In the 1980s, a group of women expanded the Passover seder to honor the prophet Miriam, Moses's sister. The Miriam cup is filled with water and placed on the seder table to remember the miraculous well that God gave Miriam, which followed the Israelites through the desert until her death. This new ritual object complements the cup of wine that is traditionally set on the seder table for Elijah the Prophet.

Miriam's Cup is one of the first pieces of Judaica created by Amy Klein Reichert, an architect and exhibition designer. Exploring her own spiritual connection to Miriam and Jewish women's ritual, the artist originally created the work for a ground-breaking 1997 exhibit of Miriam's cups by Jewish women artists. Influenced by the wave of American Jewish feminism and the reinvention of female-centered rituals, Reichert created Miriam's Cup, a functional piece of ceremonial art to be placed on the seder table as a symbol of Miriam as a source of sustenance and spirit for the Jewish people.

As Reichert has stated: "What are the sounds of freedom? The wind rustling through grasses, the murmuring of exiles, desert sounds, a joyous song with a tambourine. Miriam's cup is a restless vessel, like her ancient well accompanying the people of Israel along their journey. It is heard as well as seen, its cymbals dancing in response to the slightest vibration of the table."