Shemot
Torah of our
Mothers
Rabbi Sue
Morningstar
Parshat Shemot introduces us to the second wave of
ancient Hebrew foremothers,
seven women who embody torat imenu, the Torah of our Mothers. Each one acted
courageously according to her own still small voice within in order to do what
she knew was right, thereby changing the course of history.
Shifrah and Puah, the midwives, by
definition women of power, were filled with divine awe. (Ex 1:17). They were
the holy renegades who started the revolution by refusing to kill the Hebrew
baby boys and were rewarded in this life and the next for their lies to Pharoah.
The wise women Yocheved
and Miriam, Moshe's mother and sister, risked everything to protect Moshe as a
baby. Batya, Pharoah's
daughter, defied her powerful father when she heard Moshe crying in the river.
She felt compassion for him, rescued him, and hugged and kissed and loved him
as if he were her own. Midrash teaces that for this, she entered olam haba, the next world, alive.
Tzipporah, Moshe's powerful Midianite
princess wife, took quick action to save Moshe's life. Serach bat
Asher, described in the Midrash as Jacob's sensitive
granddaughter whom he blessed with eternal life, grants Moshe his credibility
with the elders of Israel.
May we remember to honour torat imenu as
we stoke and feed the God-field with wisdom, awe, compassion, courage,
strength, holy chutzpah and sensitivity, always remaining attuned to that still
small voice within.
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