We have concluded the book of Genesis, and with it the stories of our original ancestors, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. A group of people, strangers, immigrants, becomes too numerous in their new country of residence, and so the ruling power seeks to enslave them.
וַיַּעֲבִ֧דוּ מִצְרַ֛יִם אֶת־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃ וַיְמָרְר֨וּ אֶת־חַיֵּיהֶ֜ם בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה קָשָׁ֗ה בְּחֹ֙מֶר֙ וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים וּבְכל־עֲבֹדָ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה אֵ֚ת כּל־עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־עָבְד֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃
The Egyptians ruthlessly imposed upon the Israelites the various labors that they made them perform. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field.
And immediately the Torah takes us to stories of heroism, stories of resistance, stories of strong and brave women who stand up in the face of tyranny. Pharaoh instructs the midwives to throw all the baby boys into the Nile river. But they cannot. They refuse. “And they let the children live”
וְלֹא עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶן מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם וַתְּחַיֶּיןָ אֶת־הַיְלָדִֽים’ (א, יז)
“And they did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live (Ex. 1:17).”
In an incredible new midrashic compilation of feminist midrash called Dirshuni, Rivkah Lovitch expounds upon this verse. She says, What does it mean that they “let the boys live.” It means that they enlivened/sustained them through Torah.
After they physically saved their lives, the midwives, Shifrah and Puah, would go from house to house, from mother to mother, and would welcome in the children of Israel to the feet of the bed of each birth mother. First they would serve as a midwife for these women, and then they would enliven/sustain the children through Torah.
Even in those moments, when simply being born a Jew was a death sentence, these women found a way to inspire, to imbue their community with wisdom and Torah and spirit, and enable them to find the strength to carry on.
Bold, Courageous, and Daring women have followed in these midwives’ footsteps in every generation. The protective spirit of a mother knows no boundaries. And, devastatingly, a mother was killed this week, in Minneapolis by ICE agents on the ground there. Renee Nicole Good.
Her wife Becca wrote of her that she was someone who just sparkled. But behind that light was a well of deep values that she lived by, including a conviction that every person — regardless of “where you come from or what you look like” — deserves compassion and kindness.
“Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole,” Like people have done across place and time, they moved to make a better life for themselves. A life that tragically ended on Wednesday.
Today we live in a world that is so full of violence and hatred, enslavement and fear. And I continue to believe that the only answer possible is to come together, to continue to turn towards each other, to embrace each other, to look out for each other, to remember who we are and the promise of who we are meant to be. To remember that every human life is unbelievably precious, and to see the divinity and beauty in each soul.
As we have had to do too many times over these last few years, I turn to our liturgy, to our psalms and prayers, with anguish and sadness, and anxiety, and hope. I want to share with you again the words of this prayer for healing and love in times of danger, in the hopes that it continues to inspire us to do the hard work of putting more radical love, more audacious joy, more deep courage into the world.
May Renee’s memory always be for a blessing, yehi zichra baruch.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ ה׳ אֶלוֹהֵינוּ וֵאלוֹהֵי אָבוֹתֵינוּ,
שֶׁבָּרָא אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ וּבִדְמוּתוֹ,
וְנָתַן לִבְנֵי אָדָם יֵצֵר לְהַחְלִיט בֵּין טוֹב וָרַע,
אָנָא תֵּן לָנוּ אֶת הַכֹּחַ לֶאֱהוֹב, אֶת-הַכֹּחַ לִבְנוֹת,
וְאֶת הַכֹּחַ לְהָסִיר שִׂנְאָה מִלִּבֵּינוּ וּמִלֵּב כָּל בְּנֵי אָדָם, לְקַיֵּם מָה שֶׁכָּתוּב,
״כִּי לֹא יָנוּחַ שֵׁבֶט הַרֶשַׁע עַל גּוֹרָל הַצַּדִּיקִים…
הֵיטִיבָה ה׳ לַטּוֹבִים וְלִישָׁרִים בְּלִבּוֹתָם״ (תהילים קכה)
וְכָתוּב, ״יְהִי שָׁלוֹם בְּחֵילֵךְ שַׁלְוָה בְּאַרְמְנֹתָיִך
לְמַעַן אַחַי וְרֵעָי אָדַבְּרָה נָא שָׁלוֹם בָּךְ״ (תהילים קכב)
רְפָא-נָא אֶת כְּאֵבֵי כָל יְצוּרֶיךָ בְּקָרוֹב בְּיָמֵינוּ
וְנֹאמָר אָמֵן.
Prayer for Healing and Love in Times of Danger
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky
May it be your will, Adonai, our God and the God of our ancestors, who created human beings in the Divine image, and gave to human beings the power and will to decide between good and evil, please give us the strength to love, and give us the strength to build, and give us the strength to eradicate hate from our hearts and from the hearts of all humankind. To bring about that which is written, “The rule of wickedness shall not rest upon the righteous…be good to those who are good, Adonai, to those who are honorable in their hearts.” And also that which is written, “May there be peace within your walls, serenity within your homes. For the sake of my companions and friends, I pray for peace for you.” Please, heal the hurt of all of your creations, soon and in our days, and let us say, Amen.
