Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the tambourine in her hand. And all the women followed her with tambourines and dances. (Exodus 15:20)
Bat Mitzvah is a ceremony that is deeply defines Jewish girl’s life, as it marks the transition of her moving from childhood to the next phase in life, adulthood which comes with many responsibilities (Evan Brothers, 2003). During this time many girls choose look to significant women in the Jewish tradition for inspiration and guidance. One such woman is Miriam who was the first female prophet and a leader of her people. Miriam plays a significant character in the Jewish history for the modern young girls today due to her strong personality, courageous attitude and incredible leadership skills …show more content…
Anthony Selvaggio commented “Miriam’s jealousy led her to take foolish and sinful actions. Her jealousy marginalised her role in Israel’s history and made her less useful to God” (Selvaggio, 2009). This statement contradicts the image of Miriam in Exodus and the majority of the feminist critiques that support Miriam’s leadership. One of the many critiques that contradict Anthony Selvaggio’s statement is by Claude Mariottini, who is a feminist stating “Miriam is downgraded partly in order to promote Moses as the prominent leader of Israel” (Mariottini, 2013). This is evident because when Miriam questions Moses, she is punished which depicts Moses’s superior to her. It is a Biblical text, only men were educated to read and write due to the patriarchal society hence the text could be biased (Newson, 1992). The punishment was included in the text on purpose to warn the women about the consequences of questioning the male authority to continue the patriarchal trend. Even though, Miriam is a prophet, leader and courageous the text tries to present her as disobedient, excluded, silent and justifiably punished (Winter,