The Story

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Judaism is a faith tradition for a people living in Diaspora. As a result, when possible it has become deeply enmeshed with its host culture. There is a commandment to live according to Derech Eretz, the way of the land. Most Jews interpret this commandment to mean that we have to be civically engaged and part of the culture in which we reside. This means that the best things about our texts and traditions are often magnified when viewed through the lens of our host culture, but also sometimes that those things can be obscured. And so, the story of Passover is colored for most American Jews in the style of a Hollywood Film. It is another iteration of Scrappy Good Guys versus Powerful Bad Guys. Instead of reciting this same narrative, I’d like to share from just the first two chapters of the story.

1:1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

1:2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 1:3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 1:4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

1:5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

1:6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

1:9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 1:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

1:12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.

And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

1:13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 1:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

1:15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 1:16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

1:17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

1:18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? 1:19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

1:20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

1:21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

1:22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

2:1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2:2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

2:3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

2:4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

2:5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

2:6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

2:7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 2:8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

2:9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

2:10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

What does this part of the story mean? It is usually treated as a mere preamble to the proper narrative. It is usually summarized as: things were very bad until a miraculous hero was born. In fact, the Parshah HaShavuah, the Torah portion for this week, only deals with the end of our story. It is the flight from Egypt and the joy on the other side of the Sea of Reeds. It ignores generations of nurturing, educating, cooking, cleaning, praying, worrying, and working. It frames the conflict as a struggle between great men with the divine periodically intervening from on high. What do have to say about the invisible generations though?

First, we have to note that the resilience of an oppressed people did not come from its military strength or its excellence in traditionally male roles. It came from women and the work of caring, nurturing and educating children. It came from the repeated choice to name your child Benjamin and not something that would distance them from the identity of being enslaved. It came from doing this with the hope that future would be better for your community.

Second, we have to recognize how fucking badass Shiphrah and Puah are. They refuse to comply with the orders of a tyrant who has already demonstrated his willingness to kill their people with impunity. What must they have been feeling hearing these orders? What must they have been feeling returning to face him?

Finally, we have to give a proper place for Miriam. When the killing of Jewish children began, it was her that convinced her parents not to despair. When Moses was born, it was her that helped her mother, Yocheved, hid him for months. When it was no longer possible for him to hide, it was her who accompanied him along the water and intervened on his behalf when he was discovered.

haggadah Section: Maggid - Beginning