Heroines of Faith
EXODUS HEROINES

Females of the Exodus story showed incredible bravery and strength and defied expectations to bring about the salvation of the people of God

When we hear the word Exodus, we see plagues, miracles and the Red Sea parting, but we too often overlook a critical aspect of the story – the valor, initiative and intuition of the women. By so doing, it helps us understand better the importance of women in modern times.

The Midrash has a popular saying, "The people of Israel were redeemed from Egypt through the wages of righteous women". The list of redeeming women is long and respectful, starting with the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who defy Pharaoh's decree by not killing the male babies and continuing with Moses' mother Jochebed, who hides her baby boy Moses after birth. After which Miriam, Moses' sister, follows him by the river. Then, Pharaoh's daughter shelters and raises Moses. After which Zipporah saves the life of her husband, Moses. Throughout the story of the exodus we witness strong women who gather their courage and initiate actions which lead to the redemption of Israel.

It would be a mistake to think that the phenomenon of righteous women is a one-time event or rare occurrence; rather, the Jewish history has many acts of heroism carried out by women. In fact, through the acts of righteous women in different generations, the people of Israel are alive until this very day or as is said in Hebrew, Am Israel Chai.

One example of women's strength is the Marrano women who lived 500 years ago in Spain and Portugal. The Catholic Church forced Jews to convert to Christianity. However, many of these Jews secretly held on to their Jewish religion. During those dark days it was the women who played the critical role in maintaining the Jewish identity; they kept a kosher home (the Jewish Culinary laws), lit the Shabbat candles, even if it had to be done secretly in a closet and cleaned the house of hametz (leaven) in preparation of Passover. They were the ones responsible for raising and educating the children and preserving the Jewish lifestyle.

Worldwide, from generation to generation, women play a key role in the life of churches. Women's tremendous persevering power carries the church through hardships and strengthens the congregation through prayer. This is often an underappreciated job, because most of women's work happens behind the scenes, work which ought to get more gratitude.

In order to examine the courageous women preceding the Exodus, we must first look at Pharaoh's deeds, to which these women reacted. In the first chapter of Exodus Pharaoh is worried about the extraordinary birth rate and growth of the people of Israel, and attempts to deal with this demographic problem, which he sees as a threat to the Egyptian people. And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land" (Ex. 1:9-10). Pharaoh wants to "fix" this problem, and each solution is worse than the previous one.

Pharaoh's first plan is enslaving the people of Israel. Physical and emotional exhaustion should bring a drop in the natural growth rate. Yet, the nation of Israel is stubborn – "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew" (Ex. 1:12). Seeing his plan fail, Pharaoh comes up with a new idea. This time Pharaoh orders the midwives to secretly kill all the Hebrew male babies using trickery. This doesn't work "and the people multiplied and grew very mighty" (Ex. 1:21). At this point Pharaoh doesn't bother to hide his intentions. He makes a public decree to throw all male babies into the Nile River.

The list of redeeming women starts with the midwives who disobey Pharaoh's decree and act to save instead of kill, even at the risk to their own lives. After the midwives, comes Jochebed, Moses' mother. She too goes against Pharaoh's decree, "But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank" (Ex. 2:3). The Bible goes into great details, contrary to most other parts of the book to emphasize the role of Jochebed in the salvation of Israel. Miriam too does her best to protect her baby brother. Even before Pharaoh's daughter figures out what to do with the babe, Miriam addresses the princess without fear or hesitation. Miriam makes an offer to which the princess responds positively, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" (Ex. 2:7). The repetition of the word "you" is intentional to point out that the baby will remain Pharaoh's daughter's baby. And the princess responds with one word: "Go". Thus Pharaoh's daughter joins the circle of influential women. While they all had an important role, the actions of Pharaoh's daughter were the key to Moses' survival. We also see how different she is from her father. He decrees death to all the Hebrew male babies, while she saves one. Ironically, of all the Egyptians, it is she who gives life to Moses, the savior of Israel. The compassion of Pharaoh's daughter overrules any national or patriotic feeling.

The Torah emphasizes how actions, rather than characters, are the essence. As a result, the women mentioned in this scene remain anonymous. Miriam is not mentioned by name and is just referred to as his "sister", and "maiden". Likewise, just for the purpose of showing that Moses was born to a common family and not of nobility, Jochebed's name appears much later in the text. In the entire story, God's Name is not mentioned. The Torah emphasizes women who redeem Israel, putting them in the spotlight, while God remains behind the scenes and works through natural means. His presence is certainly felt but He doesn't intervene directly as long as people do their utmost.

