The first Torah portion of the Book of Exodus begins the story of the Israelites journey from slavery to freedom. Though often we think of the stars of this journey as male – Moses, his brother Aaron, Nachshon – the man who had the courage to step into the sea, in a commentary on the parasha, the Rabbis say that it was because of the women that the Israelites went free. I will share three stories that explain why, and that illustrate three models of change.
First, there were Shifra and Puah, the midwives to the Israelites, whom Pharaoh ordered to murder all of the Israelite boys, in hopes of preventing any from growing up and overthrowing him. Shifra and Puah feared God, and refused to follow Pharaoh’s unjust orders. In doing this, they invented civil disobedience, and created the idea Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made famous millennia later, that we must challenge unjust human laws.
Second, there was Miriam. Whereas Shifra and Puah exercised their ethical muscles to stand up to powerful authority, Moses’ sister Miriam challenges authority closer to home, using logic and persuasion.
The Talmud teaches that when Pharaoh decreed that every Israelite boy born must be thrown into the Nile, all the men were so upset that they divorced their wives, since they felt without baby boys, there was no point in having children. Seeing the flaw in this logic, Miriam told her father Amram to remarry her mother, because his decree was worse than Pharaoh’s, and would ensure the Jewish people’s extinction. Amram immediately changed his mind, and all of the Israelite men followed suit, and took back their wives.
Third, there was Pharaoh’s daughter. After Miriam’s father Amram took back his wife, his wife conceived a child, who turned out to be baby Moses. Knowing that he was unsafe, they sent him down the Nile River in a basket, hoping he would survive. In something of a miracle, Pharaoh’s daughter found the basket, and when she opened it, she took pity on the baby, even though she knew that saving him would violate her father’s decree. Where the midwives acted on moral grounds, Pharaoh’s daughter was motivated by compassion in the moment. Because of her compassion, Pharaoh’s daughter is named Batya, daughter of God.
If these women, who were among the most powerless people in Egyptian society, can usher in liberation from slavery, then surely we have the power to make our families, communities, and society better in 2012! Whether by acting out our morals in the public sphere, challenging unhealthy situations close to home, or acting courageously to follow our compassionate instincts, may we be blessed to help create a world where everyone is honored as a child of God.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Margie
To email Rabbi Margie
rabbi@shaareishalom.org
Link to past letters and writings from our Rabbi's.
Rabbi Margie Klein joined Sha'arei Shalom in July 2011.
Rabbi Sonia Saltzman served Sha'arei Shalom from 2008-2011.
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