THE FINAL SOLUTION
Pharaoh prepares his plan for the final solution to the Jewish problem. The program begins by winning followers and collaborators. It is not easy to convince the Egyptians that they should enslave Jews in labor (concentration) camps and then kill the Hebrew children. After all, the Jews had been neighbors of the Egyptians for several generations. To achieve the collaboration of his people, Pharaoh delivered a famous inflammatory speech in which he accused the Jews of being a separate people, of being too successful, and of having obtained their success by abusing the Egyptians. Pharaoh did what many tyrants and anti-Semitic demagogues did (and continue to do): demonizing the Jews to recruit collaborators from his people. And he succeeds! (to better understand Pharaoh’s anti-Semitic discourse see this)
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
The first phase of Pharaoh’s plan is done in secret. To prevent the demographic growth of the Jewish people, Pharaoh ordered the midwives to “discretely” kill the baby boys, making it look like an accident. But the midwives disobeyed.
The sages have different opinions about the nationality of these midwives. Were they Hebrew or Egyptian? The biblical text is ambiguous. “hamyaledot haibriot” could be understood as Jewish midwives or Egyptian midwives who assisted Jewish women. I will follow this second opinion, which in my perspective, is compatible with the textual narrative (peshat), that these midwives were Egyptian. The midwives,
presented by their names as Shifra and Pua, refused to comply with Pharaoh’s orders and let the children live. This extraordinary act of courage cannot be taken lightly.
Let’s analyze it a little more in-depth.
WHAT DID THE MIDWIVES DO?
The midwives disobeyed the direct order of the most powerful man— some might even call him “a god”— of the most powerful country in the world —at the moment of its greatest apogee, the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty. This was not an ordinary act of rebellion or neglect; it was an act of civil disobedience, perhaps the first ever recorded in the history of humankind.
WHY DID THEY DO IT?
Why did midwives let Jewish children live? The Tora explains it with simple yet meaningful words. “vatirena hamyaledot et haEloqim“. These women feared God. Although the topic of the fear of God is very profound, I will mention here three brief insights. First, In the Tora, fear of God (Eloqim) appears many times in the context of non-Jews. When it comes to a Jewish context, fear of HaShem is mentioned. This gives more weight to the interpretation that these midwives were not Jewish. Second, the “fear of God” prevents a person from doing something wrong. When one knows that what he is going to do is wrong “in the eyes of God.” The “love of God,” on the other hand, is what leads some people to act with kindness. Love of God is active; the fear of God is passive but no less critical. And finally, the most important thing is that the fear of God comes in opposition to the fear of men, which in this case is the fear of punishment the midwives would deserve for disobeying Pharaoh.
WHAT PRICE DID THEY PAY FOR THEIR DISOBEDIENCE?
The midwives were summoned for disobeying Pharaoh. They presented their arguments, saying that Jewish women give birth on their own, and when they arrived to assist them, it was too late. According to one not-very-known interpretation (of vayas lahem batim), Pharaoh did not forgive them but sent them to prison. These women paid with jail, probably as life sentencing, for their brave act to save the Hebrew children.
HOW DID WE REWARD THEIR ACT OF COURAGE?
Finally, it is beautiful, but not out of the ordinary, that Tora mentions these midwives and presents them as heroines. Thanks to the courage of these non-Jewish women, the people of Israel were saved. I believe that it is also possible, although I do not remember any commentator explaining it this way, that this act of bravery inspired the daughter of Pharaoh, who, in defiance of her father’s will, saved a Hebrew child from certain death. That child was Moses.
YAD VASHEM (leaving a good name)
Following the opinion that these midwives were not Jewish, it is worth noticing that probably as a token of gratitude, the Tora mentioned their names, Shifra and Pua, and thus, the act of bravery of these simple midwives is now engraved in the memory of the Jewish people. And at the same time, the name of Pharaoh, the most powerful man on earth, is not indicated, as if this cruel monarch did not deserve to be remembered. I feel that it is impossible not to connect how the Tora pays tribute to the memory of these brave women and the way the State of Israel pays tribute to the memory of those gentiles, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, like Schindler, that risked or sacrificed their lives to save a Jewish life.
