Episode 1: Spiritual Chutzpah

1. The idea that Miriam has unique Torah to teach us is rooted in a passage in the Zohar (Shlach 12:116) that describes Miriam’s celestial yeshiva in which people learn the workings of the universe.
2. The lineage of Miriam is established in Exodus 1:21
3. The quote from Reb Zalman comes from Pnai Or Wisdom School can be found here,  with gratitude to Seth Fishman.
4. The Sufi song you heard can be found here.
5. The idea that Mitzrayim refers to a narrow place can be found in the Recanti on Vayigash.
6. We don’t actually know the economic breakdown of the ancient land of Egypt. This data reflects the economics of a similarly modern narrow place—America in the early twenty first century.
7. The chief ob/gyn is identified in the Hebrew Bible as Shifrah and her apprentice Puah. The medieval commentator Rashi (Rashi Exodus 1:15), picking up on a Talmudic idea (Sotah 11b), affirms the longstanding Jewish tradition that these are in fact Yocheved and Miriam.
8. The Hebrew word for Yocheved’s job is “miyaledet haivrit” which is usually translated as midwife of the Hebrews. Misogyny can cause us to devalue jobs traditionally held by women, so I prefer the gender neutral chief ob/gyn to better convey the role.
9. “Visions of Amram” is an ancient document discovered in the caves of Qumron that describe Amram’s shamanic visions. More here https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/bitstream/11375/13143/1/fulltext.pdf
10. The sacred text of Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:15:2 describes one of the surveillance systems created to find Ivri babies.
11. The story of Yocheved and Amram separating and Miriam, their daughter, challenging them can be found in the Talmud, Sotah 12a:11
12. The Ani Maamin prayer of faith in liberation is based on the 12th of Maimonides 13 Principles of Faith.
13. You can find more information on the Ani Maamin sung in cattle cars here.
14. The specific Ani Maamin song you heard can be found here.
15. The literal view of moshiach, a savior, on a calico donkey is described in the Talmud in Sanhedrin 98a:14.
16. I learned of Reb Zalman’s idea of Moshiachtzeit from my teacher, Reb Zalman’s student, Rabbi Victor Gross.
17. The notion that the right hand is connected to compassion, left hand strength can be found in Zohar Bereishit 15:173
18. To learn more Torah with Rabbi Jericho, find them on Substack at Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness or on Instagram @thealef or join them for a Temple of the Stranger ceremony.

Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness is a part of the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts made possible with support from Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah.

Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness is a part of the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts made possible with support from Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah.