Righteous Women
"Highwomen" Lyrics
https://genius.com/The-highwomen-highwomen-lyrics
[Verse 1: Brandi Carlile]
I was a Highwoman
And a mother from my youth
For my children, I did what I had to do
My family left Honduras when they killed the Sandinistas
We followed a coyote through the dust of Mexico
Every one of them except for me survived
And I am still alive
[Verse 2: Amanda Shires]
I was a healer
I was gifted as a girl
I laid hands upon the world
Someone saw me sleeping naked in the noon sun
I heard "witchcraft" in the whispers and I knew my time had come
The bastards hung me at the Salem gallows hill
But I am living still
[Verse 3: Yola]
I was a freedom rider
When we thought the South had won
Virginia in the spring of '61
I sat down on the Greyhound that was bound for Mississippi
My mother asked me if that ride was worth my life
And when the shots rang out, I never heard the sound
But I am still around
[Chorus]
And I'll take that ride again
And again, and again, and again, and again
[Verse 4: Natalie Hemby]
I was a preacher
My heart broke for all the world
But teaching was unrighteous for a girl
In the summer, I was baptized in the mighty Colorado
In the winter, I heard the hounds and I knew I had been found
And in my Savior's name, I laid my weapons down
But I am still around
[Verse 5: All]
We are The Highwomen
Singing stories still untold
We carry the sons you can only hold
We are the daughters of the silent generations
You send our hearts to die alone in foreign nations
And they return to us as tiny drops of rain
But we will still remain
[Chorus]
And we'll come back again
And again, and again, and again, and again
We'll come back again
And again, and again, and again, and again
ברכת תורה
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוק בְּדִבְרֵי תורָה:
Torah Blessing
(1) Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to immerse ourselves in words of Torah.
דרש רב עוירא בשכר נשים צדקניות שהיו באותו הדור נגאלו ישראל ממצרים
§ Rav Avira taught: In the merit of the righteous women that were in that generation, the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt.
Who is Miriam? What is her story?
Exodus 2:1-10
Exodus 15:20-21
Numbers 12:1-6
Numbers 12:10-16
Miriam's Well
Image of Dura Europas Synagogue in p.d. Syria. Destroyed before 3rd c. CE
"Miriam's Well" by Rivka Miriam (transl. Linda Stern Zisquit)
The Torah: A Women's Commentary, p. 936
Numbers 21:17-18
Miriam's well was rolling in the desert
made of the mouths of fish.
The nation drinking from it
turned to water
and rolled after her In the desert
and the desert rolled after them like a carpet.
Rise up, well, sang the people
their voices a density of cloud
and the dryness quenched their voices.
(1) The well in Miriam’s merit. For immediately after Miriam died they no longer had water. You might ask: Why was the well not in Aaron's or Moses's merit? The answer is that it was in the merit of Miriam waiting for Moses by the water, to see what would happen to him when he was placed there in the box [as a baby] (Exodus 2:4). In return, this merit of the well, i.e., the water that God provided for the congregation was on her behalf.
ר' יוסי בר' יהודה אומר שלשה פרנסים טובים עמדו לישראל אלו הן משה ואהרן ומרים וג' מתנות טובות ניתנו על ידם ואלו הן באר וענן ומן באר בזכות מרים עמוד ענן בזכות אהרן מן בזכות משה מתה מרים נסתלק הבאר שנאמר (במדבר כ, א) ותמת שם מרים וכתיב בתריה ולא היה מים לעדה וחזרה בזכות שניהן
Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: Three good sustainers rose up for the Jewish people during the exodus from Egypt, and they are: Moses, Aaron and Miriam. And three good gifts were given from Heaven through their agency, and these are they: The well of water, the pillar of cloud, and the manna. He elaborates: The well was given to the Jewish people in the merit of Miriam; the pillar of cloud was in the merit of Aaron; and the manna in the merit of Moses. When Miriam died the well disappeared, as it is stated: “And Miriam died there” (Numbers 20:1), and it says thereafter in the next verse: “And there was no water for the congregation” (Numbers 20:2). But the well returned in the merit of both Moses and Aaron.
כוס מרים
Miriam's Cup
"Miriam's Cup" from RitualWell.org
A Miriam's Cup is a new ritual object that is placed on the seder table beside the Cup of Elijah. Miriam's Cup is filled with water. It serves as a symbol of Miriam's Well, which was the source of water for the Israelites in the desert. Putting a Miriam's Cup on your table is a way of making your seder more inclusive. It lets people know that at your table, the words of girls and boys, women and men, are welcome. It is also a way of drawing attention to the importance of Miriam and the other women of the Exodus story - women who have sometimes been overlooked...
There are many legends about Miriam’s Well. It is said to have been a magical source of water that followed the Israelites for 40 years because of the merit of Miriam. The waters of this well were said to be healing and sustaining. Thus, Miriam’s Cup is a symbol of all that sustains us through our own journeys, while Elijah’s Cup is a symbol of a future Messianic time.
https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/miriams-cup-0
Miriam's Song by Debbie Friedman
[Chorus]
And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted
Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long
[Verse 1]
And Miriam was a weaver of unique variety
The tapestry she wove was one which sang our history
With every strand and every thread she crafted her delight
A woman touched with spirit, she dances toward the light
[Chorus]
And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted
Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long
[Verse 2]
When Miriam stood upon the shores and gazed across the sea
The wonder of this miracle she soon came to believe
Whoever thought the sea would part with an outstretched hand
And we would pass to freedom and march to the promised land
[Chorus]
And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted
Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long
[Verse 3]
And Miriam the prophet took her timbrel in her hand
And all the women followed her just as she had planned
And Miriam raised her voice in song, she sang with praise and might
We've just lived through a miracle, we're going to dance tonight
[Chorus]
And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted
Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long