Plate 21. Miriam

Vivid colors animate this illumination. “Hallelujah,” the refrain of many Hallel Psalms, floats boldly at the top of the design. A mosaic of blues evokes the movement of the sea. Miriam stands amidst a crowd of women, musical instruments in hand, dancing to celebrate their salvation. Scrolled around the frame is the Hebrew excerpt from Parashat Beshalah which records this episode. Thirty-six women surround our Prophetess. Abbaye, a Babylonian scholar of the Talmudic period, teaches, “There are not fewer than thirty-six righteous individuals in the world who receive the Divine Presence” (Sanhedrin 97b and Sukkot 45b). These individuals are credited with God’s daily decision to sustain the world.