The Daily Shiur of Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a – Miriam the Prophetess
Friday, 2 Tamuz 5782 – the shiur that was given over after the Ma’ariv prayer
Now, they are talking about Miriam the Prophetess, because she passed away.
So Miriam at the age of three already was a midwife. At the age of three she would go with her mother Yocheved. She was born when her mother was at the age of 124, because when Moshe was born, she was 130, when Miriam was six. Then at the age of 127, she went with her mother to deliver [children] for the daughters of Israel. Pharaoh said – because the astrologers told Pharaoh [that] in another three years Moshe will be born. Every boy that was born for three and a third years – three years and four months, the astrologers already told him, “Know that this is your end. In a little while, a sweet, cute child with long sidecurls will be born, and he will hang you from his sidecurls, remove the crown from you.”
Pharaoh was terrified. So three years and four months, until Moshe was born, Pharaoh gave the decree “every boy that is born, throw him into the river” – every boy that was born. Then everyone got divorced, Amram got divorced. Amram was the greatest man of his generation, so everyone got divorced. What, that we should throw the children into the river?! It’s not an option. But Miriam said: “No! There will be miracles! We will pray! There are nine months to pray. Angels will come and protect the children!” And so it was. Angels came and took the children. The athletic mothers ran and ran to the field and gave birth there in the brush – “[may the fruit] blossom from the city like the grass of the earth.” The Egyptians pursued them, saw them leave [weighing] 100 kilograms [and] return 20 kilograms. Where is the other 80 kilograms?!
“No, I had such and such an illness…”
[The Egyptians responded:] “This isn’t an illness. You gave birth here to a child. Where is your child?!”
They dug underneath the brush to search after the child. The children were swallowed up in the earth. All the children were swallowed up in the earth. Bring plows – 100 cubits, 200 cubits – they were swallowed up deeper [than this]. These are the women who managed to run to the field; instead of running to Shaarey Tzedek [Hospital], they ran to the field. After this were the mothers who didn’t manage to run – [they] gave birth at home. “The foxes have seized us, the little foxes that ruin the vineyard.” The foxes were the Egyptian babies the age of four, five. They saw a woman who needed to give birth, who already weighs 100 kilos, who will give birth in a little while. They would see [her], then place a baby next to the door, so that the moment that the women would give a scream – because she has to give a scream – every women, when they would hear her scream, they would immediately call the commando, the SS, the Gestapo, SS’niks, Russians, Zionists, who would snatch the child. When she would give a scream, immediately they called the commando, and then the angels entered by way of the windows – all the angels – and snatch the babies and bring them – “He would suckle him with honey from a stone, and oil from a flinty rock.”
The entire desert became filled with oil, with milk, with honey, but there were mothers who didn’t manage neither [way]. They didn’t manage to run to the brushes, and didn’t succeed so that the angels would come, because they didn’t pray for nine months. So they put the children in the wall, in place of bricks, they placed children. They cried, cried, and cried until the “snare broke” and the children came out – “and we escaped.” So all of this was in the merit of Miriam the Prophetess. All the Jewish people are in the merit of Miriam the Prophetess – the whole Jewish people! They received the Torah, 600,000 stood at Mount Sinai. Everything is in the merit of Miriam the Prophetess. The king sent messengers every day to kill them, and they would turn into walls, decorations, chandeliers – all types of things. They would turn into benches, cabinets, dressers – all types of things over [a period of] eighty years, every day they would turn into something else. They never saw them.
Pharaoh knew that they were lying to him, but he had no choice. Therefore, they merited to the light of Tefilin [“He made for them batim (houses/Tefilin boxes)”]. It’s written batim – these are Tefilin boxes, because the hand Tefilin of the man is opposite the woman’s head. Whoever puts on hand Tefilin needs to intend that this is the woman’s head. So Miriam merited to this, to head Tefilin. Miriam and Yocheved merited to head Tefilin. They merited to the light of Tefilin, which is all the levels. Therefore in this parasha, we need to receive all the levels – 50 Gates of Holiness. The Chidushei HaRim says “to their eyes” – this is the Ten Commandments – to receive all Ten Commandments anew. Because now is a new generation, but they disputed Moshe, made fun of Moshe – “Moshe – bring water for us out of this rock!” Moshe wanted to show them that Miriam’s rock supplies water to all the waters in the world. Every Saturday evening, Miriam’s well goes and provides water for all the lakes, rivers, wells. A person needs to see to drinking water which comes from Miriam’s well every Saturday night, to drink from Miriam’s well, and may we merit to the complete redemption speedily in our days, Amen.
