L”N My Daughter Leah Beracha bat Rivkah
L”N My Grandfather Yaakov ben Merhaba
Sefer Beresheet is about the individual’s journey. It’s personal and intimate. We know Abraham’s story, we saw Yishaq hold the line, we felt Yaakob’s struggles, right up until Yosef’s rise. Now in Sefer Shemot, instead of the individual, we’re focused on the nation, experiencing the story through the collective eyes of the Jewish Nation.
Still, even as we shift to the national view, it’s the individuals who step up and do what’s right, and their choices affect everyone.
Take Shifrah and Puah, the Jewish midwives who were charged by Pharaoh to kill all male babies. They feared G-d and let the babies live. This brazen act could have cost them their lives, yet they knew what was right. G-d rewarded their bravery and countless lives were saved. Ramban explains that this marked the first spark of redemption in Egypt and from a private act of faith, the nation’s salvation began.
Rashi (Shemot 1:15-17) identifies Shifrah and Puah as Yocheved and Miriam. The Gemara (Sotah 12a) tells us that Amram divorced Yocheved in response to Pharaoh’s decree. Since Amram was the leader of the Jewish Nation, many husbands followed and divorced their wives. Miriam confronted her father: “Your decree is harsher than Pharaoh’s. He targets only boys, but you’re preventing all children from being born.” Miriam’s courage restored hope and corrected a well-intentioned but harmful decision.
Amram listened, remarried Yocheved and from that act came Moshe Rabbenu, our greatest leader and teacher. Ramban notes that this turning point wasn’t merely personal; it reignited the spiritual hope of an entire people.
The Jewish Nation’s story is now being told, but it’s still shaped by individual choices. Each of us, whatever role we play, makes choices that echo forward. We might feel like just one person, but what we do matters. The Jewish story is written by people who decided to act. Will you?