Shabbat Shemot

What was Paroh trying to accomplish by killing all of the newborn Jewish males? If he was truly afraid that the Jewish people were going to rebel militarily he should have incarcerated off all of the adult males and thereby emasculating the powerful male Jewish fighter. If, on the other hand, Paroh’s objective was population control, he should have killed all of the women instead. By only leaving the women alive, his objective was obviously some sort of assimilation of the women into Egyptian society. We now see that Paroh was in reality waging a moral war against the Jewish people under the guise of a physical war.
The Torah describes the creation of the human being in Bereshit 1:27 “Zachar U’Nekeva Bara Otam. – Male and female he created them”. This newly created “Adam” had a man/woman symbiotic feature. The Talmud describes this being as male and female back to back. Only after the perception of “man/woman” being alone, did God separate this entity into two separate beings, but from the inception of humanity, they were meant to be together. Until now, man and woman search out their true partner.

The secret of the Jewish people as a nation is that the Jewish people also mimic the physical reality of humanity. We see this very clearly in the book of Bereshit. It is Sarah and not Avraham who focused on the emotional disturbance caused by Yishmael. It is Rivkah who picked up on the not so subtle impositions of Esav. Rachel and Leah also had a large impact on Yaaqov’s life. The educational system and sociological system of a Jewish child is based on this duality and mutual appreciation for both woman and man.

Paroh however had a different concept of humanity. He assumed that he could maim B’nei Yisrael morally by doing away with all of the future young men. Most societies and tribes had its leadership personality solely from the from the male tribal leaders. This is true to some extent in the Jewish nation as our character is from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. But our secret weapon is also that we come from Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah.

In this Parahsa of Shemot, Miriam is no less different, emerging as a true heroine by logically convincing her father not to be affected by Paroh’s decree by abstaining from having anymore children. According to the Midrash, her moral stand affected Jewish continuity not only physically, but in ways we could never imagine as her judgment was the precursor to the birth of Moshe Rabenu, the unique human being who aided Jewish people in obtaining the ultimate book of truth and morality. Ironically, it was also the daughter of Paroh who was instrumental in Moshe's physical deliverance. The counter part to Paroh’s moral war which was waged against the young men, was the brave women such as Shifrah and Puah.
Paroh thought that the men were the only link to Jewish morality, but failed to understand that the success of Judaism lies in the dual role and equality of man and woman, husband and wife, mother and father.