Water

Leader:

Water is refreshing, cleansing, and clear, so it’s easy to understand why so many cultures and religions use water as a symbol.

Reader 3:

Water is life. It is the building block and sustaining force of all living things.

Reader 4:

Water represents the healing power of wisdom. It flows onward, carrying its essential simplicity to everything it touches.

Reader 5:

Water is powerful, though it may seem calm. Its tranquil surface hides a force with enough might to reshape the world.

Leader:

This symbolic washing of the hands recalls the story of Miriam's Well. Legend tells us that this well followed Miriam, sister of Moses, through the desert, sustaining the Jews in their wanderings. This well was a gift to the Hebrews by God because of the merit of Miriam, whose faith and optimism sustained her people’s spirits. Miriam’s Well, filled with mayim hayim, waters of life, was a source of strength and renewal for all who drew from it. One drink from its waters was said to alert the heart, mind, and soul.

We will now wash the hands of our neighbor. While water – full of life, wisdom, and power – drops over your fingers, honor Miriam by speaking aloud the name of a person who has lifted your spirits, who has encouraged your passion, or who has sung with joy at your accomplishments.

[The person to the left of the leader holds the basin and pours a small amount of water over the fingers of the leader. This person passes the basin and ladle to their left so their fingers can be washed and this process continues around the table. After the leader washes the hands of the person next to them, continue.]

Leader:

[Pour a glass of water for Miriam.]

I pour Miriam’s Cup as a reminder of all that water does. Water cleanses and heals, water shows us wisdom, water has the power to change things. Let Miriam’s cup remind us that water is life, and that all people need physical and spiritual sustenance. In washing our hands, we also think of those who don't get to share in the basic human right of abundant, clean water. Of people deprived of water by the weather in Somalia, in India, in Texas and those deprived of water by human action in places like Flint, Michigan. We wash our hands and accept our responsibilities to those threatened by the presence and absence of water and pray that those with the human power to change things do not wash their hands of what the world needs them to correct.

Group:

Zot be’er Miriam kos mayim hayim.

This is the well of Miriam, the cup of living waters.


haggadah Section: Urchatz