The Book of Exodus opens with multiple stories about civil disobedience, about justice, and about leadership. The story of the Exodus from Egypt is, of course, a foundational text in our tradition—but one of the striking things about this part of the story are the women who are named and celebrated for their roles. This week, we’ll explore some of those stories.
My mother is a retired nurse who served much of her career at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. I can remember, over the 30+ years of that time, a few nurses’ strikes; I can remember tension building over the weeks leading up to each strike, and the incredible anxiety that these caregivers felt about their patients’ care as they walked the picket lines.
Earlier this month, I watched the Mount Sinai nurses—some of whom undoubtedly helped deliver my children and care for my father—take to the picket lines again. And perhaps it was the timing of the year, but I was thinking about Shifra and Puah, the Hebrew midwives (and namesake of our own Rabbi Josh’s older daughter) we meet at the very beginning of Exodus. Frightened by the growth of the Israelite community in Egypt and their potential power, the Pharaoh enacts a Draconian decree, telling these two midwives:
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בְּיַלֶּדְכֶן֙ אֶת־הָֽעִבְרִיּ֔וֹת וּרְאִיתֶ֖ן עַל־הָאׇבְנָ֑יִם אִם־בֵּ֥ן הוּא֙ וַהֲמִתֶּ֣ן אֹת֔וֹ וְאִם־בַּ֥ת הִ֖וא וָחָֽיָה׃
“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 text continues:
וַתִּירֶ֤אןָ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹת֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְלֹ֣א עָשׂ֔וּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ן מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם וַתְּחַיֶּ֖יןָ אֶת־הַיְלָדִֽים׃
“The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.”
Far from “just following orders,” the midwives understood—as Hebrew National taught us—that they answer to a higher authority, that they have a moral code that transcends a new government edict, that there is—in some cases—a clear right and wrong. Shifra and Puah chose the right side of history, putting their own lives and livelihoods on the line to do so. In so doing, these two women offer us lessons in how to work for justice from within our own power.
—Rabbi Sari Laufer