It's the small acts that make big people
Miriam Haneviah was born a child of galus. Her parents named her Miriam, from the word mar, bitter, and she dedicated her life to turning bitter to sweet (Seder Olam Rabbah, 3). Before the age of seven, she prophesied that her divorced parents would reunite and give birth to Moshe Rabbeinu, savior of the Jewish People (Midrash Rabbah, Naso, 13). With love and patience, she watched over her brother as he lay in his floating crib on the Nile. At the propitious moment, she stepped forward to make sure he would be nursed by his own mother.
She was the leader of the Jewish women at Yetzias Mitzrayim, inspiring them to bring percussion instruments into the Midbar, confident they would witness Redemption. After crossing the Yam Suf, she led them in song and dance. In her merit, we earned the Be’er Miriam, which supplied the Jews with the purest of water throughout 40 years of wandering in the desert.
Miriam’s legacy is as the great teacher of Jewish women. On a deeper level, her Be’er Miriam represents Torah shebe’al peh, the Oral Law, and Miriam is described as the essence of the Oral Law (Sfas Emes, Ki Seitzei, 5657).
Perhaps most inspiring of all was her bravery. Along with her mother, Yocheved, she stood up to Pharaoh and defied his decree of genocide. By putting her life in mortal danger, she succeeded in saving a generation of Jewish children.
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