Inheriting Miriam's Courage: A Prayer for Shabbat

“Then Miriam the prophet, took a timbrel in her hand,
and all the women followed her with timbrels and with dancing.” (Ex. 15:20)

As the waters of injustice rage in Minneapolis and across this country —
God, please, let the Sea of Reeds, the sea of injustice and hate, be behind us

Stand with us like You stood with Miriam at the Sea.
When the waters still raged
and freedom was not yet certain,
Miriam lifted her voice in song.

Miriam did not wait for certainty. She brought a timbrel through the waters and, with the sea still unsettled behind her, she lifted that timbrel—and the women followed.

We pray to inherit Miriam’s courage:
to dance even while the ground is still wet beneath our feet.

May we believe in the justice still unfolding.
May we learn from Miriam
that justice is possible
Even with the vast desert before us
And the promised land just a whisper in the distance

May we be those women—
ready to follow courage,
ready to walk a winding path.

Send us forth to march, to lead, and to sing
until the sea of oppression parts
and Your promise of liberty and justice
is realized for all.

And together we say: Amen.