Sotah 11b (יא:) — the Talmud in English

And we expound: What is the meaning of the expression

“befarekh,” Rabbi Elazar said

that it is an acronym for

“with a gentle mouth,”

meaning that the Egyptians induced the Children of Israel to work through gentle speech. And in payment of their wages, they continued until they accustomed them to the labor willingly, and afterward they forced it upon them.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said

that “befarekh” is an expression of

“with crushing,”

meaning with the crushing of body and loins.

“And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar and bricks,”

and we explain the duplication of the labors in the verse:

At first

they made them work

with mortar and bricks, and afterward, with every labor in the field,

[and in Tanḥuma, Parashat Vayetze, we expound that when they returned in the evening from their work with mortar and bricks, the Egyptian would come and take them out to perform work in his house and field as he wished; perhaps this is also the Gemara’s intent].

And the continuation of the verse is:

“All their labor with which they made them labor was with crushing,”

and the explanation of “befarekh” in this verse is:

Rabbi Yonatan said that they were

the Egyptians

exchanging

and making Israel perform

men’s work for women and women’s work for men.

It is extremely difficult to engage in tasks to which one is unaccustomed.

And we explain that this interpretation of the word “befarekh” is suitable even

according to the one who says

that he explained

there

above, regarding the verse, “And the Egyptians enslaved the Children of Israel befarekh,” that the meaning is that they induced them to work

with a gentle mouth;

but

here, certainly

the meaning of the word “befarekh” is

“with crushing,”

since this verse states: “And they embittered their lives with hard labor.”

Rav Avira expounded: In the merit of the righteous women who were in that generation, Israel was redeemed from Egypt.

As they said, that

when they went to draw water, the Holy One, blessed be He,

would

arrange for small fish to be in their pitchers, and they would draw half water and half fish, and they would come and set

place on the stove for cooking

two pots, one of

water,

hot water,

in order to wash their husbands’ feet in the field,

and one of fish,

which increase and augment a person’s body;

and they would carry

the pots

to their husbands in the field,

where they were performing crushing labor.

And they would wash them

—their husbands’ feet—

and feed them, and give them drink, and consort with them between the furrows

—in the depression between the large fields, which is a secluded place. And as

it is stated: “When you lie between the furrows, etc.,”

and we expound:

In the merit of

the women who fulfilled

“you shall lie between the furrows,”

and did not set their eyes upon another man while their husbands were in the field,

Israel merited the spoils of Egypt,

for God granted them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, who lent them silver and gold vessels. And this is how they expound the end of the verse:

“The wings of a dove”

—these are Israel, who are called “My dove, My undefiled one”

[and the Maharsha

wrote that they resemble a dove, which mates only with its partner]

“covered with silver, and its pinions with greenish gold.”

And when they became pregnant, they would come to their homes

and when the time of their giving birth arrived

—the time of their delivery—and they feared Pharaoh’s decree that their children be cast into the Nile,

they would go and give birth in the field beneath

a

apple tree, as it is stated: “Beneath the apple tree I aroused you,”

to emerge from your mother’s womb; and it concludes: “There your mother was in travail with you,” meaning that the pangs of labor seized her.

And the Holy One, blessed be He, sends from the heavenly heights one who cleanses

—who cleans—

and arranges them

—repairs and sets their limbs, which become dislocated during birth,

like a midwife

who delivers,

who arranges the newborn, as it is stated: “And as for your nativity, on the day you were born, your navel was not cut,”

—you had no midwife to cut the newborn’s umbilical cord—

“and you were not washed with water to smooth you.”

—to smooth the flesh of the newborn.

And He gathers for them

the Holy One, blessed be He,

two round cakes

—like round loaves—

one of oil

to anoint their bodies,

and one of honey,

to nurse and feed them,

as it is stated:

“He fed him honey from the rock, and oil”

from the flinty rock. Since we do not find these miracles among the praises with which the Land of Israel is extolled, we expound this verse as referring to the miracles performed for those born in Egypt.

And when they became recognizable

—when their existence was discovered—

the Egyptians came to kill them, and

then

another miracle was performed for these

infants: they

were swallowed by the ground,

although the Egyptians thought that this was merely sorcery,

and

therefore

they brought oxen and plowed over them,

as

it is stated: “The plowers plowed upon my back,”

for sorcery is effective only in the world and only to the extent of a handhold. Therefore, they tried to kill them with a plow, which penetrates the ground more deeply than the measure within which the sorcery is effective, but they did not succeed.

After the Egyptians departed, they would sprout forth and emerge like the plants of the field, as it is stated: “I made you multitudinous like the plants of the field,”

meaning that the manner in which they rose from the ground resembled the growth of the plants of the field [and this does not refer to their wondrous multiplication, regarding which the comparison is to sand or stars, not to plants—the Maharsha].

And when they grew, they would come in flocks, flocks, to their homes, as it is stated: “You increased and grew and came with ornaments of ornaments,”

and we expound:

Do not read: “with ornaments of ornaments,”

but rather: “with flocks, flocks.” And when the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself at the sea, they

—these infants who had grown up in the fields—

recognized Him first,

since they had already seen His Divine Presence when He caused them to grow;

as it is stated: “This is my God, and I will glorify Him,”

which implies: This is the One whom I had already seen.

“And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, etc.,”

and

Rav and Shmuel

disagreed concerning who the midwives were.

One said

that they were

a woman and her daughter, and one said, a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law.

