"The midwives, however, feared G-d"(Exodus 1:17) Tevet 24, 5784/January 5, 2024 The first names we come across as we begin reading the book of Exodus, notwithstanding the roster of souls who went down to Egypt with Yaakov, are Shifra and Puah, the two Hebrew midwives who defied all powerful Pharaoh and kept the Hebrew male babies alive. Shifra and Puah are the first recorded instances of what we would call today civil disobedience. They openly defied Pharaoh's murderous edict, and when brought before him for questioning, they very brazenly told him a story, which he swallowed, hook, line and sinker. The Torah's explanation for the two midwives' righteous action is succinct: "The midwives, however, feared G-d; so they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but they enabled the boys to live." (Exodus 1:17) It was that simple! No hesitation or rationalization; they feared G-d and did not fear Pharaoh. The answer they gave Pharaoh for their 'inability' to put the infant boys to death was that the Hebrew women are very "full of life," and give birth even before the midwives arrive. While Pharaoh took their answer at face value, we can learn from this that the Hebrew women who were behind the population explosion that so worried Pharaoh, were, indeed, an unstoppable force for life. "G-d benefited the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong." (ibid 1:20) The Hebrew women began building a nation. Soon after, we read of a mother and daughter, whose names are not yet revealed to us, but we will later discover are Yocheved and Miriam, who guard over and save the life of a precious infant son condemned by Pharaoh to be thrown to the Nile. The daughter, Miriam, like the midwives before her, showed no hesitation in approaching the daughter of Pharaoh, a princess of Egypt, and recommending to her a Hebrew wet nurse for the infant she discovered. And Pharaoh's daughter, herself, who, in spite of her father's cruel decree, took pity on the Hebrew boy, and, with her retinue of handmaidens, drew him from the Nile and brought him home to raise him, merits our deepest respect. Yes, infant Moshe would years later become the savior of Israel, but right now, at this critical moment in the life of Israel, when a tyrant bent on genocide has threatened to snuff out the infant nation, it was women, or, perhaps, womanhood, through her power of fertility and instinctive compassion, and her unshakeable fear of G-d, which kept the children and the nation alive. Returning, for a moment, to the midwives, Shifra and Puah, could it have been that there were only two midwives to deal with the myriad births taking place? Perhaps Shifra and Puah were simply the head midwives, overseeing a sisterhood of midwives, a guild of midwives. Perhaps there was a whole legion of midwives openly defying Pharaoh. The Hebrew women, in their entirety, were enlisted in the fight for the nation's life, fearlessly giving birth and fearlessly defying the will of Pharaoh. And later in our story, a now adult Moshe, fleeing for his life from Pharaoh, comes upon the seven daughters of Yitro, and, while he ostensibly rescues them from hostile shepherds, it is actually the seven sisters, including Tziporah, who would become Moshe's wife, who rescue the Egyptian fugitive from himself, and through his employment as their father's shepherd, ultimately lead Moshe to his fateful role as Israel's teacher and redeemer. And it is Tziporah who, at the mysterious incident at the inn when HaShem seemed to want to put Moshe to death, immediately understood what needed to be done, and saved the life of Moshe. Women, righteous women, bold women, strong women, women full with life, are the builders, protectors and foundation of the future nation of Israel. Moshe, who comes into focus at the burning bush, exhibits no such unquestioning faith nor determination, when conversing with G-d, seemingly trying every which way to wriggle his way out of G-d's plans for him. Moshe asks of G-d why He chose him for the mission, querying "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of Egypt?" and it was a very good question! Of course, we know that Moshe was very special from birth, beaming light and goodness, and that, as a young man, his empathy for his brethren, the Hebrew slaves, caused him to slay the Egyptian taskmaster. But perhaps what G-d really saw in Moshe were the Hebrew women who saw to it that he would live and prosper, knowing that with a sister such as Miriam, and a mother of the caliber of Yocheved, and the ability to inspire compassion in the daughter of Pharaoh, Moshe was the man for the job. Yes, it was the courageous and G-d fearing Hebrew women, both those named and those who remain nameless, who literally carried Israel through its most perilous and threatening moments. And it didn't end in Egypt. We all know how Miriam and her Hebrew sisters boldly lifted up their drums and danced and sang praises to HaShem at the crossing of the Sea of Reeds. And it was the women who refused to hand over their earrings and bracelets to the disillusioned men who were bent on building a golden calf. And, of course, the women likewise stayed aloof from Israel's greatest desert disaster, refusing to be swayed by the evil report of the spies. And the next time we will read the names of so many Israelite women will be in the book of Numbers, toward