Dear TBZ Community:
In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Shemot, we begin the telling of the Exodus story, with a new Pharaoh, with the birth of Moshe, and Moshe’s journey to become the leader of the Jewish People. This is our core story. From it we learn that when tyranny rules, when oppressors gain power, and when we experience suffering, we don’t give up on the journey to redemption. Moshe is at the center of this story, as the emerging leader who needs some convincing, whose humility becomes one of his greatest virtues, as he leads the people of Israel from slavery to redemption. But before that, there’s the well known story of Moshe’s birth. The story of the midwives, the מְיַלְּדֹת הָעִבְרִיֹּת, who refuse to follow Pharaoh’s decree to kill the baby boys, and thus Moshe exists as the prophet and the one that brings redemption to the People of Israel. Without the midwives, without Shiphrah and Puah, there would not be a redemption story to tell.
We read in Exodus 1:15-17:
וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לַמְיַלְּדֹת הָעִבְרִיֹּת אֲשֶׁר שֵׁם הָאַחַת שִׁפְרָה וְשֵׁם הַשֵּׁנִית פּוּעָה
וַיֹּאמֶר בְּיַלֶּדְכֶן אֶת־הָעִבְרִיּוֹת וּרְאִיתֶן עַל־הָאבְנָיִם אִם־בֵּן הוּא וַהֲמִתֶּן אֹתוֹ וְאִם־בַּת הִוא וָחָיָה. וַתִּירֶאןָ הַמְיַלְּדֹת אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים וְלֹא עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶן מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם וַתְּחַיֶּיןָ אֶת־הַיְלָדִים
The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, saying, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.
In a feminist midrash (interpretation), written by Orna Piltz in the book Dirshuni (which we study every Wednesday morning at Eat, Pray and Learn), called, “The Midwives Saw and Feared,” the midrash considers the source of belief and trust in God and the power of that faith to inspire individuals to act morally, and to make bold and daring choices that transform reality:
The midwives were asked: Where did you get your fearful awe of God?
And they answered: From the great and deep things that we saw at the birth stool, from the mystery that embraces us morning and evening: human being after human being coming into the world; where does he come from and what does she bring with her? The goodness that her mother sees in him, the compassion and the love that she awakens, crying babies bursting forth from exhausted bodies, and the soft seal of God’s finger imprinted on their faces.
Shiphrah and Puah’s compassion come from experiencing the miracle of new life, from seeing day and night, from seeing new love, from seeing mothers, from seeing babies, from seeing goodness and compassion around them. All that they see helps them overcome their fears; they are able to stand against oppression and evil.
I write this Shabbat N’kabla as I am about to depart to Israel for a week visit, for the first time since October 7th. I have traveled to Israel so many times before, but this journey feels like no other. The first few days will be spent with my family and friends, who I can’t wait to hug. On Monday, I will join a delegation of twelve women leaders from the Boston Jewish community. During the two and a half days of our delegation’s mission, we will focus on learning and hearing about: 1) women and gender on October 7th; 2) women’s leadership in diverse communities; and 3) women’s leadership in shared society activism. Why a Jewish women’s mission? Israeli women are serving in essential leadership roles in the civil society mobilization for emergency relief. We also know that there were horrific gendered aspects to the suffering on October 7th which, devastatingly, the international community – women’s organizations, human rights groups, the UN – have largely disregarded or minimized. At the same time, as often happens in times of crisis, issues of gender equity and safety are relegated to the back burner. These are a few of the dynamics we’ll learn more about and the stories we’ll seek to hear in our time in Israel. We will meet with an array of women leaders, meet with families of hostages, visit the Gaza envelope, meet with activists (Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians), and bear witness.
In this very dark time, my hope is to be reminded as we listen to women leaders in Israel, that like Shiphrah and Puah, we can find hope, believe in redemption and compassion in the midst of terror and fear, and be inspired to bring new life and new possibilities to this world.
I am also today a shlichat mitzvah, a messenger of a mitzvah: I am taking with me a suitcase with 50 “Hope Diaries,” a collaborative art project led by (TBZ member) artist Shirah Rubin and supported by CJP. Fifty Boston-based students responded to the prompt, “What does hope look like for you?” These 5th through 8th graders explored personal interpretations of hope by creating the covers of Hope Diaries, which will be distributed to Israeli children this January at the Hand In Hand School in Haifa. Shirah conceptualized the project and led a collaborative art-making process at four different local Jewish institutions: Boston Jewish Community Day School, Solomon Schechter Day School of Boston, Metrowest Community Day School, and our own Beit Rabban (after school learning). The students in Israel will be responding to the same prompt and sending postcards back with their creative output. I am also grateful to the Eat, Pray and Learn (Wednesday morning minyan and leading session) participants who sent me with tzedakah as a messenger of mitzvah, their contributions will go to buy supplies needed for the Rahat Jewish-Arab Situation Room in the south.
I will be sharing more about this trip when I come back. Together with TBZ members Idit Klein (CEO of Keshet) and Judith Rosenbaum (CEO of Jewish Women Archive), we envisioned and planned this mission with the Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem. Besides the three of us, TBZ member Rabbi Suzanne Offit is also joining our delegation, as well as many other local leaders, many friends of TBZ. We are very grateful to the generous support of CJP for this mission.
May this Shabbat bring blessings and consolation to all of you and your loved ones. May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity. May all those who are ill find healing.
And my most fervent prayer, each day: May all the hostages come home soon to their families and friends, and may we see peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia