Strong Jewish Women

Rachel and Leah

2014-09-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

ב"ה

How Sisters Became Wives and Mothers

There are three Patriarchs and four Matriarchs in the Bible. That's because Yaakov (Jacob) had two wives. These two wives were sisters and their husband was their (first) cousin. When Yaakov upset his hunter brother Eisav (Esau) and had to flee for his life, his mother Rivka (Rebeka) sent him to her brother Lavan (Laban). As Yaakov got closer to his uncle's home, he saw a shepherdess trying to get a huge rock off the top of a well. There were men nearby, but instead of helping her, they were taunting her. Yaakov saw her and fell in love immediately and the strength of his love gave him the physical power to lift the heavy stone on his own.

Rachel and Lea

When Yaakov upset his hunter brother Eisav (Esau) and had to flee for his life, his mother Rivka (Rebeka) sent him to her brother Lavan (Laban). As Yaakov got closer to his uncle's home, he saw a shepherdess trying to get a huge rock off the top of a well. There were men nearby, but instead of helping her, they were taunting her. Yaakov saw her and fell in love immediately and the strength of his love gave him the physical power to lift the heavy stone on his own. After helping her, he discovered that the shepherdess was his cousin Rahael (Rachel). Yaakov went home with Rahael to his uncle Lavan's home where he told Lavan he wanted to marry Rahael. Lavan, crafty character that he was, decided that in order to marry his daughter, Yaakov would have to work for 7 years. Yaakov agreed and they were married. Or so Yaakov thought until the morning after the wedding when he discovered that he had married Rahael's sister Lea. Lea, the commentators tell us, thought she would have to marry Eisav, an evil man who she thought would treat her badly, so she cried. This made her eyes look red and reduced her natural beauty. When Yaakov realized he'd been tricked, he went to Lavan who acted as though he hadn't known which sister Yaakov had wanted to marry. But, he told Yaakov, he would give him Rahael if he would work another 7 years. Yaakov agreed to that also. After the 14 years and his marriage to Rahael, Yaakov worked several more years (6 or 7 depending on the source) to accumulate enough wealth to support his large family (Lea was mother to 6 sons and a daughter -- Reuven (Ruben), Shimon (Simon), Levi, Yehuda (Judah), Yissachar, Zevulun (Zebulon) and Dina, Rahael was mother to Yosef (Joseph) and Binyamin (Benjamin) and their maids were mothers to 4 sons total -- Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher). Yaakov and his family headed back toward Israel, but they were stopped by Lavan's workers and accused of stealing Lavan's idols. Yaakov professed his innocence but Rahael was hiding the idol, hoping her father would turn away from his idol worship so she took the idol. It was a good thing, though, that Lea was there and was a good mother because Rahael died as the family was about to enter Israel (she was buried on the road and her spirit cried for her children when the nation of Israel was exiled from the land of Israel by the Babylonians after the destruction of the first Temple). Lea took over and was mother to all 13 children. She was a helpmate to Yaakov. Lea is buried next to Yaakov in the cave of Mahpela in Hevron (Hebron).

Miriam the Prophet

2014-09-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

ב"ה

During the 40 years that the Children of Israel were in the desert (and even before), Miriam acted as a leader of the Women. When G-d saved the Children of Israel from destruction at the hands of the Egyptians, Miriam led the women in songs of praise thanking G-d.

