edition, 32:5, pp. 745-749). It is also

reminiscent of the dictum, "Israel was redeemed from Egypt thanks to the

merit of the righteous women of that generation" (Sota 11b).

The drasha

from Tanhuma celebrates the Patriarchs. It should be mentioned that the

literature of the Sages accords each of the people mentioned a role in the

redemption from Egypt. Among those sources we can pay special attention to two

anonymous Tannaitic drashot from Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon ben Yohai (Epstein-Melamed edition, Shemot

13:4, pg. 38) which credits the Exodus

from Egypt to the deeds of the Patriarchs and of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: "[He

takes the prisoners out] bakosharot (Psalms 68:7) – by

the deeds of the ksheirim [the goodly people]. These [people] are

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Another opinion: They were Moses, Aaron, and

Miriam." Both parts of this drasha include the heroes mentioned later in

the Tanhuma's drasha. It should be noted that the idea that Israel was

redeemed from Egypt thanks to the merit of the Patriarchs appears in many

midrashic sources, including Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon ben Yohai (Epstein-Melamed edition, 6:2, pg. 5).

The

drasha from Tanhuma is entirely concerned with male figures from among

the nation's founders and mentions none of the nation's matriarchs. However, by

employing various motifs found in the literature of the Sages it becomes

possible to create a complementary pseudoepigraphic midrash about the nation's

founding mothers. Here is the proposed formulation of that midrash, combining

new and original elements:

And the children

of Israel were armed [vehamushim] when they went up out of Egypt. What

is vehamushim? Armed with five [hamisha] types of weapon, which

are: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, who were the pillars of the

world on which everything depended.

Another interpretation; some say, What is vehamushim?

Armed with five [hamisha] types of weapon, which are: Sarah, Rebecca,

Rachel, and Leah, and Miriam, who were the pillars of the world on which

everything depended

The

four Matriarchs parallel the three Patriarchs mentioned by Tanhuma. Miriam

appears as Moses and Aaron's female counterpart, a notion found as early as

Micah 6:4: For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you

from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. I

have already mentioned that Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon ben Yohai credits

the Exodus from Egypt to the deeds of the Patriarchs, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

Thus we see that a Tannaitic source already counts Miriam among the figures

responsible for Israel's redemption from Egypt. Several sources mention the

merit of the four Matriarchs as eliciting the redemption from Egypt. These

include Seder Eliyahu Rabbah (Ish Shalom edition, 25, pg. 138), which details their worthy deeds: Sarah, Rachel, and

Leah gave over their servant women to their husbands, while Rebecca placed her trust

in God and left for Canaan with Eliezer.

The

expression amudei olam – "pillars of the world" – found in the

Tanhuma is applied to female figures in the new midrash, and this is also based

upon midrashic sources. Midrash Alfa Beitot (Batei Midrashot, 2, pp.

442-443) says that God hewed "seven

pillars of righteousness and placed all the world on their heads, in parallel

to the seven righteous ones of this world upon whom the world was founded, and

they are: Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon. And

just as the world's existence is sustained for their sake, so too the world's

existence is sustained for their wives." According to this passage, the

four Matriarchs are to be counted among those for whose sake the world exists. Miriam

was not married to any of the righteous men listed in this midrash. Consider,

however, a discussion from Devarim Rabbah (7:8; 114b) concerning

the rule that each section of the Torah reading must be at least three verses

long. The first opinion offered states that the minimum number of verses

derives from the number Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). The second opinion

relates it to the three siblings, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who gave the Torah

to Israel. These are exactly the same people mentioned in the drashot from Mekhilta

DeRabbi Shimon ben Yohai cited above, which credit them with the Exodus

from Egypt. Devarim Rabbah considers Miriam to be one of those who transmitted

the Torah to Israel, and, taking into account the principle found in Avot 1:2 –

that the world stands upon "the Torah, the service [of God], and deeds of

kindness" – we can conclude that Miriam is also one of the pillars of the

world. Similarly, it is worth mentioning in the particular context of Passover

and the Seder night that we see from what R. Yeshayahu Horowitz writes in his Shnei

Luhot haBrit (Amsterdam

5309, Masekhet Pesahim, Matza Ashira, Drush 4, 172a-b) that the maror [bitter herb] of the Seder

night relates to Miriam, who symbolizes the motif of kind deeds.

The

midrash on and the children of Israel were armed [vehamushim] when

they went up out of Egypt can serve as an additional text to be read

alongside the traditional Haggadah. It might be nice to read it after the

passage mentioning the names of the three Patriarchs: "And the Lord

heard our voice (Devarim

26:7), as it is said: God heard their

cry, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob

(Shemot 2:24). It might also be read after the passage beginning

"In every generation and generation." There we find cited the verse: And

did [this] for me when I went out of Egypt" (Shemot 13:8), which appears in the thirteenth chapter of Shemot,

together with the verse and the children of Israel were armed [vehamushim]

when they went up out of Egypt.

