Every year for Passover, we retell the story of the journey from the narrows to the expanse, from enslavement to freedom, and find new meaning and inspiration for our own lives. Some of us (thanks to Jewish lesbian feminists in the 1970s) might lift a cup to Miriam, who danced, drummed and sang us to the other side of the sea, but why stop there? Miriam’s bitter and healing waters run deep – her legacy can be a source of inspiration for revealing the “undertold stories” and centering the wisdom of the body that guides us towards joyful resistance, liberation and healing. In the Torah, Miriam is called haNeviah: the prophetess; she is both lifted up as a community ritual leader and healer, and also punished for her power.
It is said that every Saturday night the water from Miriam’s well flows through all the waterways in the world, bringing healing. Join us as we dive into the depths of Miriam’s well and in the grand tradition of radical queer and feminist midrashic play, splash around in text, tales, rituals and our own collective wisdom. We will immerse in the sea of possibilities of Miriam as Prophetess, Miriam as Joyous Embodied Liberation Worker, and Miriam as Sick and Bitter Elder Femme of Color Healer. We will learn about her associations with drum, dance, hand, circle, water, keys, and plants. Joined by a few special guests, we will dip into diasporic Jewish folk healing traditions that invoke Miriam, be guided in delightful and deep practices and ritual, and explore how we might draw from her waters for liberation and healing.
Image: fresco from Dura Europos Synagogue, Syria, around 12th century image description: painting in earth tones of 6 golden brown people in tunics and headdresses holding vessels and drums on the banks of a river with 1 naked person immersed in the water holding a baby
