Shemos 1:19
"Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are skilled as midwives; when the midwife has not yet come to them, they have [already] given birth."
Why did the Midwives lie to Pharoh and say that the Jewish women by saying,
What does "for they are skilled as midwives mean"?
Rashi says:
for they are skilled as midwives: Heb. חָיוֹת, as skillful as midwives. The Targum מְיַלְּדֹת is חַייָתָא Our Rabbis (Sotah 11b), however, interpreted it to mean that they [the Israelite women] are compared to beasts (חַיּוֹת) of the field, which do not require midwives.
Lauren Becker
ReplyDelete"For they are skilled as midwives" means that the Jewish women were skilled at giving birth. They knew how to by THEMSELVES and they would give birth BEFORE the midwives even arrived.
source: https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3555182/jewish/Who-Were-Shifra-and-Puah-the-Hebrew-Midwives.htm
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ReplyDeleteJen Felder
ReplyDeleteOr Hachaim comments on how the midwives lied and said the Jewish women are not like the Egyptian women. He explains what the midwives meant which was that the Jews were more skilled than the elite Egyptian women at the time. They were the most skilled in the art of midwifery. I feel that the midwives were right to lie and give credit to the Jewish women for their skill and craft.
(From Sefaria)
Ayala Kilimnick
ReplyDeleteSeforno says that they themselves are experts in being midwives. If the hebrew women tried to do anything in a suspicious way, they would notice and not assist when they were due. They also argued that its not worth while for the king to just kill a few babies. I seems to me as if this is saying that the women are strong and do not need the help of midwives.
Or HaChaim comments on Exodus 1:19:2 “ וַתֹּאמַ֤רְןָ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹת֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה כִּ֣י לֹ֧א כַנָּשִׁ֛ים הַמִּצְרִיֹּ֖ת הָֽעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת כִּֽי־חָי֣וֹת הֵ֔נָּה בְּטֶ֨רֶם תָּב֧וֹא אֲלֵהֶ֛ן הַמְיַלֶּ֖דֶת וְיָלָֽדוּ” - saying that the expression נשים מצריות mentioned by the midwives refers to the elite of the Egyptian women. The midwives explained to Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were superior even to the elite of the Egyptian women in that they either did not need the services of a midwife at all, or were חיות, knowledgeable in that art, and helped each other without reference to outside professionals, that is why they were able to give birth on their own. I think that this answer logically makes sense, however I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the term “elite” because I think it gives of the impression of being better and above others, and I like to think that most Jews don’t view themselves that way.
ReplyDeleteThe Ibn Ezra gives a literal explanation, that the shoresh of chayot is chai (life). So what the midwives did was they told פרעה that Jewish women are filled with a big life-force or vigor. And because of this strength and vigor, they did not need the midwifes to give birth. The midwives said this specifically in order to “reinforce” פרעהs own prejudices regarding בנ״י. Paroh feared בנ״י because He thought that they were growing and becoming stronger and he didn’t want them to continue to grow in his land. The midwives knew that פרעה feared their growth and so they made their explanation to correspond perfectly with פרעהs perceptions so he would believe their story. I think this shows how smart the midwives were in addressing this situation. They believed in God and did not want to listen to פרעה and they stood their ground by not listening to him.
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ReplyDeleteKehot says that when they said skilled midwives they meant skilled like animals who don’t need midwives. Just like animals don’t need midwives to give birth, they said the Jewish woman didn’t need midwives to help them give birth which to didn’t give them the opportunity to do what pharaoh told them to do. I think was really smart and brave of them to stand up the the king of Egypt like that. (I think it’s worth mentioning that they did get rewarded by god for doing this which goes to show how great of a thing this was.)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sefaria.org/sheets/21974.?lang=bi
Ariella Rosencrantz
ReplyDeleteThe midwives are our spiritual mentors who assist us in recognizing our own potential. They might even be needed to assist in the birthing process. In addition, the spiritual midwives bring more beauty to our spirituality (Shifrah) and comfort us with soothing words when exile conditions depress and discourage us (Puah). But when push comes to shove, it is the unique, innate G‑dly energy that all Jewish women possess, in greater measure than men, which empowers them to release themselves and all of us out of exile.
I think this is a beautiful idea and shows how much the Torah values women.
https://www.chabadwestside.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/1744889/jewish/Shemot.htm