Miriam's Cup

We include on our seder table םַיְרִמ כּוֹס kos Miryam, Miriam’s cup. Legend tells of a mysterious well filled with living waters that followed the Israelites through their wandering in the desert while Miriam was alive.

AS WE PASS AROUND MIRIAM’S CUP, EACH PERSON POURS SOME WATER FROM THEIR OWN GLASS INTO THE CUP.

In every generation, we experience both oppression and liberation. In our wanderings, both as a people and as individuals, Miriam’s well still accompanies us as a sustaining presence in the desert, enabling us not just to survive, but to thrive. Miriam’s well reminds us that our journey has both direction and destination—to a place where freedom is proclaimed for all. A land flowing with milk and honey.

Elijah's Cup

Let us open the door and invite Elijah to enter and join with us as we drink the wine of our freedom

Eliyahu Ha-Navi (“Elijah the Prophet” in English) was a biblical prophet who lived in the 9th century BCE during the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in the Kingdom of Israel. His prophetic fervor and fierce defense of God in the face of pagan influences in comparison with all other Israelite biblical prophets earned him the honor of being the ‘guardian angel’ of the Israelites and subsequently, the Jewish people. Because he was considered the strongest defender of God, he was said to be the forerunner of the Messiah. In the Book of Malachi, Malachi, who was the last of the Israelite prophets, states that Elijah would reappear just before the coming of the Messianic Age. (Malachi 3:1)


haggadah Section: Kadesh