Miriam the Prophetess

A Leader for Her People

Miriam started off life working for the women of Israel as a midwife. She helped get her parents back together by reminding her father that Pharaoh had decreed on the boys and he was "decreeing" on the girls too (her father, Amram, had separated from her mother, Yocheved, because Pharaoh had decreed that all boys born to the Children of Israel would be put to death by being thrown into the Nile River). Miriam was watching her brother Moshe (Moses) when their mother put him in a basket in the Nile River. Miriam noticed that the daughter of Pharaoh (called Batya or Bitya by commentaries) when she found Moshe and Miriam jumped up and told Batya that she knew a good wet nurse and Batya agreed to use Yocheved as a wet nurse for Moshe. Miriam's role in the community grew as she did. When her brother Moshe was leader of the people, she was a spiritual "Mother" to her people. When the Children of Israel were freed from slavery in Egypt, the Egyptians followed them to the Yam Suf (generally translated as the Red Sea) and the Sea opened up for the Children of Israel to pass through but then came down on the Egyptians. After the men sang in thanks to G-d for their redemption and for saving them from death at the hands of the Egyptians, Miriam took the women and they sang and danced, praising and thanking G-d. During the time that the Israelites were in the desert for 40 years, they had a well and that was on Miriam's merit. When Miriam died, the well disappeared. Miriam was a shining light to the people and an example to the women of a strong woman, one who was a leader in a time when female leaders were few. She stands to us, 3000+ years later, as a image of what being a woman means.

Rivka, Mother of Twins

2014-08-31T16:28:00.002-07:00

ב"ה

Rivka (Rebecca) was raised by a man who was a liar and a cheater but she was kind enough to bring water for Eliezer and his donkey. Eliezer, Avraham's (Abraham's) servant, was sent to find a bride for son Yitzhak (Isaac). When Eliezer got close, he asked G-d for a sign -- he said that he would know he had found the right life-partner for Yitzhak when he found a young woman who would offer him water and also offer water to his camel.

Rivka, Mother of Twins

Each Twin Represented a Nation

When Avraham (Abraham) decided it was time for his son Yitzhak (Isaac) to marry, Avraham sent his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Yitzhak. Avraham sent Eliezer to his family in Ur. Rivka (Rebecca) offered to give water to Eliezer and his camel. Eliezer decided this was the right woman for his master's son. Rivka and Yitzhak married and Rivka prayed for children. She became pregnant with twins. The twins fought with each other in the womb. When they were born, the first son came out, he was hairy and everyone called him Esav (Esau), which meant hairy. When the second son came out, he was holding the heel of the older son. His father,Yitzhak, called him Yaakov (Jacob) which came from the Hebrew word for heel. As they got older, Esav was a hunter and a killer and Yaakov was a learner. Yaakov wanted to get his father's blessing. But Yitzhak was fooled by Esav. Esav brought his father, who had gone blind, meat from animals he had hunted and treated him well. But Rivka saw that Yaakov was the good son and told him how to fool his father. Because Yitzhak had grown up in the house of Avraham and Sara, he only knew honesty. But Rivka was the daughter of Betuel, who was dishonest in business and so she knew how to counteract Esav's deceptions. Rivka saw to it that Yitzhak's blessing went to the appropriate son, Yaakov.

Yocheved, Moses's Mother

2014-02-28T13:42:00.001-08:00

Yocheved -- Midwife and Mother

ב"ה

Yocheved was the Mother of Miriam, Aharon (Aaron) and Moshe (Moses) making her the Mother of Priests and Kings.

Yocheved, Mother of Moshe

Yocheved protected her son and helped raise him in Pharaoh's palace

Yocheved was the daughter of Yaakov (Jacob)'s son Levi. She was married to Levi's grandson Amram.

The couple had two children, Miriam and Aharon (Aaron) when Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, decreed that all Jewish males born would be thrown into the Nile River. Yocheved and her husband separated because they didn't want to lose a child to Pharaoh's decree. But Miriam reminded her father that Pharaoh only decreed on the boys, by separating from Yocheved, he was decreeing on the girls also.

Despite Pharaoh's decree, Yocheved and Miriam, who were midwives known as Shifra and Pua, saved the Jewish boys. So when Yocheved found out she was pregnant and then gave birth to a boy, she knew that she had to do something to protect him.

She took the baby and put him in a basket made of river reeds and put tar on it to make it waterproof. Then she put him in the basket and put the basket in the river. Yocheved and Miriam then kept an eye on him.

One morning, while they watched, Pharaoh's daughter (whom the commentaries call Batya) was washing in the river when she saw the baby in the basket. She reached out her hand to take him and decided to adopt him, naming him "Moshe" (Moses) because "min hamayim mishitihu" (she drew him from the water). Miriam saw this happen and ran over to Batya and suggested her mother Yocheved as a wet nurse for the baby. In this way, Yocheved and Miriamsaved Moshe's life, they ensured that he was raised properly.

