorities of the Exodus story, whom the narrative has overlooked. Although a prophet and the sister of Moses, she is never mentioned in the traditional Haggadah text.

“If it were not for the righteousness of women of that generation,

we would not have been redeemed from Egypt.” Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 9b

Legend tells, Miriam’s Well was a magical source that followed the Israelites for 40 years, whose waters were healing and sustaining. In many ways, Miriam’s cup is about living here in the present, as Elijah’s looks to the future. Miriam’s cup is filled with what we need to survive: water, and Elijah’s with wine, for a happy and fulfilling life. We fill it at the very beginning of the seder, because she appears at the very beginning of the Exodus story (watching over her brother Moses in the Nile). Starting with Miriam’s Cup is also a way of letting people know right from the beginning that our seder is going to be a fully inclusive one. It is also a reminder, that while we at the table are privileged enough to drink and enjoy wine, there are others whom privilege does not reach. We remind ourselves that we are drinking wine, while others only have water, and some have nothing at all. Elijah’s Cup comes at the end and the two cups frame the seder. Our journey is Miriam’s journey through the wilderness, accompanying marginalised peoples from plain water to rich wine, from bare survival to dignity, prosper and equality.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: Leah Tillmann-Morris