Standing up for what you believe in

In the story of Pesach, we find many heroines. Two extremely courageous women, the miyalodot, the midwives, especially stand out.

Pharaoh’s plan to destroy B’nai Yisrael with back breaking work fails and they are now reproducing quicker than ever. He decides to enlist in the help of the miyaldot. As we read in Shmot 1:15-16:

Pharaoh said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the first was Shifra and the name of the second was Puah: “When you deliver the Hebrew women and you see them on the birthstone; if it is a son, you are to kill him and if it is a daughter, she shall live.”

Chizkuni points out that Pharaoh thought the boys should be killed right away because he was afraid that B’nai Yisrael would rise up against him. Pharaoh figured that the men are more likely to fight than the women. Therefore, he let the girls stay alive. He didn’t see the women as a threat. Little did he know that the women were slowly rising up against him.

There is a dispute among the commentators as to who these midwives really were. The assumption is that Shifra and Puah were not their real names, but rather descriptions of the caring way that they did their jobs.

The Tamlud, Sotah 11a is the source for the opinion that the midwives were members of B’nai Yisrael:

Rav and Shmuel had a dispute:

Rav said they were mother, Yocheved and daughter, Miriam.

Shmuel said they were mother-in-law, Yocheved and daughter in law, Elisheva (Aharon’s wife).

Most of the commentators follow the opinion of the Talmud that miyaldot haivriyot refers to midwives that were Hebrew women, members of B’nai Yisrael.

However, it can be looked at another way. Maybe miyaldot haivriyot means miyaldot shel haivriyot, Egyptian midwives who worked for the Hebrew women. Josephus Flavius comments in his Antiquities that Pharaoh ordered the Egyptian midwives to supervise the labours and deliveries of the Hebrew women. Shadal supports this view. He believed that Pharaoh would not trust the daughters of Israel to destroy their own people and keep his plan a secret.

It’s amazing that these women, who may not have even been part of B’nai Yisrael, put their own lives in danger to help save the lives of the Hebrew babies.

They had a tremendous amount of courage to stand up to Pharaoh who was considered a God.

Pharaoh catches on that the baby boys are not being killed and confronts the midwives who are not afraid to stand up to him. They answer )Shmot 1:19): “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are chayot (experts or animals). Before the midwife even comes to them, they have already given birth.”

The midwives gave Pharaoh a believable excuse. The words ki chayot hena could be interpreted in a positive or negative manner. Rashi says that the women were literally compared to chayot, animals. These women don’t need anyone to help them give birth, they do it on their own like animals. Pharaoh may have appreciated the negative undertone of comparing B’nai Yisrael with animals. Pharaoh was probably not aware that in the Jewish tradition being compared to an animal has positive connotations. For example, Yaakov used animal in the blessings that he gave his children.

Here the miyaldot did not compromise. They stood up for what they believed in. When a person strongly believes in a cause, they fight until the very end.

God benefitted the midwives by causing Pharaoh to have mercy on them and believe their excuses. If he didn’t believe them, they would have been put to death for disobeying him.

The midwives selflessly helped the other women give birth to healthy babies. They were not expecting anything in return. Going out of their way to help others, they lived with the fear that they could lose their lives. In spite of everything, they still had the courage to stand up to Pharaoh.

May we all have the courage to stand up for what we believe in.