Dvar Torah Shemos 5785 - Saving Jewish Children

As part of Pharaoh’s ongoing campaign to subjugate the Jews, “the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives: … ‘When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see them on the birthstool; if it is a son, you are to kill him, and if it is a daughter, she shall live.’” (Shemos 1:15-16). The Talmud (Sotah 11b) understands that Pharaoh revealed to the midwives how to determine the gender of the child before the child was born by looking at its position in the womb just before birth. Thus, the midwives would be able to surreptitiously kill only the male babies before they were born. This way, the mother would not realize that her son was being murdered. Thus, the midwives could follow Pharaoh’s orders and avoid suspicion of murder. Nevertheless, the Torah tell us that “they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live" (Ibid. 1:17).

Why did these women defy Pharaoh and save the babies? By saving the babies, these women risked their lives, because defying Pharaoh made them liable for death (see Beraishis 40:22 where Pharaoh hung the chief baker). Furthermore, these women did not merely passively decline to kill the babies. The Torah says that they “caused the boys to live.” (Ibid.). This implies that the women actively provided the children with food and water after they saved them. (Rashi). What gave these women the impetus and the courage to disobey the most powerful man in the world?

The Torah tells us that “the midwives feared G-d.” (Ibid. 1:17). These women recognized a higher moral authority than Pharaoh. The Talmud tells us that one is not allowed to be a messenger to do evil, asking “the words of the student and the words of the master, who do you follow”? (Kiddushin 42b). Since Hashem is the master, one is forbidden to follow the orders of the student (Pharaoh) when they contradict the words of the Master.  In other words, the midwives could not morally defend themselves by saying “Pharaoh ordered us to do it.” They were obligated by Hashem to defy the king.

The Torah emphasizes that the heroism of the midwives was based upon their fear of Hashem. They were willing to defy the authority of the government that ordered them to murder innocent children because they understood that there is an absolute authority that is superior and transcends any value system created by man. Their fear of G-d enabled them to muster the courage to not only save the children, but additionally to provide them with water and food. 

The Talmud tells us that the Jews were delivered from Egypt as a reward for the righteous women that lived in that generation (Sotah 11b). Jews in every generation have risked their livelihoods and even their lives to reject the values of their generation and support the values of the Torah. Today, we face similar challenges in a secular world that openly rejects the values of the Torah. We should be inspired by these courageous women to sustain the values of the Torah. In that merit, just as the Jews were delivered from their suffering in Egypt, we should also live to see Hashem deliver us from those that wish to destroy us today.