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The 92nd Street Y, New York is a world-class cultural and community center where people all over the world connect through culture, arts, entertainment and conversation. For over 150 years, we have harnessed the power of arts and ideas to enrich, enlighten and change lives, and the power of community to repair the world.
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    The Elie Wiesel Living Archive

    at The 92nd Street Y, New York. Supported by The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

    Women in the Bible: Miriam

    Enriching the Lives of Others

    Oct 14, 1993

    Women have only rarely held center stage in these 92Y lectures. So a focus on Miriam takes a step toward making amends. Why is Miriam in the shadows? What is the text trying to conceal about her? On one level, Miriam appears briefly but significantly, playing a key role in saving Moses’ life and paving the way for his emergence as Israel’s redeemer. From a different angle, however, Miriam competes with Moses to lead Israel. From a third perspective, guided by Talmud and Midrash, one might say that Miriam lived her life only to enrich the lives of others.

    Download the transcript

    Selected Quotes:
    “
    Moses is saved, nursed by his own mother, adopted, and presumably launched on a great career, all because his sister Miriam is a shrewd judge of situations and people, and a skillful manager. (00:05:48)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    What makes a woman beautiful? We know the answer. Love. What makes her intelligent? We know the answer. Life. (00:14:27)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    Why “Ashirah, I shall sing to God”? Because at that moment, every Jew became a poet. (00:18:37)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    Why should a prophetess be silent when her brother the prophet is not? Since when are prophets condemned to silence? Why does the text silence her? (00:23:01)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    'Shiru la-Adoshem, sing the glory of the Eternal,' would therefore seem a rousing command, an appeal to women to seize power. Or at least, a share of power. (00:35:22)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    And in the name of fairness, as much as chivalry, the Jewish writer in me wants to rise to Miriam’s defense. (00:36:36)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    Moses said Ashirah, I shall sing, he excluded himself from the people, whereas she managed to bring the people together, and associate the people to the song. (00:40:00)
    Elie Wiesel
    “
    It is more important to celebrate life than to weep for death. (00:57:30)
    Elie Wiesel
    Books:
    Subthemes:
    1) Introduction: Reflections on Biblical Women and Their Underrepresentation in the Y Lectures
    2) The Obligation to Lecture More on Biblical Women
    3) Miriam’s Modest Role and Legacy: In the Shadows
    4) 26 years at 92Y
    5) The Likability of Miriam: Saving Moses and Enabling His Leadership
    6) Her Version of the Song of the Sea
    7) Why No Reference to Miriam for Many Chapters?
    8) Slander, Leprosy, and Punishment
    9) Miriam’s Burial at Kadesh: Why No Mourning?
    10) Reading Her Story with Greater Sympathy
    11) Midrashic Perspectives
    12) Intelligence, Shadchan, Teshuvah
    13) Lashon Hara: Why was Miriam Alone Punished:
    14) Argument between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehudah ben Bathrya
    15) A Deeper Look at Miriam’s Burial: Mourning versus Life
    16) Living to Enrich the Lives of Others
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