Healing Well of Miriam

ב״ה

4 Tishrei 5770

 Judaism is widely considered a patriarchal system in which women have very limited, peripheral roles, as little more than necessary bearers of children.  Unfortunately, this view has caused misunderstanding, both inside the Jewish community and out, feeding the outrage of the feminist movement—both inside the Jewish community and out.  This misunderstanding has also fed distortions in religions influenced by the Jewish Bible—the TaNaKH (Torah, Nach [Prophets], and Ketuvim [Writings]).  Once we study the Biblical accounts closely, we can see the vibrant, essential role women play, and we can understand the precept this sets for women throughout history.

There were seven prophetesses listed and described in TaNaKH:  Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.  Hashem told Abraham to listen to his wife, Sarah; the rabbis say she had a higher level of prophecy that he had.  Miriam is listed with her brothers as prophets of Israel sent to bring the people out of Egyptian bondage (Micah 6:4).  Deborah was one of the judges of Israel during the days of the judges.  Hannah, the mother of Samuel, drew down his soul into the world while setting a prayer precedent, being the first to invoke the Name: Hashem Tzevaot (Lrd of Hosts).    Abigail prophesied to David that he would be king.  Huldah, contemporary with Jeremiah the prophet, was consulted by King Josiah about the scroll found during the renovation of the Temple.  Esther saved her people in the community of the Persian exile. 

 There were four women who were said to epitomize beauty:  Sarah, Rahab, Abigail, and Esther.  This brings us to the question of what “beauty” truly means and why the Torah bothers to mention this, if it only has a superficial nature. 

 We bless our daughters to be like Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel.  What was in the nature of these women that set them as matriarchal pillars of the Jewish People?  If it were only that they happened to be the “bearers of children,” would there be any special reason to bless our daughters in their names?  Each of them complemented her husband and was a necessary element in establishing the nature that would be “Israel.” 

 Through the study of the women of TaNaKH we also learn the spiritual principle of the workings of polarity—male and female—in Creation.  This is introduced with the story of the first woman, Eve.  From this we learn proper relationship between men and women, as well as how to relate to Gd, both individually and as a couple.  In the lessons of the first woman we begin to plumb the secret depths of what it is to be a “true woman,” and these then unfold through the stories of her daughters.