One cannot consider the actions of women who changed history without a few words about female intuition. The Bible does not explain how Pharaoh's daughter knows that the baby is Hebrew. However, she just knows. The Bible is full of women who know, for example: Rebekah knows that Jacob is the chosen son; Zipporah knows she must circumcise Moses' sons in order to save his life; Michal knows King David's life is in danger; and the more relevant example of Moses' sister, Miriam.

Miriam follows the basket down the river, she must be careful not to lose sight of the basket while at the same time remaining hidden. The basket floats over to Pharaoh's daughter. Miriam watches from afar and knows that the princess knows this is a Hebrew child that should not have been drowned. Yet, what happens next? If Miriam reveals herself, her whole family will be in grave danger! Miriam uses her female intuition by leaving her hiding spot, approaching Pharaoh's daughter and asking; "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" (Ex. 2:7). The Jewish sages have named this phenomenon bina yetera – additional wisdom or unexplainable wisdom.

Pharaoh's daughter can be compared to another princess, Michal the daughter of King Saul. When comparing these stories, many similarities can be found: both princesses are daughters of kings who wish to kill important leaders of the people of Israel and both courageously save them. Just as the princesses share similarities, Moses and David, too, are similar in their weakness. Both are completely passive and at the mercy of these women. Moses' dependency is quite obvious. How much more helpless can one be then an abandoned baby crying on the river? Likewise, David is completely passive in obeying Michal and initiates nothing despite being one of the most active figures of the Bible. However, Michal knows intuitively that David's life is in danger. She is the one that lowers David down the window, puts the household idol in his bed, after wrapping it in clothing and placing a goat-hair quilt around its head, and lies to Saul's emissaries who come to kill him, that he is ill (1 Sam. 19:11-14).

Let us briefly consider the morality of lying and whether it can ever be condoned.

Looking back at the book of Exodus, Pharaoh orders the Hebrew midwives to kill all Hebrew male babies. The midwives disobey Pharaoh's decree, which was clearly a barbaric and inhuman command. Instead, they help deliver the babies. When summoned before a furious Pharaoh who demands an explanation, they are forced to lie: "But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?' And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them'" (Ex. 1:17-19). The question arises whether lying to Pharaoh was wrong. How does the Torah respond to this lie, the purpose of which is to rescue lives? The Scripture portrays several lies told in order to save lives. Interestingly enough, in most Biblical cases it is women who tell these lies.

One example is Rahab, who lies to her own people in order to save the Hebrew spies. She understands that God is about to give Jericho to the people of Israel. By helping the spies she saves her whole household (Josh. 2:4). Another example describes a woman from the city "Bahurim" who hides David's spies in a well and lies to Absalom's servants who are in search of these spies, "Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom. But both of them went away quickly and came to a man's house in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down into it. Then the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground grain on it; and the thing was not known. And when Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, 'Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?' So the woman said to them, 'They have gone over the water brook.' And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem" (2 Sam. 17:18 -20).

Jewish tradition permits lying occasionally, and sometimes even recommends it. There are four situations in which one can be dishonest: To stop a fight; to protect someone else from harm or inconvenience; to practice humility; and to maintain modesty.

For instance, there is a tradition to bring joy to a bride on her wedding day. We tell her how beautiful she looks, how delicious the food is and how lovely the event is – even if it is not true. Why? Because pleasing and bringing joy to a bride on her wedding day outweighs the truth.

So, how does the Torah respond to the lie of the midives Shiphrah and Puah? Exodus 1:20 tells us that God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew mighty. God rewards them for their good work. Because the midwives feared God,
He provided households for them (Ex. 1:21). Surely, just as the midwives gave life and not death to the Hebrew infants, so the Lord did unto them, by giving them families and many descendants. In conclusion, while each lie must be examined individually, still, sometimes it is better to lie than tell the truth.

In the past the main role of women was to run the home and take care of children; however, in today's modern world women have many roles – women are mothers, daughters, friends, and partners. Women want to develop a career, a hobby, the talents they were blessed with, to live in luxury, all the while still having some relaxing free time. Most of all they want to wake up each morning with a smile and the feeling that their life is one of significance.

Our modern culture sets many expectations on women. The Western world expects women to strive for positions of power in politics, business and all other fields. Today's motto is 'fulfill your individual potential' and 'reach for the stars'. Usually the problem is that fulfilling these wishes comes at the expense of the woman's role as the chief home maker and child raiser. Today's competitive culture causes us to compare ourselves to those surrounding us. Thus, our self-value is relative to that of others. Stay-at-home mothers and/or wives, choosing their family over a career, are categorized as old-fashioned and primitive.

The New Testament teaches that some of women's tasks are to manage the home and educate the children, "to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed" (Tit. 2:5), "manage the house" (1 Tim. 5:14). The answer for this day and age lies in having our priorities straight. As parents, children are top priority – their education cannot be sacrifice and Messianic values must be instilled within them.

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