The commentaries say that Yocheved was born as Yaakov and his family entered the gate of Egypt in Yoseph(Joseph)'s time. (It says in the Tora that 70 souls came down to Egypt but it only lists 69 and the commentaries say thatYocheved is the 70th.) This would make her motherhood even more amazing than Sara's motherhood at the age of 90. This would mean that Yocheved was 124 when Miriam was born, 127 when Aharon was born and 130 when Moshe was born! (The math goes as follows: The Children of Israel were in Egypt, from the time the 70 souls came down to Egypt, 210 years. Moshe was 80 years old when the Children of Israel left Egypt, therefore Yocheved, who was born as they came into the gates, was 210-80 or 130 when Moshe was born.)

The Ten Plagues -- The List

These are the ten plagues that G-d send on Egypt so that Pharaoh would "Let My People Go"!

Dahm -- דם -- Blood: The Nile River turned to blood for the Egyptians (but turned back to water for the Children of Israel)
Tzefardea -- צפרדי -- Frog: The singular is used here. It all started with one frog, but every time someone would hit the frog (in an effort to get rid of it), one frog became two, so they multiplied and multiplied
Kinim -- כינים -- Lice: The Egyptians were plagued with lice all over their bodies
Arove -- ערוב -- Wild Animals: Wild Animals were loose in the streets of Egypt
Dever -- דבר -- Cattle Disease: All the domesticated farm animals of the Egyptians started dying from this disease
Sh'hin -- שכין -- Boils: The Egyptians' bodies were covered with boils
Barad -- ברד -- Hail: To prove that this was miraculous hail, the large hailstones had fire coming out of the middle
Arbeh -- ארבה -- Locust: A plague of Locust spread over the crops of the Egyptians
Hoshekh -- חושך -- Darkness: This darkness, which worsened every three days, started as just visual darkness but, by the ninth day, was so thick that the Egyptians couldn't even move. But the Children of Israel were in light, just as any other day.
Makat B'Khorot -- מקת בכורות -- The Plague of the First Born: The first born sons of Egyptian families died in this plague. Even Pharaoh's first born died. This plague freaked Pharaoh out so much, not just because he lost a son, but also because Pharaoh himself was a first born. It was during this plague that Pharaoh told the people to leave.

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Ruth's Devotion

2013-05-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

ב"ה

When Ruth's husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law all died suddenly, Ruth stayed with her mother-in-law Naomi even as her sister-in-law Orpa returned home.

"In the time the Judges were judging...", according to the biblical book of Ruth, a rich man named Elimelekh took his family to Moav (Moab) because there was a famine in Israel. His sons, Mahlon and Khilyon, married a couple of local women, Ruth and Orpa.

Ruth as a symbol of loyalty, devotion and love

By Staying with her Mother-in-Law, Ruth also Accepted the Tora

"In the time the Judges were judging...", according to the biblical book of Ruth, a rich man named Elimelekh took his family to Moav (Moab) because there was a famine in Israel. His sons, Mahlon and Khilyon, married a couple of local women, Ruth and Orpa.

Soon after, Elimelekh died. Then his sons died. The three women were left alone. Naomi, Elimelekh's wife, then decided to return home to Israel. Her daughters-in-law said they would go with her. Naomi told them both to go home to their families. Orpa kissed her good-bye and went home to her family. But Ruth vowed to remain with her saying "Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people will be my people, your G-d will be my G-d."

So Ruth and Naomi went back to Israel and lived together. Though Elimelekh had been rich, their wealth had been lost and Naomi and Ruth were very poor. So they had to go to the fields and pick the food that was left by the owners as charity.

When they went to one field, the owner, Boaz, saw Ruth. He noticed that she never took anything except from what he was required to leave by Jewish law. This attracted him because he saw that she was a moral person. He asked her to marry him and she did. Together, they had a son named Oved. Oved had a son named Yishai (Jesse) and Yishai's son was David. David was the second king of Israel, the king whose descendants were a dynasty.