That is the case among others of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic nurse who saved 2,500 Jewish children in the Holocaust (see this). Yes, we are grateful people, and we do not forget to pay tribute to the memory of those who help us. Then and now.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
The first phase of Pharaoh’s plan is done in secret. To prevent the demographic growth of the Jewish people, Pharaoh ordered the midwives to “discretely” kill the baby boys, making it look like an accident. But the midwives disobeyed.
The sages have different opinions about the nationality of these midwives. Were they Hebrew or Egyptian? The biblical text is ambiguous. “hamyaledot haibriot” could be understood as Jewish midwives or Egyptian midwives who assisted Jewish women. I will follow this second opinion, which in my perspective, is compatible with the textual narrative (peshat), that these midwives were Egyptian. The midwives,
presented by their names as Shifra and Pua, refused to comply with Pharaoh’s orders and let the children live. This extraordinary act of courage cannot be taken lightly.
Let’s analyze it a little more in-depth.
WHAT DID THE MIDWIVES DO?
The midwives disobeyed the direct order of the most powerful man— some might even call him “a god”— of the most powerful country in the world —at the moment of its greatest apogee, the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty. This was not an ordinary act of rebellion or neglect; it was an act of civil disobedience, perhaps the first ever recorded in the history of humankind.
WHY DID THEY DO IT?
Why did midwives let Jewish children live? The Tora explains it with simple yet meaningful words. “vatirena hamyaledot et haEloqim“. These women feared God. Although the topic of the fear of God is very profound, I will mention here three brief insights. First, In the Tora, fear of God (Eloqim) appears many times in the context of non-Jews. When it comes to a Jewish context, fear of HaShem is mentioned. This gives more weight to the interpretation that these midwives were not Jewish. Second, the “fear of God” prevents a person from doing something wrong. When one knows that what he is going to do is wrong “in the eyes of God.” The “love of God,” on the other hand, is what leads some people to act with kindness. Love of God is active; the fear of God is passive but no less critical. And finally, the most important thing is that the fear of God comes in opposition to the fear of men, which in this case is the fear of punishment the midwives would deserve for disobeying Pharaoh.
WHAT PRICE DID THEY PAY FOR THEIR DISOBEDIENCE?
The midwives were summoned for disobeying Pharaoh. They presented their arguments, saying that Jewish women give birth on their own, and when they arrived to assist them, it was too late. According to one not-very-known interpretation (of vayas lahem batim), Pharaoh did not forgive them but sent them to prison. These women paid with jail, probably as life sentencing, for their brave act to save the Hebrew children.
HOW DID WE REWARD THEIR ACT OF COURAGE?
Finally, it is beautiful, but not out of the ordinary, that Tora mentions these midwives and presents them as heroines. Thanks to the courage of these non-Jewish women, the people of Israel were saved. I believe that it is also possible, although I do not remember any commentator explaining it this way, that this act of bravery inspired the daughter of Pharaoh, who, in defiance of her father’s will, saved a Hebrew child from certain death. That child was Moses.
YAD VASHEM (leaving a good name)
Following the opinion that these midwives were not Jewish, it is worth noticing that probably as a token of gratitude, the Tora mentioned their names, Shifra and Pua, and thus, the act of bravery of these simple midwives is now engraved in the memory of the Jewish people. And at the same time, the name of Pharaoh, the most powerful man on earth, is not indicated, as if this cruel monarch did not deserve to be remembered. I feel that it is impossible not to connect how the Tora pays tribute to the memory of these brave women and the way the State of Israel pays tribute to the memory of those gentiles, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, like Schindler, that risked or sacrificed their lives to save a Jewish life.
That is the case among others of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic nurse who saved 2,500 Jewish children in the Holocaust (see this). Yes, we are grateful people, and we do not forget to pay tribute to the memory of those who help us. Then and now.