And we explain their names according to each opinion. According to

the one who says they were a woman and her daughter,

they were

Yocheved and Miriam; and according to the one who says they were a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law,

they were

Yocheved and Elisheva,

Aaron’s wife.

It was taught in accordance with the one who says that they were a woman and her daughter, as it was taught: Shifra—this is Yocheved.

And why was she called Shifra?

On account of

the fact that she arranged the newborn,

—she cleaned it and set its limbs in their proper places.

Alternatively, “Shifra,” because Israel increased and multiplied during her days,

[and in the Midrash the text reads “because she caused them to increase”].

“Puah”—this is Miriam. And why was she called Puah?

On account of

the fact that she would coo

—she entertained the newborn with words and calmed it.

Alternatively, “Puah,” because she would cry out

and proclaim

through Divine inspiration: “In the future, my mother will give birth to a son who will save Israel.”

“And he said: When you deliver the Hebrew women,”

and you look upon the birthstool. And we explain:

What is the meaning of “birthstool”? Rav Ḥunan said: He gave them a major sign

—Pharaoh gave the midwives a sign by which they could identify the moment of birth and take the child to cast it into the Nile, so that the mother would not precede them, hide the child, and claim that it had been stillborn.

He said to them: When the woman

giving birth

kneels to deliver the child, her thighs become cold like stones.

And there are those who say:

The explanation of why the time of birth was called “upon the birthstool”

is as it is written: “And I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was doing his work upon the wheels,”

and we compare the women giving birth to this:

Just as this potter,

when making vessels, places

one thigh here and one thigh there, with the anvil

—on which the material for forming the vessel rests—standing

in the middle

between his thighs,

so too a woman,

when she gives birth, has

one thigh here and one thigh there, with the newborn in the middle;

and this moment is compared to the potter “upon the wheels.”

“If it is a son, then you shall kill him.” Rabbi Ḥanina said: He gave them a major sign:

When the child is “upon the birthstool,” they can distinguish whether it is a boy or a girl even without holding it, because

a boy’s face is downward,

whereas

a girl’s face is upward.

“And the midwives feared God, and they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them.”

And we ask: Why is the expression “to them” written with this form? It should have written

“to them”

in the other form. From this we expound that this expression hints at matters of intercourse, as it is stated: “And he came to her.” From here

Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: This teaches that he propositioned them

—Pharaoh

to commit a transgression, but they did not submit to him,

and they did not heed him.

“And they kept the children alive,”

and we infer that it would have been appropriate for the verse to say that they did not kill the children in accordance with Pharaoh’s command. But “they kept alive” implies that they raised them, and we expound:

A tanna taught: Not only did they not kill them, but they provided them with water and food.

“And the midwives said to Pharaoh: For the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,

for they are lively”.

And we raise the question:

What is the meaning of “lively”? If we say it means lively

—midwives

in the literal sense,

what did they answer him regarding his question why they had not killed the children at birth? After all,

is a midwife

—an animal that gives birth by itself—

not in need of another midwife to deliver it?

Rather,

this is what

they said to him: This nation is likened to an animal

of the field;

it is compared to one,

and animals of the field give birth without the assistance of a midwife.

And we find that they were compared to animals, as it is written concerning

Judah: “A lion cub,”

and concerning

Dan: “Let Dan be a serpent”; Naphtali: “a hind let loose”; Issachar: “a strong-boned donkey”; Joseph: “a firstborn bull”; Benjamin: “a wolf that tears.”

And concerning the entire people of Israel, the language of an animal is stated, for the tribe

concerning whom it is written above—

it is written concerning him, “and”

also a tribe

concerning whom it is not written

individually, nevertheless

it is written

concerning all of them together:

“What is your mother? A lioness among lions she crouched, and so on,”

and the meaning of the verse is that the entire congregation of Israel is called a lioness among lions.

“And it was, because the midwives feared God, that He made houses for them” .

Rav and Shmuel

disagreed as to which houses He made for them',

one

of them

said: houses of kohanim and Levites ,

and one said: houses of royalty,

and we explain where we find that kohanim and royalty emerged from them.

The one who says

that He made for them

houses of kohanim and Levites

means

Aaron and Moses,

who descended from Jochebed.

And the one who says: houses of royalty,

explained that the reference is to

King David,

who

also descended from Miriam, as it is written: “And Azubah died,”

she was Miriam, who was Caleb’s wife; as it is explained below, she was afflicted with leprosy and everyone abandoned her,

“and Caleb took for himself Ephrath,”

she was Miriam, by her new name after she recovered, and Caleb took her again,

“and she bore him Hur,” and it is written: “And David was the son of an Ephrathite man,”

meaning that he descended from Ephrath, who was Miriam.

“And Caleb the son of Hezron fathered Azubah a woman, and Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon.”

And we raise a difficulty: In this verse in the book of Chronicles, it is stated that Caleb was

the son of Hezron,

whereas in the book of Numbers it is written that Caleb was

the son of Jephunneh.

And we explain: In truth, Caleb was the son of Hezron. And why was he called the son of Jephunneh? Because

he was the one who turned away from the counsel of the spies,

as he did not spread an evil report about the Land along with them.

And we raise another difficulty:

Nevertheless,

it is still difficult, since we find that he was

the son of Kenaz, as it is written: “And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it,”

and it is explicit that his father was called Kenaz, not Hezron.

And we answer:

Rava said:

Caleb was

the stepson

—his wife’s son—

of Kenaz,

and Othniel was his brother only through his mother, and not through his father.