This week we begin the second book of Torah, named for the first important word, shemot. Shemot means “names.” The Greek name of this book is Exodus and indeed, it is the part of the story in which the Hebrews flee their enslaved lives in Egypt. The first parasha of this book is also called shemot and it is chock-full of women rebelling against Pharaoh’s laws.
Let’s start here:
Exodus 1:8-17
A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us. Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in fighting against us and arise from the ground.”...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 other words, a ruler gives an evil law and two constituents, Shiphrah and Puah, intentionally disobey it because they live by a higher code of morality. The story continues:
Exodus 1:18-2
So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.” And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly. And because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, “Every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
Pharaoh delegates the responsibility from the midwives to the entire people – now everyone is supposed to carry out male infanticide. Alright, ten more verses and then we’ll get into it.
Exodus 2:1-10
A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, “This must be a Hebrew child.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who made him her son. She named him Moses, explaining, “I drew him out of the water.”
First of all, way to underestimate the women, Pharaoh – joke’s on you. Second, slam dunk for Miriam! She intercepts Pharaoh’s daughter (who also disobeys her father’s laws) and devises a plan to have her mom keep breastfeeding Moses and. Get. Paid. For. It. Mic drop.
But to save Moses, the greatest prophet of the Torah, the law had to be broken. First, Shiphrah and Puah. Second, Moses’s family – particularly his mother, Yocheved, and sister, Miriam. Third, Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya. All women and all civilly disobedient.
You see, legislation is created by people. It can bring us closer to a thriving society or further away. We know this simply by reviewing American history – way too many things have been legal that are sheer evil: slavery; marital rape. Or, things have been illegal that are some of the greatest goods – the love between two consenting adults. It is our job as citizens to vote legislators into office who will pass laws on our behalf that live up to our highest values. But we must never conflate the law with our values. Laws are the means, our values are the ends. For Shiphrah and Puah, the value was honoring and saving human life. And Jewish tradition even tells us that when it comes to saving a life, yes, you can break the law. Pikuach nefesh.
I am also thinking about idolatry. Idolatry means worshiping any human-made thing. Government. Celebrity. Technology. Money. Fashion. Career. These are idols, too. And this is one of the central messages of the Jewish tradition: we stand in awe of the Infinite Source of Life. We bow to the mysterious wonder of creation, not to elected representatives.
May you be like Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives who knew the difference between government of God. May you be like Miriam, who didn’t cower in the face of horrific policy but said life must continue!
Finally, a text about protest.
Shabbat 54b:20-55a:1
Anyone who is able to protest against the transgressions of one's household and does not, is punished for the actions of the members of the household; anyone who is able to protest against the transgressions of one's townspeople and does not, is punished for the transgressions of the townspeople; anyone who is able to protest against the transgressions of the entire world and does not is punished for the transgressions of the entire world.
It is scared to protest. It was through protest that Moses came into this world and was sustained. His very life is protest made manifest – embodied.
What are you protesting?