the end of Israel's journey in the wilderness, when we learn of Machlah, Noa, Choglah, Milcah, and Tirtzah, the five daughters of Tzelophchad, who perceived what Moshe had not perceived, and due to their love of the land of Israel, earned an inheritance in the land. Many midrashim sing the praises of Shifra and Puah and Miriam and Yocheved, and Bat-Par'oh - the daughter of Pharaoh - and Tziporah and Machlah, Noa, Choglah, Milcah, and Tirtzah, and the Israelite women of the wilderness, without whom there would be no Moshe, there would be no exodus from Egypt, there would be no settlement of the land of Israel, and there would be no people or nation of Israel, not even a single infant. We closed the book of Genesis with the death of Yaakov and Yosef and his brothers. As we begin the book of Exodus with Pharaoh's evil intentions to put to death all their surviving descendents, it is the Hebrew women, beginning with Shifra and Puah, who step in to foil his plans. All praise to the righteous women of Israel, women of valor, all of them! . |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Yitzchak Reuven talks about the righteous women who open the book of Exodus, and how Israel continues to tighten the noose around the neck of Hamas, and how Pharaoh was the first to recognize that Israel is a people! The glory days of Yosef in Egypt are long gone and intentionally forgotten by an increasingly paranoid Pharaoh, who decides that it's time to put an end to the children of Israel, (where have we heard that before?), only to be foiled by the righteous daughters of Israel, and even his own daughter, and yet again by Tziporah, the daughter of Yitro, the idolatrous priest of Midian! |
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What is G-d? This is a question we all have asked. Even Moshe, at the burning bush, asked G-d by what name He goes. And the answer he received was as mysterious as it was enlightening. Shemot (Exodus 1:1 - 6:1)
Parashat Shemot is read on Shabbat:
Tevet 25, 5784/January 6, 2024 |
Haftara For Shabbat Parashat Shemot
Ashkenazim traditionally read Isaiah 27:6 - 28:13; Isaiah 29:22-23; Sepharadim traditionally read Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
Isaiah 27:6 - 28:13; Isaiah 29:22-23: "Those who came, whom Yaakov caused to take root, Israel flourished and blossomed and they filled the face of the world with fruitage. Like the smiting who smote him did He smite him: like the slaying of his slain ones, was he slain? In that measure, when they sent them out, it strove with it; He spoke with His harsh wind on the day of the east wind...'" |
Become a Member of the Temple Institute! Introducing the Temple Institute's new membership card, in PDF format to conveniently download onto your phone. We are issuing the new membership cards to all new donors and will soon be sending the new card to our veteran donors, as well! |
The Day After! Everyone is asking what Israel's plans are for after the war. Well these two soldiers have the answer. Sitting atop the ruins of Gaza, one soldier is perched in front of graffiti, saying " יבנה המקדש - Yibaneh HaMikdash - Build the Holy Temple!" |
The Temple Institute's Levitical Choir Bikur Cholim (Visiting The Sick) IDF soldier Mordechai Shenvald, serving in Gaza, was hit by a missile which crushed his ribs and did severe damage to his lungs. He was rushed to a hospital in Israel where he made a miraculous recovery. Shenvald is a violinist and playing violin while recovering in the hospital not only raised his spirits and helped his recovery, it also uplifted fellow soldiers also recovering from serious injuries sustained in the war. |
Israel Eliminates Top Hamas Terrorist Yesterday Israel eliminated top Hamas operative Saleh al-Arouri in Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold. Six other Hamas terrorists were killed in the attack. Al-Arouri was Hamas' main liaison with their Iranian terrorist overlords, and was a central planner and enabler of the October 7th massacre that took more than 1,200 Israeli lives, as well as many prior atrocities. |
Iranian Opposition Leader Vahid Beheshti On The Temple Mount Iranian opposition leader Vahid Beheshti, based in London, and his wife Mattie, visited the Temple Mount yesterday. Later in the day Vahid was a guest of the Israel Knesset, where he told Israel's political leadership that "Israel shouldn’t be afraid to attack the Islamic Republic, saying 'this is the only language they understand.'” |
The Altar Ramp The kohanim ascended to the mizbeach by means of a ramp, to a height of ten cubits (5 meters). A ramp was used instead of stairs, because of the Torah prohibition: "Do not go up by stairs to My mizbeach, that your nakedness be not exposed on it." (Exodus 20, 23). Between the ramp and the mizbeach was a small space, to enable the parts of the offering to be tossed from the ramp into the flame. |
"I Shall Thank Hashem With All My Heart" IDF soldiers leaving Gaza recite the 'Gomel' prayer said after experiencing a potentially life threatening situation:"I shall thank HaShem with all my heart with the counsel of the upright and in the congregation." (Psalms 111:1) "Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and who has rewarded me with goodness." |
50,000 Jews Visit Temple Mount In 2023 Police arrested or detained 317 Jewish visitors to the holy site in 2023.
