13
votes
Accepted
Who was older, Miriam or Aaron?
Tosafot Bechorot 4a:
דלא היה אהרן בכור דמרים גדולה ממנו ג' שנים כדאמר במדרש [ריש פ' שמות] כמו שהיה אהרן גדול ממשה ג' שנים
Aharon was not the firstborn, because Miriam was three years older ...
- 41.8k
10
votes
What did Amram and Yocheved do to merit raising leaders of Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam?
Firstly, there is a fascinating philosophical point that relates to this question. Maharal (Gur Aryeh to Shemot 1:15) points out that neither Yocheved, nor Amram's names were mentioned prior to Moshe'...
- 20.9k
9
votes
Miriam's Death in the Midbar
The Meshech Chochmo here answers your question.
He writes:
ויתכן שמה שהזכיר במרים ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם, להורות כי השבטים היו נשואים לקוברן בארץ, ומרים לא נשאו לקוברה בארץ, אעפ"י שהיא מתה בחו&...
- 30.3k
6
votes
Did Moshe say that he had punished Miriam?
As is clear from, e.g., the preceding passage in the Sifrei, on the preceding words in the verse, the Person speaking in the Medrash is G-d:
שוטים! כל עצמם של מלכים אין בוררים להם אלא לחם קל, שלא יהא ...
- 17.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Children of the Exodus (families, names, ages)
Jochebed: I don't remember ever seeing a source whether she was alive or not. Based on the Midrash she would have been 210; even following the Ibn Ezra and others she had to be at least 100. But ...
- 9,116
5
votes
Accepted
Reconciling the merits of Moshe, Aharon & Miriam in the desert vs the merit of Avraham?
The sefer Zera Shimshon answers that because of Avraham, the Jews only would have merited those three things for a short while, but because of the three leaders, they merited them for the entire 40 ...
- 8,045
5
votes
Miriam as the Ancestor of King David
Caleb's brother is Ram (1 Chronicles 2:9), who is a direct ancestor of David (see the lineage there). As his brother, Caleb couldn't possibly be in the direct line of male ancestors of David, and ...
- 24k
4
votes
Accepted
Why would it be disrespectful to G-d to say Miryam died "al pi Hashem"?
The way your question is phrased makes it seem like the fact that Moshe and Aharon died via "kiss" originates from the Talmud, while the fact that Miriam died via "kiss" and that it would be improper ...
- 49.1k
4
votes
Why did Miriam become leprous?
Tzara'at, the skin affliction, is understood by Chazal as a punishment for lashon hara, evil speech. This article from Bar-Ilan University cites the Sifra (5:7), Avot D'rabbi Natan (version A Chapter ...
- 56.4k
3
votes
Reconciling the merits of Moshe, Aharon & Miriam in the desert vs the merit of Avraham?
This article by "Parsha Ponders" (Shoftim 5777) has the same observation as you did. The article offers an explanation:
Even massive trees come from the tiniest of seeds. However, those
...
- 8,854
3
votes
What did Amram and Yocheved do to merit raising leaders of Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam?
It writes in Shemos Rabbah 1:16:
לְפִי שֶׁיָּרְאָה יוֹכֶבֶד מִפְּנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, הֶעֱמִיד מִמֶּנָּה משֶׁה
Because Yocheved feared Hashem, he brought forth Moshe from her.
In addition, ...
- 30.3k
3
votes
Why did Miriam die in the desert?
On the pasuk (Bamidbar 20:1) וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ בְנֵֽי־יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל כָּל־הָ֨עֵדָ֤ה מִדְבַּר־צִן֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב הָעָ֖ם בְּקָדֵ֑שׁ וַתָּ֤מָת שָׁם֙ מִרְיָ֔ם וַתִּקָּבֵ֖ר שָֽׁם׃: The Bnei ...
- 6,919
2
votes
Drink fresh water after Shabbos coming from Miriam's well?
This custom is mentioned explicitly in the Rema, OC 299:
וי"א לדלות מים בכל מוצאי שבת כי בארה של מרים סובב כל מוצאי שבת כל הבארות ומי שפוגע בו וישתה ממנו יתרפא מכל תחלואיו [כל בו] ולא ראיתי ...
- 30.3k
2
votes
How is the mitzvah to remember what Hashem did to Miriam a source for not speaking Lashon Hora?
Firstly, as noted above, thinking of the "what" will motivate people to think of the "why".
But here are a couple of points in the Mefarshim that soften this question, if not answer it entirely:
...
- 20.9k
2
votes
Who was Miriam responding to?
Torah Shelemah to Shemos 15:21 (note 240) cites the Midrash Sechel Tov (see also, Tanhuma Beshalach, 13) which says that the malachim complained about having to wait for women's song before they did. ...
- 6,864
2
votes
Who was older, Miriam or Aaron?
There's another Ramban which insinuates that Miriam was older than Aaron (shemot 2:1) at the end:
ואע"פ שהיה אהרן קטן, נתן השם שמחה בלבו בענין זה, או מרים מלמדתו.
The Gemara Sota says the 2 ...
- 81
2
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of the name "Miriam"?
According to Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:11, the name is derived from the word מרר, bitter, and reflects the fact that the Jews’ slavery became harsher around the time of her birth.
עִקַּר שִׁעְבּוּדָן ...
- 34.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Miriam, Batya and Azubah
As has been mentioned in the comments, she was not literally dead, and Miriam, Azuvah and Epfras are all one of the same.
Refer to the Midrash in Shemos Rabbah 1:17 which notes that she fell ill and ...
- 30.3k
1
vote
What was Miriam's Lashon Hara?
Both reasons (the leaving the wife and comparing prophecy levels) are accurate and fit in with each other. Moshe left his wife because he reasoned that Hashem could talk to him at any moment and he ...
- 1,812
1
vote
Why wait to get water in the Z'chut of Miriam?
The Midrash explains that until that time, they had lived on water taken from amongst the rocks of the Yam Suf. Rabbeinu Bachaye quotes Rabbeinu Chananel who explains that though the Torah writes that ...
- 1,459
1
vote
Did Tziporah sin in what she said about Moshe?
We see from her statement that Tzippora assumed that all neviim had to separate from her spouses. She probably considered her situation analogous to a baal teshuva and a convert where the baal ...
- 9,116
1
vote
Who was Miriam responding to?
Rav Hirsch writes that the root "ענה" carries one of two meanings. The usual meaning is replying/rejoining -- if this is the sense of the word used here, then "להם" refers to Moshe and Israel, who ...
- 19k
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