Miriam She was Moses and Aaron's older sister. The Torah refers to her at the beginning of the book of Exodus, but in this Portion, at the song of the sea, she is mentioned by name for the first time: Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances. (Exodus 15:20) The Jewish people had just crossed the sea, and Moses led the men in song. Yet it was the women led by Miriam who sang and rejoiced with far greater intensity. They sang to G-d not only with words but also with timbrels and dances. The name Miriam contains within it two seemingly opposite meanings. Miriam contains the word mayim, water. [Indeed, three of the four stories where she is mentioned in the Torah occur in the context of water: she stood at the Nile to see what would happen to baby Moses who was placed in a basket at the Nile; her song at the crossing of the sea; her passing caused the lack of water]. Miriam also contains the word mar, bitter, because, as the Midrash points out, she was born at the darkest point of slavery in Egypt, described in the Torah as "they
Miriam's unique quality was that despite living in profoundly dark and bitter circumstances, she was a source of life-giving "water" to herself and the people around her, sharing encouragement, positivity, and hope amid the darkness. As Rashi explains: Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took: When did she prophecy? When she was known only as "Aaron's sister," before Moses was born, she said, "My mother is destined to bear a son" who will save Israel. Some people react to pain and suffering by freezing their emotions, some people remain positive by suppressing the pain; not so Miriam. Miriam empathized with the people and experienced their emotional and physical pain, yet the pain did not lead to despair, rather, the pain led to hope. Indeed because she felt the pain more than others, her joy at the splitting of the sea was more profound. The letters of Miriam can be read as meirim - uplifting. Miriam responds to the pain by uplifting herself, by offering hope, ultimately transforming the painful experience into joy. When facing a challenge, each of us must learn from Miriam. We should not ignore the pain nor lose hope. Instead, the pain can motivate us to find water; the challenge can lead us to the deeper reservoirs of our soul, which can unleash the hope and enthusiasm necessary to transform the bitterness into water. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Hisvaaduyos 5752 vol. 2 page 187.