Opening the Door for Miriam and Elijah

Miriam the prophetess is linked with water in a number of ways. She watched over her baby brother Moses in the Nile and sang and danced at the shores of the Reed Sea. Midrash teaches us that when Miriam died, the magical, portable well that had sustained our people dried up. According to tradition, Elijah will bring Messiah to us and the world will be redeemed. In Rabbi Leila Gal Berner's lyrics (image), Miriam brings us to the waters of redemption. It will then be our task to enter the waters and together redeem the world. Instead of pouring out wrath, let us pour forth love, forgiveness and peace — for the soothing and healing of our broken world.

Add water to Miriam's glass while singing.

One tradition suggests that each person is responsible for helping to bring Elijah’s idyllic vision to fruition. As we focus tonight on creating liberation, let us each pour some wine into the cup of Elijah & Miriam on our table as a pledge to each do our part in building a more just society.

We now open the front door, to invite the prophets Miriam and Elijah to join our seder, and sing:

אֵלִיָּֽהוּ הַנָּבִיא, אֵלִיָּֽהוּ הַתִּשְׁבִּי,
אֵלִיָּֽהוּ הַגִּלְעָדִי 
בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵֽנוּ יָבוֹא אֵלֵֽינוּ
עִם מָשִֽׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד

Eliyahu Hanavie, Eliyahu Hatishbi,
Elyahu Hagiladi,
Bimherah Yavo Elenu
Im Mashiach Ben David.

Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite,
Elijah the Giladite,
May he soon come to us,
with Mashiach the son of David.

Rabbi Mishael Zion, teaches that the seder’s two door-openings are fundamentally opposites. When we opened the door at Ha lachma anya, we focused on local injustice; we, from our position of privilege, are the ones capable of feeding those who are hungry. Here, late in the seder, we open ourselves up to the massive injustices that afect the entire world. We give ourselves permission to name our anger at the fact that forced labor and other injustices still exist in the 21st century, to recognize our limitations, and to cry out, asking God to show up as an avenger of injustice. The world we want to see will have no need of our righteous indignation, but until that world is here, we cannot afford to ignore those darker feelings.

What is the role of anger in fighting injustice?


haggadah Section: Bareich
Source: T'ruah/Revenge of Dinah