Women of Inspiration

I close my eyes and fall back
rejoining the strong women of my history

I change my name with Sarai as she becomes Sarah
I pass goatskins to Rebecca to disguise Jacob as Esau
I stand behind the marriage canopy with Rachel as Jacob unknowingly marries Leah
I strum a harp with Serach as she tells Jacob that Isaac is still alive
I sing with Miriam as she leads the Jewish women through the parted Sea of Reeds
I protest with the daughters of Tzelafchad as they ask Moses for their inheritance
I sit with Deborah under her date tree as she judges the Jewish people
I hand Yael the tent peg to kill Sisera and save her nation
I pray with Chana in the Tabernacle at Shiloh as she beseeches Hashem for a child
I fast with Esther as she prepares to approach Achashverosh and try to save her people

I cry tears of joy as Shelomtzion reinstates the Sanhedrin and rule of the Perushim
I hold the basket for Judith to place Holofernes’ severed head
I commentate on Jewish law and Torah with Bruriah among the Talmudic sages
I practice my religion in secret, the price of discovery death, with Gracia Mendes Nasi
I establish the first Bais Yaakov school for girls with Sarah Schenirer and help save Jewish observance and education
I write about the Torah portion with Nechama Leibowitz and bring Israeli Jews back to Torah
I chronicle life in captivity in the cramped Annex with Anne Frank
I walk alongside Chana Senesh to death by Nazi gunshot
I learn Jewish studies in a yeshiva classroom with my fellow classmates

These women paved the way
for me, my daughters, my granddaughters
for Jewish women of every generation
to blossom into the strong women we have the potential to be.
After all, it’s in our history.