{"id":3416,"date":"2019-03-10T17:26:55","date_gmt":"2019-03-10T17:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/passover\/?p=3416"},"modified":"2019-03-27T18:49:23","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T18:49:23","slug":"women-and-the-exodus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/passover\/articles\/women-and-the-exodus\/","title":{"rendered":"Women and the Exodus"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Moshe is the central figure in the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim as Hashem\u2019s emissary to deliver the Jewish people from their centuries-long bondage, it\u2019s important to understand and recognize the outsized roles played by the myriad women in his life \u2014 women who nurtured, supported, sustained, and ultimately enabled his success in redeeming klal Yisrael.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SHIFRA & PUAH<\/strong>
\nIn the earliest pages of Sefer Shemot we learn that Pharaoh addressed the midwives of the Jews, and decreed they were to murder all Jewish-born males. However, Shifra and Puah defied the despot.<\/p>\n

We learn of Shifra and Puah\u2019s greatness here, not just their bravery and spirituality but their brilliance. These women realized that to defy Pharaoh directly would not only result in their probable execution but would further endanger the unborn boys\u2019 lives. Pharaoh would certainly seek out other midwives, of lesser strength and\/or conviction, who would carry out his order.<\/p>\n

These women calmly devised a way around Pharaoh\u2019s command, as the Torah tells us, \u201cthe midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live.\u201d Not only did they save the lives of the Jewish-born infants, but they did everything they could to care for them and assure their safety and health in defiance of Pharaoh\u2019s will \u2013 actualizing his fear.<\/p>\n

Who were these two brave women? Chazal tell us they were none other than Yocheved and Miriam, Moshe\u2019s mother and sister, brave women willing to risk their lives in the service of Hashem and His people. Rashi explains the mystery behind these pseudonyms \u2013 names we never hear again in the Torah: Shifra comes from the Hebrew root \u00f9\u00f4\u00f8 (shefer), to improve, referencing the way Shifra would \u201cimprove\u201d the newborns, cleaning them after birth and straightening their limbs. Puah means \u201ccooing\u201d \u2013 Puah had a special gift and would coo to, and immediately calm, a crying infant to sleep.<\/p>\n

These two women deceived Pharaoh \u2013 even to his face \u2013 ultimately denying him his planned infanticide. Subsequently, the Torah tells us that \u201cGod benefited the midwives\u201d and that \u201cthe people increased and became very strong.\u201d These two statements are followed by, \u201cAnd it was because the midwives feared God that He made them houses.\u201d<\/p>\n

All are great statements and rewards, but they seem to be in a strange order; reward, statement, reward. The Or HaChaim explains that all three are, in fact, rewards. They didn\u2019t just have their own families, they didn\u2019t just give birth to, protect, and nurture Moshe Rabbeinu; the prosperity of the Jewish nation during that time was in their merit as well.<\/p>\n

MIRIAM & YOCHEVED<\/strong>
\nHaving failed in his intended plan to murder the Jewish males immediately upon their birth, Pharaoh decreed that all the Jewish-born males were to be thrown into the water to drown. Miriam\u2019s father, Amram, in reaction to this devastating decree, separated from his wife; he couldn\u2019t bear to bring a child into this world only to see it slain.<\/p>\n

The Jewish men, observing the actions of its leaders, followed suit and separated from their wives, elevating the hardships and misery suffered by Jewish families.<\/p>\n

Miriam challenged her father: \u201cYou are worse than Pharaoh, for he has decreed only against the males, but you, with your actions, ensure that no Jewish children will survive!\u201d<\/p>\n

At Miriam\u2019s urging, Yocheved brought her husband Amram back into their home, and Moshe was born. The Jewish men followed suit and the Jewish people continued to grow and multiply.<\/p>\n

MIRIAM, YOCHEVED & BATYA<\/strong>
\nStill, Pharaoh\u2019s command that all male babies be thrown into the Nile persisted. Yocheved successfully concealed her newborn son for three months. When she was no longer able to hide him, she cleverly nestled her baby boy in a water-tight basket and set the basket in the river. Miriam diligently watched over her floating baby brother to ensure that the baby would live.<\/p>\n