Because Ruth accepted the Tora on herself, we read the book of Ruth on the holiday that the Children of Israel accepted the Tora -- Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks, which comes 7 weeks after Passover in the Jewish month of Sivan. Shavuot is one of the 3 Pilgrimage holidays during which the people would come to Jerusalem. These three holidays are Passover, Shavuot and (Sukkot).

It should be noted that Ruth was the granddaughter of Eglon, the king of Moav in the time of the Judge Ehud the son of Geira. Ehud was sent (by G-d) to kill Eglon (who was oppressing the Children of Israel). When Ehud came to the king (he was left-handed, so he was able to hide his sword on the right), he said he had a message from G-d. The king stood when he heard that Ehud had a message from G-d and Ehud killed him. But because he stood at the mention of G-d's name, he merited to be the ancestor of such a great woman as Ruth.

Devora, "Woman of the Flames"

2010-08-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

B"H

Anyone who ever learned the book of Shoftim (Judges) knows the pattern:

"And the Children of Israel did evil in the eyes of G-d and they worshiped the Ba'al [a form of tree worship] And they left G-d, the G-d of their forefathers, who took them out of Egypt and they went after other gods, gods of the surrounding nations, and they bowed down to them and G-d was angry with them.": Shoftim (Judges) 2:11-12
"And the Children of Israel continued to do evil in the eyes of G-d and G-d strengthened Eglon the King of Moav [Moab] on Israel [for the reason that] they did evil in G-d's eyes.": Shoftim (Judges) 3:12
"And the Children of Israel cried out to G-d and G-d set up for them a redeemer Ehud the son of Geira and son of the tribe of Binyamin [Benjamin] left-handed [who put his sword on] his right side and the Children of Israel sent him to with a gift to Eglon the King of of Moav.": Shoftim (Judges) 3:15
"And Ehud sent out his left arm and he took the sword from his right hip and he thrust it into [Eglon]'s belly.": Shoftim (Judges) 3:21

In other words, the Children of Israel sin, G-d punishes them by sending a strengthened enemy, they cry to G-d, he sends a champion who routs the enemy and that's that... well, at least until the next time....

And that's the story all through the book of Shoftim.

One of stories that goes this way is the story of Devora [Deborah]. She is described:

"And Devora was a woman, a Prophetess, a woman of the flames, she judged Israel at that time": Shoftim (Judges) 4:4

(The above translations are all my own interpretation of the Hebrew) Many people translate the "a woman of the flames" as "the wife of Lapidot". I prefer my translation. The Flames represent the Tora, so I believe this is a hint to all that Devora was learned in Tora law and could hold her own with any male judge.

Barak the son of Avinoam was the General of the Army and he wouldn't go to war without Devora by his side. Devora joined Barak and, with G-d's help, they defeated their enemies.

Devora then sang a song to G-d (in the same way as the generation that was released from slavery in Egypt sang a song to G-d at the Red Sea -- the woman also sang to G-d with dancing an tambourines). Because this song is similar to the song that the Children of Israel sang at the Red Sea, this portion is read as the Haftora the week the Red Sea song is read as the Tora portion (a Haftora is a portion of the Prophets that connects somehow to the Tora reading of the day).

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Tamar: The Mother of Kings

2010-06-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

B"H

Yehuda (Judah) was the fourth son of Yaakov (Jacob). He married and had three sons. The oldest son, Er, married a woman named Tamar. But Er died without having any children. So Yehuda told his next son, Onan to marry her (this is called a Leverite Marriage -- a man marries his brother's childless widow to give her a child). According to the commentaries, Onan didn't want a child of his to be credited to his brother, so he "spilled his seed". Because of his selfishness, he died also.

Yehuda didn't want to lose another son, so he told Tamar that Sheila (Shay-luh), his third son, wasn't old enough to get married.

But this put Tamar in the position of not being permitted to get married to anyone and, therefore, she wouldn't have children. And she really wanted children.