The

creation of the second part of the midrash on and the children of

Israel were armed [vehamushim] when they went up out of Egypt which points

out the merits of the nation's mothers alongside those of its fathers, is

typical of the approach I adopted in recent years of writing midrashim about

the nation's mothers in a format mirroring midrashim that speak of the nation's

fathers. These new midrashim are forged in frameworks that are both

stylistically and thematically so similar to the original midrashim that they

become indistinguishable from them. The new midrashim are legitimated by the

claim that such texts could have been included in the classical sources and that

they deserve to be written, since their thematic foundations can already be

found in the existing midrashic literature.

This

vision brought me to compose various new midrashim, some of which are intended

to be read and studied at the Seder. In 5762 I wrote two new stanzas for the

piyyut VaYehi BeHatzi haLayla. This piyyut lists a series if events that

– like the Exodus from Egypt – occurred on the 15^th of Nisan, and

relates to them from a male perspective. The added stanzas retell the

experiences of our mothers on Passover eve as they are described in the

midrashic literature. Midrash Anakat HaAvot VeHaImahot BeMitzrayim,

which was composed in 5767 praises the four Matriarchs – alongside the three

Patriarchs – for their solidarity with the Israelites during the enslavement in

Egypt, and for crying out and praying together with them for their deliverance.

Midrash Nisei HaAvot VeHaImahat, which was written in 5768, collects

midrashim relating to female characters in Scripture and sets them in parallel

to passages from Midrash Tehillim that retell miracles that saved the

nation's male founders. These midrashim have already been published in various forums.

They are scheduled to appear together this year in an anthology titled Midrashei

Nashim, edited by Tamar Bialah and Nehama Wintergreen-Mintz.

In the

specific context of the Passover festival it should be mentioned that, from my

broader perspective, the creation of new midrashim should go hand in hand with

the renewal of authentic customs found in traditional sources involving women

and the Seder night. These customs are not essentially feminist; they are described

in the sources as being directed towards the entire House of Israel. There is,

for example, a custom to place a third cooked dish in the Seder plate to

commemorate Miriam; I have devoted articles in both Hebrew and English to this

practice. Its mention is brought in the name of Rav Shrira Gaon and its renewed

popularity is now growing among a wide public. Customs that rely upon these

kinds of authentic sources should be seen as connected to our roots. By my

lights, they should be preferred to the entirely new rituals currently

practiced by some people which have no connection with traditional sources,

such as the orange that is placed on the Seder plate. Similarly, the midrashim

I composed are founded upon thematic motifs already found in the literature of

the Sages.

The

midrash on and the children of Israel were armed [vehamushim] when

they went up out of Egypt is a short additional text to be recited at the

Seder in order to help fulfill the dictum: "Anyone who increases in

telling of the Exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy." This midrash is meant

to remind us of the merits of both the nation's fathers and mothers at the

season of our redemption. In this night we are obliged to speak no less of the

contributions of the mothers of the nation than of the fathers' contributions;

it was also the formers' sake that we escaped the darkness and entered a great

light.

Dr. Yael Levin published several studies, most of which deal

with various aspects of women in Judaism. She has also composed a series of

prayers.

The

Holy Service Requires Humility

Rabbi

Yehuda HaLevi, son of Rabbi Shalom said: The conduct of the Holy One, Blessed

be He, is not like the conduct of mortals. In what way? The mortal has nice

clothes. When goes out in public, he wears them, but when he is about to cook,

he removes the nice clothes, and dons torn and filthy ones, and when he scours

the pots and the oven, he wears even worse ones. But when the priest raked the

altar ashes and prepared it before the Holy One, he would wear very fine garments,

as is written, The priest is to clothe himself in his wide-raiment of

linen (Vayikra

6) and he is to set aside the ashes. Why

so? It is to teach us that there is no pride before the Omnipresent, and

so we find that Elazar the Priest would conduct himself with humility before

the Omnipresent.

 (Bamidbar Rabbah, 4)

The Future Role of the Prophet Elijah: he shall reconcile fathers

with sons.

 (from the haftara for

Shabbat HaGadol)

The Sages say: Not to push off or draw near, but rather to make peace in the world, for it is said: Lo, I will send the

prophet Elijah to you and it concludes, he shall reconcile fathers with

sons and sons with fathers.

 (Mishnah Eduyot 8:7)

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