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The "Tefilat Geshem" ("Prayer for Rain") recited on Shemini 'Atzeret contains six verses. Each verse refers to a different person (except the last, which refers to a nation) and makes various allusions to that person's interactions with water found in the Torah and Midrash, with the prominent repetition of the word "mayim" ("water") throughout and ending each verse.

The subjects of the six verses are:

  • Avraham
  • Yitzchak
  • Ya'akov
  • Moshe
  • Aharon
  • The 12 Tribes of Israel

If there's anyone in the Torah+Midrash who's associated with water, Miriam is, as the well on which the Israelites depended for their water in the desert was called "the Water of Miriam" in the Midrash. One of her other claims to fame was "Song of Miriam," the version of the Song of the Sea that she led the women to sing on the banks of the Red Sea. She's also known for the vigil she stood over her baby brother Moshe, when he was hidden in the Nile.

Why isn't there a verse of Tefilat Geshem devoted to Miriam?

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There's a wonderful site, piyut.org.il , which gathers liturgical poetry, music and essays from many different Jewish communities. One essay by Ruth Gan Kagan (Israeli leader in Jewish Renewal movement) asks this same question. While she doesn't have any good historical explanation, a number of years ago she decided to write her own poem featuring 5 significant water-inspired Jewish women (Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, Miriam, Devora). She reports of a number of shuls which have integrated her poem into their Tefilat HaGeshem. piyut.org.il/articles/578.html – ChaimKut Oct 25 '12 at 14:26

3 Answers

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Perhaps Miriam is alluded to in the verse יִחַד לֵב וְגָל אֶבֶן מִפִּי בְאֵר מַיִם

and also in the verse קוֹרֵא וּמַזֶּה טָהֳרַת *מַיִם ר*וּחַק מֵעַם פַּחַז כַּמָּיִם

Another thought: When Miriam was Nifteres it says that the water continued in the Zechus of Moshe who was still living. http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112396/jewish/Miriam.htm

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Nice bio link. I'm re-using it in the question instead of Wikipedia. – Isaac Moses Feb 15 '12 at 20:44
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These are nice ideas, but: 1) The hints would carry more weight if we had a source for them, and they still don't explain why the Biblical character perhaps most explicitly associated with water (and the merit that gets it for us) gets a hint rather than a verse. 2) Even if the water in the desert wasn't exclusively due to Miriam's merit, she still has a very strong association with it, and also with the other two episodes I mentioned - still at least as strong an association with water as the subjects of the other verses. – Isaac Moses Oct 12 '12 at 16:43
+1 I would say Miriam was over shadowed by Moshe. (Though no argument on her own greatness) – JNF Oct 16 '12 at 20:24
up vote 1 down vote

This is not a particularly satisfying answer, but I always assumed it was because she's female. While there exist some rare references to women elsewhere in Jewish liturgy, it's far more common practice to leave them out. (For example, I was quite struck that the imahot are included during yizkor -- it seemed unfamiliar after so many daily mentions of "Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, v'Elokei Yaakov" alone.)

Ironic given that Hannah's prayer is such an acknowledged archetype for tefillah...

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This is possibly an answer to the OP's question, but note that the Imahot are not necessarily on the same level of historical/spiritual/religious significance as the Avot (in female form) just because they lived at the same time. So I don't know why you'd expect them to be listed together always. Perhaps women aren't included as often in the liturgy because historically there happen to be far fewer important ones to include. That's a historical fact, not a necessary truth. – Double AA♦ Oct 14 '12 at 0:19
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Kayla, welcome to Mi Yodeya, and thanks very much for this suggestion! You're right that the answer is not particularly satisfying as-is, but if we could find some source indicating that in fact, as a rule, women aren't mentioned in piyutim, and why, that would get us a long way toward answering this. Besides Yizkor, another exception to that apparent rule would be Esther, who shows up in the Krovetz for Purim, Shoshanat Ya'akov, and Selichot. – Isaac Moses Oct 14 '12 at 1:27
@DoubleAA We have a clear source that Sarah was at a higher spiritual level than Avraham (as pointed out by Rabbi Abba Wagensburg) as we find in Bereshis 21:12 Hashem instructs Avraham to listen to his wife. – Chaim Oct 14 '12 at 3:04
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@Chaim I hope you're not just bringing that pasuk as the source, as there are all sorts of reasons God would tell a man to listen to someone else. Did R Wagensburg say anything more specific than that? – Double AA♦ Oct 14 '12 at 3:48
@DoubleAA Our Sages of Blessed Memory say it explicity in Shmot Rabbah 1: "ויאמר אלהים אל אברהם: אל ירע בעיניך" וגו' (בראשית כא, יב ) מכאן אתה למד שהיה אברהם טפל לשרה בנביאות. "And G-d said unto Abraham: 'Let it not be grievous in thy sight [because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice]" (Genesis 21:12) from here we learn that Avraham was subordinate to Sarah in prophesy." – ChaimKut Oct 18 '12 at 17:39
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up vote -1 down vote

I agree that it is due to the sex of miriam; unrolling the stone from off the well obviously refers to yaakov at the well, and the sprinkling of the water refers to the service in the mishkan by the kohen. by avoiding references to women, focus and kavana are kept 'on target'.

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Les, welcome to Mi Yodeya. Please consider registering your account, which will give you access to more of the site's features. Also, could you clarify your answer? "I agree" with whom? What does Miryam's sex have to do with rolling stones or with sprinkling water? Do you have a source for saying that avoiding references to women improves kavana, or for saying that that's the reason Miryam's not in this piyut? – msh210♦ Oct 14 '12 at 7:56

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