Biblical Women

Eve, Sarah, Rachel, Miriam, Batsheva . . . From the outside, the women of the Bible appear to play only a supportive role in a drama dominated by men; from the inside emerges a very different story . . .

Where did these Jewish mothers find the courage? I don't know because I'm not one of them, but ask your mother and I'm sure she'll gladly tell you. When a need arises, the Jewish mother simply responds.

Jew, wife, woman, homemaker, daughter, breadwinner, professional, human being, and holy soul; she wishes to find a balance between all of these parts of herself.

The first woman, Chava, is called the "mother of all life" for she is the source of joy, experience and creation.

She fled into the desert with her husband, Abraham, to live a comparatively monastic existence as a nomadic tent-dweller and preacher of the One G‑d. Why would a cosmopolitan girl like Sarah do a crazy thing like that?

Surrounded by a group of able-bodied men, Eliezer did not appear as a helpless, weary chap begging for a drink. And Rebecca was a young woman of nobility, not a poor servant girl accustomed to lugging water from wells . . .

Some of us thrive as a result of a challenging environment; our struggles refine our characters and make us even greater people. And sometimes, no matter what we do, we cannot seem to rise above the circumstances of our birth...

The 11th of Cheshvan, the day of passing of our matriarch Rachel, is truly the Jewish Mother's Day...

“This was not during the rainy season, when I could claim that it was because of the mud that I did not bring her to Hebron. The roads were dry and good. Still, I buried her alongside the road to Ephrath . . .”

Suddenly, amidst all the noise, a wail pierced through the heavens. Mama Rachel, hearing her children’s cries, began weeping bitterly for her children. She was inconsolable. Her children were in pain!

We all hope and pray for a biological mother (in addition to Rachel) who will protect and nurture us. Everyone deserves as much. But even when blessed with a healthy mother, we must always remember that all of us live in a form of “spiritual exile,” in need of our mother Rachel. And even when we are deprived of a nurturing mother, we are never deprived of Rachel, who always stands vigil, adoring us unconditionally, then and now—to this very day . . .

After all others failed, Rachel successfully persuaded G-d to eventually bring her children back from their exiled lands. What merit did she have which swayed G-d?

"Like mother, like daughter" comment our sages, comparing Dinah's "going out to see the daughters of the land" with Leah's own "outings."

They had conceived, become swollen and pregnant, but were stuck and waiting to deliver. The womb that had been Egypt was now a place of confinement. It was the midwives who corrected this disconnection and brought the redemption into the world...

Childbirth, perhaps more than any other life event, is an experience that demands a strong dose of faith and surrender. No matter how well planned or organized we may be, the inevitable moment will arise...

Determining right from wrong is something that we are constantly challenged with throughout our lives. Yet nothing is harder to face and acknowledge than when the "wrong" is happening in our own homes...

There must be people out there who, like me, are simply tired of having their insides all tied up in knots at the thought of yet another challenge...

Being that I struggle with grownuphood in general, you can imagine my apoplexy at the fact that our oldest daughter, Nava, is becoming Bat Mitzvah this week. Yup, according to Jewish law, my baby is about to become a woman. Which, I guess, means I better start seeing myself as one, if I need to see her as one . . .

From the fact that the women used musical instruments and danced in accompaniment to their song, we understand that their song sprang from a well of deeper joy, and was of a higher caliber, than that of the men. And it wasn’t by chance that they had their instruments with them . . .