Shemot 5773: Shifrah and Puah

This week’s Torah portion begins the book of Shemot (Exodus.) It marks the debut of a new Egyptian Pharaoh who enslaves the Jewish people and sets out to curtail the growth of the Jewish Nation. He orders the Jewish midwives, “of whom the name of the first was Shifrah and the name of the second, Puah…‘When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall put him to death...’ But the midwives feared G-d and they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, and they caused the boys to live.” Writes Mrs. Leah Kohn on torah.org: “[Pharaoh] assumed that the Jewish midwives would follow his orders under threat of death. However, he did not reckon with their spiritual greatness and commitment to G-d and the Jewish Nation.” Writes Sarah Zadok on chabad.org: “Their fear of G-d surpassed their fear of a human king.” Chazal (our Sages, may their memory be a blessing) tell that Shifrah and Puah are Yocheved and Miriam, mother and sister of Moshe (Moses). Rashi writes that Shifrah’s name derives from the Hebrew root m’shaperet, “to beautify” or “to swaddle or cleanse”. Puah’s name comes from her special way of speaking and cooing to soothe crying babies. Writes Mrs. Kohn: “The midwives’ commitment to G-d included a commitment to the promulgation of the Jewish people, which they expressed not only by saving the lives of Jewish-born infants, but doing everything in their power to care for them after birth.”   The text goes on with Pharaoh asking: “Why have you done this thing, that you have kept the boys alive? And the midwives said to Pharaoh ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are [skilled] as midwives; when the midwife has not yet come to them, they have [already] given birth.’ Pharaoh believes the midwives and allows them to carry on their important work. And thus they continue to preserve the Jewish people. Immediately after, the text recounts: “G-d did good to the midwives, and the people increased and became very strong. And it was because the midwives feared G-d that He made houses for them.”  The “houses” refer to Yocheved and Miriam’s descendants. Shifrah/Yocheved, mother of Aharon (Aaron) and Moshe (Moses), mothers the dynasties of Kehuna (Priests) and Leviah (Levites). Puah/Miriam mothers the Malchut, the Royal Dynasty or House of King David. Why is fear of G-d seen as the source of the midwives’ behavior and why is it considered so fundamental to the Jewish greatness they embody? Writes Mrs. Kohn: “In order to be able to do the right thing, especially in adversity, one’s actions must transcend self-interest or fear of consequence. The only basis for this strength is fear of G-d. When a person’s good deeds are completely motivated by G-d-given standards, he or she will act correctly, no matter what. Such a person understands G-d’s awesomeness in a very real way, and will have the strength to be loyal to His will even in the worst times. This is the essence of fear of G-d, which gives permanence to Jewish values, while more humanistic values and definitions of right and wrong vary according to time, place and human interest.” This is the level of Shifrah/Yocheved and Puah/Miriam. Excerpted from  http://www.torah.org/learning/women/class45.html