During 2023, 50,098 Jews visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, down from 51,483 in 2022, according to data compiled by Beyadenu, an Israeli NGO dedicated to strengthening the Jewish connection to the holy site. |
The Mizbeach (Outer Altar), Pt. 2 The mizbeach was constructed as a square on top of a square. The bottom square, which was the base of the mizbeach, was thirty-two cubits long, with a height of one cubit. The base surrounded the mizbeach only on the western and northern sides. On top of it was another square of thirty cubits squared with a height of five cubits. Finally, on top was another square of twenty-eight cubits squared with a height of three cubits. |
G-d Bless Israel's Fearless Soldiers! Israel Defense Forces medical units have developed technology enabling them to perform blood transfusions to injured soldiers while still on the battlefield as they await evacuation by air, saving the lives of many seriously injured soldiers. |
The Mizbeach (Outer Altar), Pt. 1 The Temple offerings were made on the mizbeach and hence its name Mizbeach Ha'ola, "the altar of the burnt-offering." The exact location of the mizbeach has important halachic, spiritual and historical significance. According to tradition, Adam, the first man, was created from earth taken from this spot. Adam later built his altar here; after the flood, Noach built an altar on this same spot, and this was the location of the binding of Yitzchak. |
Today, The 20th Of Tevet, The Passing Of The Great Torah Sage, Maimonides Today, the 20th of Tevet, is the day of the passing of the great Torah sage, Moshe ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides (Rambam). Born in Spain in 1135 CE, Maimonides had to flee, with his family from Muslim persecution, to Morocco. He later sailed to Israel, then under Crusader control, where he ascended and prayed on the Temple Mount... |
Mikdash Monday - 7 Species (Part 3) “And you shall observe the Festival of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest, and the festival of the ingathering, at the turn of the year.” (Exodus 34:22) |
"This Is The Torah Which Moshe Set Before The Children Of Israel" Israel's soldiers in Gaza and along the northern border are fighting for the nation of Israel, the land of Israel and the Torah of Israel. May HaShem guard over our soldiers, grant them great victory and return our hostages! |
The Mizbeach (Altar) The slaughtering area was situated north of the mizbeach. This is because offerings of higher levels of sanctity, such as the burnt and sin offerings, must be slaughtered in the north. Here the offerings were slaughtered, skinned and prepared to be brought upon the altar. The rings, tables and small pillars facilitated this. One of the ten constant miracles of the Mikdash relates to this area: A fly was never seen in the slaughtering area and there was never an unpleasant smell from the offerings. (Source: Chapters of the Fathers, Ch. 5). |
Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount! "'Not by military force and not by physical strength, but by My spirit,' says HaShem of Hosts." (Zechariah 4:6) Thankfully, Israel has all three and lots of it! These are the soldiers of the 910th Battalion who have been serving in the reserves for eighty days! Last Thursday they went up to the Temple Mount to pray for the safety and success of all of Israel's fearless soldiers on all seven fronts! |
Build a House for HaShem! "Be strong and have courage! Build a House for HaShem!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, the prophet Samuel charges King David with the task of building the Holy Temple! |
The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First! "The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, Zerubavel from the house of David and Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yehoshua consult with the prophet Haggai who instructs them to waste no time in rebuilding the Holy Temple! |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
Biblical Red Heifer Could Bring Million Visitors To Samaria The Ancient Shiloh heritage site will soon host a Red Heifer research center. Hundreds of visitors flocked to Shiloh in Samaria’s Binyamin region on Thursday to welcome a biblically pure red heifer. The 22-month-old cow, which was brought to Israel from the United States, found a new home at the Ancient Shiloh heritage site, where the biblical Tabernacle once stood. |
Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
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