For all the evil of the Egyptian ruler and his compliant nation, Batya, Pharaoh\u2019s own daughter, stood out as different, strong and independent, one who defied the decree and her own wicked father. Upon coming across the baby, she declared, \u201cThis is one of the Hebrew boys,\u201d yet she defiantly took pity and \u201cdrew\u201d him from the water.<\/p>\n

Here is where things get really interesting\u2026where we see a literal turning point. A young girl, the baby\u2019s sister (unbeknown to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter), intervened. You might think that this would have been a good time to panic or fear the worst. After all, the daughter of the man who was her family\u2019s and the entire people\u2019s worst nightmare had her hands on her baby brother. Did Miriam run? Did she hide?<\/p>\n

No! She confidently approached the princess with a risky and certainly unsolicited proposition. \u201cShall I go and summon for you a nurse from the Hebrew women, who will nurse the boy for you?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

FOR YOU \u2013 twice. Was Miriam planting ideas in the Princess\u2019 mind? Did Batya even think of taking and raising the child as her own, or had Miriam opened her eyes to this idea?<\/p>\n

Did Miriam recognize Batya\u2019s sensitivity, capitalize on it, and turn it into not only a life-saving moment but potentially a moment of salvation for all of Israel? We don\u2019t know but we do know that consequently the baby was nursed and nurtured by his own mother, Yocheved, and raised in Pharaoh\u2019s palace, growing up to be the embodiment of Hashem\u2019s will in the story of the Exodus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The midrash tells us that Batya denied her upbringing, disavowed idols, and converted to Judaism. The Talmud relates that Batya was, in fact, at the Nile to immerse herself to complete her conversion to Judaism on that fateful day.<\/p>\n

According to one interpretation of our Sages, each verse of Aishet Chayil<\/em>, A Woman of Valor, composed by Shlomo HaMelech, refers to remarkable women in history. Two of these women, Batya and Rachav, were converts to Judaism as adults.<\/p>\n

Batya\u2019s portion, \u201cShe gets up while it is still night, sustaining her household and giving a portion to her maidens,\u201d addresses night \u2013 a time of uncertainty and fear. We know, however, that after each night comes day \u2013 right after the darkness comes the light.<\/p>\n

Batya grew up in the darkness that was Pharaoh\u2019s reign. She saw and noted his cruelty and recognized its evil. She saw light in Moshe, however \u2014 in his people that thrived and grew under the worst possible oppression. She chose to join the very people her father set out to destroy.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, it was Batya, this daughter of Pharaoh, who named the baby she rescued Moshe, the first of the seven names he had, but undeniably the name that he is remembered for and identified as. More importantly, it is only by this name that Hashem ever addressed him.<\/p>\n

It is significant that the name given to Moshe by Batya is a word based on the act of saving his life, and not on the feelings of compassion that she experienced. This communicates one of the Torah\u2019s fundamental lessons quite eloquently: we can claim to feel a variety of things, but it is our actions in this world that have the greatest impact.<\/p>\n

THE JEWISH WOMEN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prior to any service in the Mishkan or the Beit HaMikdash, the Kohanim needed to wash their hands and feet. The kiyor, the wash basin that was used, was fashioned from the mirrors donated by the women of klal Yisrael. God spoke to Moshe and explained why those mirrors were so precious in His eyes. The Jewish men, suffering from the bondage and oppression of Egypt, were caving in under the weight of their suffering; they, like Amram, did not wish to procreate and bring children into their world of suffering.<\/p>\n

But their wives remained hopeful. They beautified themselves using those mirrors, maintaining their faith and hope for better days and uplifted their dejected husbands. \u201cIn the merit of the righteous women our people were redeemed from the Egyptian exile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Download the OU Guide to Passover 2019 here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Moshe is the central figure in the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim as Hashem\u2019s emissary to deliver the Jewish people from their centuries-long bondage, it\u2019s important to understand and recognize the outsized roles played by the myriad women in his life \u2014 women who nurtured, supported, sustained, and ultimately enabled his success in redeeming klal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":3450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWomen and the Exodus - Kosher for Passover<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/passover\/articles\/women-and-the-exodus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women and the Exodus - 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