As we open to this week's Torah portion, we 'turn the pages' to a new book of the Torah, the book of Exodus. We begin re-reading the story of Moses and the journey of our ancestors from slavery to freedom. Yet, within the first chapter of Exodus are several verses about two women, Shifra and Puah, whose story leaves out more than is told and whose impact is often overlooked.
As midwives, Shifra and Puah helped other women bring their children into the world. Thinking he could stop the growth of the Jewish people, Pharaoh commands that these women kill every male child immediately following childbirth, threatening them with punishment of death. However, as the Torah tells us: "But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive." (The entire narrative appears in Exodus 1:15-20)
The response of Shifra and Puah to Pharaoh's demand is surprising. After all, they were putting their own lives in jeopardy. We might have expected that they would have spared their own lives and done as Pharaoh said. Yet, not only did they defy Pharaoh and avoid killing the male children, but they nurtured the children and cared for them even more. Most commentators believe that Shifrah and Puah were actually Yocheved (Moses' Mother) and Miriam (Moses' sister). Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105) explains that the name Shifra comes from a Hebrew root that means, "the capacity to make something better, or to improve its quality." Living up to this character trait, the midwives did everything necessary to assist the Jewish women in childbirth. The name Puah comes from a Hebrew root that implies a gift of speech. Rashi explains that Puah had unique talents as a baby whisperer, demonstrating an ability to soothe a crying baby with her soft voice. Talmud (Sotah 11a) elaborates to mean that not only did they not kill the infants, but they even took active steps to keep them alive by providing nourishment.
What a radical notion! At great personal risk, these two courageous women dared to defy Pharaoh, exposing the Egyptian dictatorial policies and possibly preserving the future of the Jewish people. Acting out of true religious conviction, these women understood that in God's eyes, all are equal and that the universal human rights to life and liberty transcend the rights of any one person or group, kings included. They knew that one whose vision of another is in categories or labels, his or her vision is distorted. They understood God's imperative that no matter how different, no matter how distant, no matter how "other", every human being is created in the image of God, and it is a divine imperative to protect the humanity and dignity of others, especially those not given the chance to protect themselves.
How important the legacy of Shifra and Puah continues to be in our world, and how timely the lesson of these two women, given the recent escalating conflict within Israeli society over the exclusion of women. In recent weeks, violent clashes have erupted when the local municipality of Beit Shemesh took down signs instructing women not to walk on the same pavement as men, to dress modestly and not to loiter by the local synagogue. Advertisers have been pressured to avoid pictures of women on billboards in Jerusalem and men have insisted that women sit at the backs of public buses. Most disturbing has been the attacks on girls as young as eight or nine as they walk to state-run schools who despite their long sleeves and full length skirts were spit on and yelled at for their 'immodesty.'
Last week, at a dinner celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel, President Shimon Peres reminded us:
The exodus from Egypt is still not over. Even in our day houses of bondage still exist, and in them, regrettably, there are more women than men. The fight for the dignity of man and the rights of citizens is at the core of Judaism. We were all born free and every individual, according to Jewish custom, was created in the image of God. Whether man or woman. Jewish or not Jewish. This is the vision of the prophets. And in keeping with our tradition, the viewpoint of the prophets rises above the standing of kings.
We are each of us Shifra and Puah; we are all part of the fight for freedom and equality. We are the midwives to the Jewish people, giving birth to the future, playing a role in making things better and using our voices as ones to soothe and comfort. At the same time, few of us like public conflict, and many avoid criticism of anything Jewish (or any Jews), creating an illusion of unity, worrying how it will look or what people will think, while allowing one group to negate the needs and dignity of others. Yet, no matter how unpopular, no matter how difficult, we have to unify against this type of religious bullying, speaking out and demanding accountability today and every day. Our freedom and survival as a people depends on it.
Ken Yehi Ratzon - So may it be.
Shabbat Shalom.