WRJ Voices: Sh'mot

Much occurs in this Parashah, which begins the book of Exodus, among the best known and widely taught stories of our history.

Joseph and his generation are gone. The Israelite population had increased greatly and Pharoah enslaved them. The Egyptians made life very bitter for them. In an order of extreme cruelty, the Hebrew midwives were directed to kill the boys born to the Hebrew women.

This is the environment into which Moses was born. When it was no longer possible for his mother, Yocheved, to hide him, she laid him in a wicker basket and placed it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Miriam, his sister, kept watch to see what happened. We all know the story… Pharoah’s daughter saw Moses, realized he was a Hebrew child, accepted Miriam’s offer to find a wet nurse for him, and raised him as her son. Fast forward to Moses as an adult. After striking down an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew, he fled Egypt, met Jethro the Midian priest, married Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah, encountered G-d in the burning bush, essentially negotiated with G-d regarding his role as the leader of the Jews, returned to Egypt with his family, convinced his people of his leadership and began the series of demands to Pharoah to free the Israelites, providing demonstrations of G-d’s power.

This fundamental narrative of our story illustrates many things about the Jewish people. Among them is that extraordinary things can happen when women come together to be a force for good. In this parashah, there are several women whose actions taken together kept Moses safe from birth to adulthood, bringing him to that place in his life where he could assume leadership and lead the Jewish people to freedom. G-d’s plan? Seems likely – and executed by strong, smart, committed women, with vision and a bit of chutzpah.

Think about the midwives who refused to kill the male Hebrew babies, in defiance of Pharoah’s orders. Yocheved, who hid Moses for three months after his birth. Miriam, a child herself, who followed him and had the smarts and courage to suggest a wet nurse, her mother, thus allowing Yocheved more time with her child. And the woman we know only as Pharoah’s daughter, who raised a Jewish baby notwithstanding her own father’s deadly decree. All smart, all courageous, and all committed to doing the right thing. As I contemplate what these women must have been thinking and feeling, I am reminded of the words we utter upon concluding a reading of a book of the Torah: Chazak Chazak V’nitchazeik …. Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen each other. Let us be strong as individuals, and let us use our combined strength to do more together than any of us could do on our own. The heroic women in Parasha Sh’mot, who, as Adele Berlin wrote in The Torah – A Women’s Commentary, were pivotal in Israel’s eventual salvation, embody those words.

As a woman of Reform Judaism, I am inspired, empowered and strengthened by their example. Inspired to advocate vociferously for progressive Jewish values, empowered to do so by the amazing community of WRJ women who share these values, and strengthened by the opportunity to work with WRJ to help create a world of wholeness, justice and peace.

Growing up, I was taught that “there is strength in numbers”. Well, there IS strength in working together toward a common goal. And through WRJ there are so many opportunities to do just that. From advancing progressive Judaism in Israel and around the world, advocating for gun violence prevention together with others in the Reform Movement, making sure that young Jews have enriching, impactful Jewish experiences through URJ camps, NFTY, Mitzvah Corps and other youth opportunities, advocating for reproductive choice, pay equity, safety and other issues critical to women, supporting women in our congregations to do the important work for their communities, and so much more. If you haven’t already registered for the Fried Leadership Conference in Charleston, SC, in early March, I hope you will consider doing so now. Through the workshops, learning sessions, worship, and opportunities to learn from and connect with leaders of WRJ and the Reform Movement, there will be something for women of all experience levels. 

Chazak Chazak V’nitchazeik …. like the heroic women whose individual and collective actions and courage led to the freedom of our people, let us be strong and of good courage. We truly are stronger together and, as Women of Reform Judaism, we can and will make a difference in our world.

 Shelley Niceley Groff is a WRJ Board member, and is also a member of the North American Board of the URJ. She serves as URJ Lay Leader for Youth, working closely with the URJ’s Youth leadership team.