Two Cups: Elijah and Miriam, a kavvanah and a prayer by Trisha Arlin
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=4680
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license Date: 2012-04-05
Last Updated: 2025-03-07
Categories: Barekh
Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Jewish Feminist Prayers, Miriam, Passover, Passover seder, Prayers as poems, Psychopomp, אליהו הנביא Eliyahu haNavi
Excerpt: We lift Miriam’s cup, Dancing prophet celebrating the world that is now. And we tell God we are grateful For the water from the earth that was Miriam’s gift, Welcome necessity, On God’s behalf. Miriam announces joy! And teaches us to save ourselves. Miriam, the bringer of mercy, There’s no prayer for her in the haggadah-- So make one up! . . .
Content:
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A Kavannah and Prayer
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What was the seder table when we only had Elijah’s cup? Incomplete.
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We open the door for Elijah,
Angry prophet of the world to come.
And we ask God to pay attention
To the fire from the sky that was Elijah’s gift.
Regretted necessity.
Elijah announces the Moshiaḥ
Who then saves the Jews!
Elijah, the bringer of justice.
When you open the door don’t just say the prayer
Read the translation,
It’s a little scary
So invite that in.
Bring down the anger, bring down the plagues
Sometimes we need them,
It’s part of the story.
We were slaves in Egypt and it was horrible.
But
If there is a child at the table
Let her open the door for Uncle Elijah
And hope that there’s some wind tonight
And when it blows
Tell her that’s Elijah as he comes inside
Visiting each Jewish home on Pesaḥ
To have his cup of wine.
And when the child sits back down
Jiggle the table just a little
And tell her to watch the wine shake in the cup
So the kid thinks Elijah is there, taking a sip.
The anger will wait.
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We lift Miriam’s cup,
Dancing prophet celebrating the world that is now.
And we tell God we are grateful
For the water from the earth that was Miriam’s gift,
Welcome necessity,
On God’s behalf.
Miriam announces joy!
And teaches us to save ourselves.
Miriam, the bringer of mercy,
There’s no prayer for her in the haggadah—
So make one up!
It’s a little scary
But what the heck.
Bring up the water, start the party
Sometimes we need it
And it’s part of the story:
We were slaves in Egypt and now we are free.
But
If there is a child at the table
Let him take a sip from Miriam’s cup,
If all the talking makes him thirsty,
And while he drinks
Tell him about Miriam the artist
Singing Mi Ḳhamoḳhah on the Red Sea Shore
Making sure we have fun at the table.
And when the child is finished
Remember that Miriam was a truth teller
And for that the prophet paid a heavy price
Make sure the kid respects Miriam, and values her water.
The fun will wait.
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So together on the seder table
Fire and Water, Justice and Mercy
Tzedek v’ Raḥameem,
The cup of wine to stir the flame
The cup of water to quench it.
Only with both cups are we complete.
So for all this,
Baruḳh Atah Adonai, Bruḳha At Sheḥinah
Elijah and Miriam
We are blessed this Pesaḥ night.
Amen.
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Trisha Arlin’s prayer-poem for Pesaḥ, “Two Cups: Elijah and Miriam,” was first published online on her website, with a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license.
Contributor: Trisha Arlin
Co-authors:
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Name: Trisha Arlin
Bio: Trisha Arlin is a liturgist, teacher, performer and student of prayer in Brooklyn, NY and was a part-time rabbinic student at the Academy of Jewish Religion (AJR), 2012-18. Trisha was the Liturgist-In-Residence during the National Havurah Committee’s 2014 Summer Institute, has served as Scholar or Artist In Residence at many synagogues where she has read, led services and taught her class, Writing Prayer. since the pandemic began, Trisha has been on Zoom teaching prayer writing, sharing her liturgy and doing readings with Ritualwell, Haggadot.com, for synagogues around the country as well as small freelance groups. She is a founding builder of Bayit’s Liturgical Arts project. Trisha received a BA in Theater from Antioch College in 1975 and MFA in Film (Screenwriting) in 1997 from Columbia University. In 2009/2010, Trisha was an Arts Fellow at the Drisha Institute. In 2011, she graduated from the sixth cohort of the Davennen Leadership Training Institute (DLTI). A longtime member of Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of our Lives, a progressive unaffiliated congregation in Brooklyn NY, Trisha’s liturgy has been used at services and ritual occasions and in newsletter there and at venues of many denominations around the world. Her work has been published in her book, Place Yourself: Words of Poetry and Intention (a collection of liturgy and kavannot. Foreword by Rabbi Jill Hammer, Artwork by Mike Cockrill. 2019 Dimus Parrhesia Press); the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion; Seder Tefillot, Forms of Prayer: Prayers for the High Holydays (Movement for Reform Judaism); B’chol Levavecha (CCAR Press); Beside Still Waters: A Journey of Comfort and Renewal (Bayit & Ben Yehuda Press); A Poet’s Siddur (Ain’t Got No Press); Studies in Judaism and Pluralism (Ben Yehuda Press) and can be found online at TrishaArlin.com, at RitualWell, and of course, the Open Siddur Project. You can support her work by buying her book, making a one time donation through PayPal @trishaarlin or monthly support via Patreon.
Website: https://triganza.blogspot.com
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/trisha-arlin
Featured Image:
Title: Miriam and Elijahs cup by Shoshanah (CC-BY 2.0)
Caption: Image: Miriam and Elijahs cup by Shoshanah (License: CC-BY 2.0)