So she dressed in clothes that the prostitutes wore and she stood where the prostitutes stand until Yehuda, her Father-in-law, who she believed owed her a child, came by. Because she normally dressed modestly, Yehuda didn't recognize her. He approached her and, thinking she was a prostitute, asked her what her "price" was and she said that all she wanted was his walking staff, his cloak and his signet ring.

After this, Tamar put on her modest widow's clothes and went back to her normal life. But soon after this, people started noticing that she was pregnant and they told Yehuda and asked him if he wanted them to bring her to them for punishment.

When Tamar heard that she would be put to death for adultery, she sent a messenger to Yehuda with his staff, cloak and ring and asked him if he, perchance, knew who those items belonged to.

Yehuda saw the items and right away realized that he was the father of Tamar's child. Yehuda told the people not to kill Tamar and that she was more righteous than he.

It turned out that Tamar had twins. She named them Peretz and Zerah.

In the book of Ruth (This original story was in B'reishit -- Genesis), it lists the descendants of Peretz -- Peretz had a son named Hetzron, who had a son named Ram, who had a son named Aminadav, who had a son named Nahshon (who was the Nasi -- Prince -- of the Tribe of Yehuda in the time when the Children of Israel wandered 40 years in the Desert).

Nahshon had a son named Shalma (or Shalmon), who had a son named Boaz, who married Ruth. They had a son named Oved, who had a son named Yishai (Jesse), who had a son named David. David was the second king of Israel and the founder of the Davidic Dynasty of kings of Israel and Judea and from whom the Moshiah (Messiah) will one day come.

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2008-12-13T18:55:00.001-08:00

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Mirror, Mirror, on the Tabernacle......

2008-04-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

B"H

After the Exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel were given the Tora. This was the beginning of 40 years of wandering in the desert.

While the Children of Israel wandered in the desert, the built a Mishkan (Tabernacle), a home for G-d's presence, a place to congregate and worship together.

When the Mishkan was finished, there was a dedication. For the dedication, everyone gave gifts.

The women came to Moshe (Moses) and wanted to give their gift too. They offered their copper mirrors. Moshe didn't want to accept the mirrors, since they represent ego and the Mishkan is dedicated to the Children of Israel as a people and G-d. But G-d told Moshe to take the mirrors. Why?

To answer that question, we need to go back to the time when the Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. During the time of the slavery, the men would come home from their work tired. The women were concerned for the survival of the Jewish people, so they used their mirrors, their polished copper, to make themselves beautiful, attractive to their husbands. This ensured the survival of the Jewish people.

When the women wanted to give these mirrors as gifts for the Mishkan, G-d wanted them because they showed the women's dedication to the survival of the Jewish people.

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Queen Esther and the Persians

2008-01-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

B"H

On Purim, a holiday that takes place every year on the 14th of Adar (or Adar II in Jewish leap year -- )the Book of Esther (also called the Megilla) is read. It tells the story of the Jews in Persia during the time of Ahashverosh, also known as Xerxes.

I have always found the Megilla to be a fascinating book. There are several levels of intrigue, stories within stories, but, unlike just about all the other books of the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible), no mention of G-d.

One interesting thing I noticed in the Megilla a number of years ago is that the Megilla has more passive verbs than I've ever seen in any other place. I wondered about that for some time and then realized that in the time of the Megilla and of Esther and Mordechai, the Jews who were under the Persian rule (which was pretty much all of the Jews in the world at that time because the empire of Ahashverosh spanned from India to Ethiopia) pretty much just sat back and let things happen to them. They didn't do anything when Ahashverosh gave one of the most important jobs in his government to Haman, a sworn enemy of the Jews. They didn't do anything when Ahashverosh allowed Haman to pass an edict calling for the slaughter of all the Jews, including ..."children and women..." in one day, the 13th day of the Hebrew month of Adar. (Read more about the Hebrew month of Adar and the Jewish Calendar)

Though she needed a little verbal push from Mordechai, Esther did act. She asked Ahashverosh and Haman to a party (where she was able to lull Haman into a false sense of security), then invited them to another party where she finally revealed that Haman was threatening her and her people.

The story works out well in the end -- Haman and his 10 evil sons are hanged, the Jews fight against their enemies and defeat them, and everybody celebrates. We celebrate the holiday of Purim in commemoration of these events.

