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Closing Blessing to Graduates from Lisa Exler,
Director of Judaic Studies
As I was helping create some of the materials for your graduation today, I noticed something about your Hebrew names. With a little bit of
midrashic
license, each of you bears the name of a strong biblical woman-
Ayelet
Batya
(Pharaoh's daughter),
Noa
Liraz
(one of
Tzelofchad's
daughters who sticks up for her property rights), Henna Esther, rights),
Sigal
Ruth
and
Temma
Rivkah
. Since we read in this week's
parashah
about the death of another
strong
biblical woman, Miriam, I want to
highlight some similarities between her and you and use these similarities to offer you a few blessings
.
The first blessing
comes from the
midrash
that identifies Miriam with
Puah
, one of the midwives who saved Israelite babies in Egypt. According to the
midrash
,
Miriam
was called
Puah
from the phrase
-
להופיע פנים
- literally: to show her face, or in today's language - to stand up to and to call out. The
midrash
imagines her as a child, confronting powerful men in her life; standing up to Pharaoh and telling him that God will repay his wickedness, and calling out her father for giving up hope and choosing not to have children in the face of Pharaoh's decrees. Like Miriam, you have strong instincts about what is right and about how the world should work and you
are not afraid to stand up for these beliefs, even
(and especially!)
if it means confronting adults.
My first blessing to you is that you c
ontinue to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in and the ability to persuade those in power to do what is right.
The second image of Miriam that remind
s
me of you, is the description of her leading the Israelites in song after crossing the se
a. As you have shown us today, you, like Miriam
are joyful, musical and graceful
;
and as you have shown us all year long, no occasion is too minor for a dance party. My second blessing to you is that you continue to find joy and reasons to celebrate and give thanks
,
and that you inspire those around you to do the same.
The third image of Miriam is from the
midrashic
collection
Yalkut
Shimoni
and describes the Israelites marching in the desert. It says:
כל הזמן שהדגלים נוסעים, לא היו הולכים עד שמרים מקדמת לפניהם
All the time that the tribes traveled in the desert, they only walked when Miriam was leading them.
I love this image of Miriam because it speaks to the trust that the Jewish people had in her and the essential role that she played in leading them forward.
She was literally "out in front" and the people followed her lead. My third blessing to you is that, wherever you go, you are trusted by the people around you and that you use that trust, along with your many gifts and talents to lead your community to where it needs to go.
And
, of course, I want to remind you not only to be out in front, but also to come back and visit - you always have a home at Beit Rabban.
I
nvoking the strength of Miriam,
and in the spirit of graduation and completion,
I'd like to invite everyone to repeat after me the line that is traditionally said when completing a book of the Torah, with the prayer that as individuals and as a community, we grow strong and strengthen one another:
חזק, חזק, ונתחזק
 
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