Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Through the merit of the righteous women the Jewish people will be redeemed

From Parshat Sh'mot:

19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh: 'Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come unto them.'

20 And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.


I heard a drash on Jewish women and Geulah that spoke about this last line in Shemot- Hashem made them houses. In the drash the Rav said that the Jewish women understood how to bring the Redemption through understanding the key essence of themselves and the nation. The Gra says that this "ability to see what is going to be in the far future is Jewish women's power that is built into Jewish women's bodies." The foundation of the Jewish people is the Jewish home, filled with Hashem consciousness. When the family unit is based on a clear emunah in Hashem, the Jewish nation will prosper and will merit Redemption. This is why it says in Sotah that in reward for the righteous women the Jewish people were redeemed. Because the Jewish women feared G-d, invested in the Jewish people, and put their life on the on they were rewarded with "houses", a reward to give them Koach to continue in this holy work. It is brought down that a Jewish women has the ability through her home to create such a holy sanctuary through mitzvot that she is building a holy home both in this world and the next.

As obvious from the above, we can never underestimate our foundational role in the Redemption of the Jewish people as Jewish women and home makers. Every Shabbat meal we prepare, all the tzedakah we give, the Torah we teach our kids, and the kindness to our husbands, are all the holy pieces of Redemption. As long as we can use our bodies and intuitions to keep the end goal clear at all times, the women of our generation too will merit to bring the redemption. Back to cleaning....Chag Kaasher v sameach

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