There are a number of mitzvot (commandments) associated with Purim. Twice during the day of Purim (from sundown to sundown on the 14th of Adar, or, in a leap year, Adar II) we hear the reading of the Megilla (from parchment) twice -- once at night and once in the morning. We also give matanot l'evyonim, "gifts" (of money) to the poor, shalah manot (ready-to-eat food gifts -- at least two items -- sent to at least one friend). ("Cafe Press" mugs with Esther from Strong Jewish Women -- Esther make great holders for your shalah manot -- put some food in, wrap with colored saran and add a card and you have easy shalah manot).

Toward the end of the day, families (and friends) get together for the seuda -- feast. Many families have feasts similar to American Thanksgiving feasts. After all that eating, you understand why there's a fast day (called Ta'anit Esther, the fast of Esther) the day before Purim!

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The Women of Hanuka

2007-11-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

B"H

When most people think of Hanuka, they think of the Maccabees, lead by Yehuda (Judah) Maccabee and his four brothers and their father, Matityahu (Mattathias). Few people think of the women of Hanuka.

Yehudit (Judith) was a widow living in the city of Bethulia. The Assyrian King, Nabuchodonosor, sent his general Holofernes to punish the city. Holofernes went and cut off the water supply and laid siege to the city.

The city's elders were about to give up when Yehudit told them she had a plan. She went in her nicest clothes and jewelry to the camp of Holofernes. The general was taken with her beauty and invited her to a feast. Holofernes drank a lot of wine and got drunk.

Yehudit went back to his tent and, when they were alone, and Holofernes was passed out from the alcohol, she took his sword and cut off his head.

With the death of Holofernes, his army was in disarray and the Jews were able to mount an offensive and defeat the Assyrian army. The account of this story is in the book of Yehudit, which is part of the apocrypha and, while it was originally written in Hebrew, only the Greek version survived to be translated.

Another brave woman whose story is associated with Hanuka is Hana. Hana had 7 sons and King Antiochus brought them to his throne room. He told them to bow down to him, since he considered himself a god. One by one, Hana's sons refused and were tortured to death in front of their mother and their other brothers. When there was only the youngest son left, Antiochus gave her the chance to speak to him. She told him that he should remember the Sh'ma and that Hashem (G-d) is One. Her son told her not to fear, he would not bow down to a false god.

When Antiochus heard from the youngest son that he, too, would not bow down, he killed him too, leaving Hana without her sons. She then prayed for the souls of her sons, for G-d to give strength and victory to the Jewish people, and that she should die before the Assyrian Greeks could kill her. She then fell over dead next to her sons.

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Moses's "Women" -- Yocheved, Miriam, Batya and Tzippora

2007-10-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

B"H

Moshe (Moses), the greatest leader of the Jewish people, owed a lot to four women in his life.

When Amram, the grandson of Levi, heard that Pharaoh was ordering the midwives to throw all the Jewish baby boys into the Nile River, he separated from his wife Yocheved. At the time they had two children -- Miriam and Aharon (Aaron). Miriam told her father that Pharaoh had only decreed against the boys, but by separating from his wife, he was decreeing also against the girls. So Miriam got her parents back together.

Because of the separation, though, the Egyptian officials didn't plan on checking on Yocheved for 9 months after they got back together. But miraculously, a baby boy was born 6 months after Amram and Yocheved got back together. For 3 months the were able to hide him, since no one expected Yocheved to have a baby for 3 more months. But after the 3 months Yocheved knew the Egyptian officials would come by and find her son, so she put him in a tar coated hay basket and sent him floating in the River.

Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh, saw the basket and the baby and decided she wanted to raise him. She named his Moshe. Miriam saw her take the baby and asked her if she wanted a wet nurse to nurse the baby. This is how Moshe was nursed by his own mother after being "adopted" by Pharaoh's daughter.

