Miriam's Cup

Along with the traditional Passover symbols, you may choose to include a Cup of Miriam—Kos Miriam—on your holiday table. This symbol honors Miriam, the sister of Moses, who played a vital role in the history of our people. The cup of Miriam is a special goblet filled with water and placed on the Seder table. Prior to the ritual related to the Cup of Elijah, celebrate Miriam’s Cup, using the following reading. Or, you can ask a Seder participant, well in advance of the Seder, to create a special reading.

Procedure:
Place a water-filled goblet on the table or ask each Seder participant to pour some water into a special cup designated as Miriam’s Cup, either from his or her own water glass or from a special pitcher.

One participant raises Miriam’s Cup, and all recite together: Miriam, a prophetess, predicted the birth of her brother Moses, guarded him as he floated down the Nile, witnessed Pharaoh’s daughter drawing him out of the river, and arranged for their own mother to care for the infant Moses. Miriam was over 80 when she kicked up her heels and led the women in joyous dancing, celebrating the Israelites’ safe crossing of the Sea of Reeds in their escape from slavery in Egypt. A symbol of her special place in the life of the Jewish people was the miraculous well, known as Miriam’s Well, which quenched the thirst of our people during their 40 years of wandering in the desert.

We place on our Seder table this special Cup of Miriam—Kos Miriam to remember this remarkable woman who was a prophetess, dancer and guardian of our people. (Set down Miriam’s Cup.)

From the Jewish Parent Page of the Union for Reform Judaism