Rabbi Sacks began his comments on the Book of Shmot by noting
how the text clearly delineates the crucial role women played
in the Jewish people
surviving Egyptian enslavement and, even more important, in
the liberation from
bondage. This week’s parasha continues that theme on a more
subtle level.
In last week’s parasha, Moses followed the instructions he
had
received at the Burning
Bush and assembled the Elders of Israel to accompany him to
Pharoah. But the next
verses indicate that only Moses and Aaron actually reached
the
palace. Rashi famously
explains the Elder’s unexplained disappearance from the text
by
arguing that “the closer
Moses and Aaron came to the palace, the fewer elders remained
with them. At every
corner, some turned away and disappeared until, when they
finally reached the palace,
Moses and Aaron discovered they were alone.”
This pattern remains the norm throughout the rest of the
plagues, which form the
narrative we read this week. The Elders are nowhere to be
found;
the narrative places
Moses and Aaron front and centre in the direct “line of fire”
of
an increasingly angry,
distraught, and still very powerful and dangerous Pharaoh.
Certainly it is they, not the
Elders, who earn their spurs of leadership in these
confrontations.
The Torah continues discussing their role in this chapter,
but
in a manner best revealed
through careful reading. Towards the end of our parasha, just
before the tenth plague
strikes, G-d predicted, “Tell the people that each man shall
borrow from his neighbor
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and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold.”
(11:2).
The language is very
unusual; once the “people” have been mentioned, the Torah has
no
need to delineate
further. It could have simply written: “Tell the people to
borrow from their neighbours…”
Why the apparently unnecessary elaboration? The Da’at Mikra
explains that in this
society men dealt with men and women with women. This
emphasizes
the careful
modesty of the Israelite women. Given the track record of the
male Elders in assisting
Moses, it is far more believable to see this verse as setting
up
a parallel challenge to
contrast the women favorably with the men of Israel. The
women,
after all, were in the
greatest position of risk, yet they were to go to their
Egyptian
female neighbours and
ask for items of gold and silver just as the men were to do.
Given the fear of the Elders,
it is likely that the men who were more afraid of the
Egyptians
than the women—might
be reluctant to approach their Egyptian neighbours. Seeing
their
womenfolk do just this
might well have been a goad for the men to at least show
courage. This may well be a
parallel to later in the story, after the Egyptians have
drowned, when we read that “The
Children of Israel sang a song unto the L-rd…” but later we
are
told that “And Miriam the
Prophetess took the drum in her hand and all the women
followed
her….” singing the
same words. Here again, the women are presented separately
doing
a parallel activity,
implying their equality to the men on the basis of their
bravery
and contribution to the
survival of the Jewish people.
And this is a paradigm for the relationships of husbands and
wives. Each party
sometimes has to be an exemplar for the other if both are to
grow in their relationship.
In Egypt, it was the women who had more faith than the men
during the worst part of
Egyptian bondage, it was the women who maintained the
heritage
of the Foremothers
and Forefathers while the men often succumbed to terror,
frustration, anguish and fear.
There have been times in our history when the opposite is
true,
and many more when
the decision was the joint product of both husband and wife.
Let
us hope that the bonds
that kept the Israelites cognizant of their heritage will
serve
us well today.