Later in his life, Moshe, who grew up in the palace, saw an Egyptian overseer beating a Jewish worker (slave). Trying to get the man to stop beating the slave, he hit him and killed him and buried him in the ground. He knew, at that point, that he needed to run, so he ran. Eventually, he ran to Midyan where he met Tzippora, the daughter of the Midyanite priest, Yitro. Moshe stayed with Yitro, married Tzippora, they had two sons and he worked as a shepherd.

Because G-d called Moshe to get his people out of Egypt a short time after his second son was born, Moshe didn't have time to circumcise him. On their way back to Egypt, an angel came and was about to kill Moshe because his son was uncircumcised. Tzippora saw the angel and knew why he was there. She grabbed a sharp rock, circumcised her son and threw the foreskin at Moshe's feet.

Check out merchandise with three of Moshe's "women":
Yocheved: Yocheved
Miriam: Miriam
Tzippora: Tzippora

Welcome to Strong Jewish Women

2007-10-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

ב"ה

Let's Begin at the Beginning

I guess everything has to start somewhere and this is where I'm starting...

It's time for young Jewish women to remember (or learn???) that Judaism and the Jewish bible have long traditions of Strong women. Beginning even before the Tora was given, women show their strength of character and strength of morality as a shining example for generations of women.

Three of the four Imahot (Matriarchs) had difficulty having children. I believe this was to show that a woman's worth is not solely in her ability to have children. Sara, who didn't become a mother until she was 90 years old, was Avraham's help mate throughout their lives. He listened to her advice and worked with her to welcome guests into their home.

In addition to the Matriarchs, the first 5 books in the Tora (the Pentateuch) include stories of many strong women, Tamar, Miriam, Tzippora, the 5 daughters of Zelaphhod, for example. The Nach -- Prophets and the Writings include stories of many more women including two, Ruth and Esther, who even had books named after them.

As an artist, I have begun to create designs centered around these women. You can see them at
Strong Jewish Women merchandise

Jewish Foremothers

2007-10-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

B"H

As I'm sure you might be able to figure out, I'm quite new to blogging. I finally figured out how to get things going here.

One of the nice things about being Jewish is that we, as Jews and as women, have many roll models. Our roll models aren't perfect. Human beings are never perfect. And the Tora doesn't whitewash the faults of the heroes (male and female). We know that Avraham lied about his relationship with Sara (he told the Egyptians that she was his sister, not his wife), we know that Yehuda wasn't always faithful to his wife, we know that David had a man killed so he could marry the man's wife (Batsheva), and we know that Sara laughed when she hears that she'd become a mother at the age of 90. But we also know that we are all descended from Avraham and Sara, that the kingship of David is descended from Yehuda and his daughter-in-law Tamar, and that the Moshiach (Messiah) will be descended from David and Batsheva.

The lesson of Tora and Judaism is that no matter what you do, you can repent. G-d forgives our sins if we are truly sorry and promise not to do it again (and mean it!). We are descended from imperfect people, and we ourselves are imperfect. Perfection only exists in G-d, not in human beings. But that doesn't doom us to transgress in the future.

Read more about Judaism and Strong Jewish Women at:
Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2

The power of Tefilla (prayer)

2007-08-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

B"H

With Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), and the Aseret Y'mei Teshuva (the ten days of repentance) leading up to Yom Kippur (the day of atonement), just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to discuss tefilla (prayer).

Women in the Tora (Jewish bible) are very involved with prayer. Sara, Rivka (Rebecca), Lea and Rahael (Rachel) all used the power of prayer -- Sara, Rivka and Rahael prayed to G-d when they wanted children, Lea prayed to G-d that her sister, Rahael, would have a son. Hanna was married to Elkana who also had Penina as his wife. Penina had many children, but she felt as though Elkana loved Hanna more. So Penina taunted Hanna, making Hanna feel worse.

Hanna prayed fervently to G-d for a son. She even promised that her son would work at the Tabernacle at Shilo. When G-d answered her prayer, she honored her promise and her son Shmuel (Samuel) worked with Eli and became a prophet.

I used Hanna as a design for one of my New Year's cards because of her association with prayer, which is an integral part of the High Holy Days. See this and other designs at: Custom Designed New Year's cards

Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy New Year.

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