Devorah: Judge, Prophetess & Mother

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidot, she judged Israel at that time. And she sat under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.¹

The prophetess Devorah is a most intriguing, but also an elusive, female character in Tanach: A female leader and judge, at a time dominated by male leadership and the only female judge in Tanach, one of only seven prophetesses, self-referred to as ‘a mother in Israel’. In examining her character, there are many questions we can ask about her femininity. Devorah, like us women today, wears multiple hats. We will look at the three aspects of her different roles mentioned above: how or why a female became a judge, a role usually reserved for men, her unique status as prophetess, and why she refers to herself in her song of praise to Hashem, as ‘mother of Israel.’

In her unique position as a female judge, Devorah presents a model showing that there is indeed space in the Jewish world for women to take on roles in Jewish and halachic leadership, a model that we have been following for generations, with exceptional women who were recognized, as was Devorah, for their multiple skills, wisdom and leadership prowess

We learn very little about her life from the text in the Book of Shoftim. The period of the shoftim was characterized by the cycle of Am Yisrael sinning, Hashem turning our enemies against us, Am Yisrael repenting (through the influence of the judges), and Hashem coming to our salvation. It was a time that lacked the centralized leadership of the days of Moshe and Yehoshua, and this lack of authority is reflected in the sinful actions of Bnei Yisrael. In Sefer Shoftim, we learn that through her prophecy, Devorah sends Barak and 10,000 soldiers to war against Yaniv, the king of Hazor, after 20 years of oppression. She promises Barak that he will be successful against the general Sisera’s 100 000 chariots. Her prophecy comes true; Sisera flees the battlefield, and ultimately is killed at the hands of Yael and the Canaanites retreat. Devorah ruled the nation for 40 years, bringing us to repentance and a period of peace.

A Female Judge?

Devorah is the only female judge in Sefer Shoftim. How this came to be when women have many halachic limitations in the field of legality is a source of discussion amongst the sages. The Sefer HaChinuch², drawing on Tosafot, suggests three potential answers: The first explanation is that a woman is eligible to decide on legal, civil matters, even though she cannot testify as a witness. The second is that Devorah didn’t decide on legal matters, but rather taught Torah, which all agree a woman can do. The fact that she does so under a tree out in the open to avoid any issue of yichud shows a sensitivity to halacha and to tzniut. The final suggestion is that Bnei Yisrael accepted her as their judge because of her status of prophetess. Here there is a position that holds that if the person is accepted by the whole nation, their role is valid: “The leaders of Israel accepted her upon them as a judge, and following them, every person accepted her judgments, for in self-acceptance certainly anyone is kosher (כשרים הכל ודאי דבקבלה)….”

In her unique position as a female judge, Devorah presents a model showing that there is indeed space in the Jewish world for women to take on roles in Jewish and halachic leadership, a model that we have been following for generations, with exceptional women who were recognized, as was Devorah, for their multiple skills, wisdom and leadership prowess. This is something we see blossoming today, with more and more talmidot chachamot becoming equipped with the tools necessary to lead a new generation of women and men in many different aspects of Jewish life.  

A Motherly Prophetess

The interplay between Devorah’s status as a prophet and that as a nurturing woman can be seen in Barak’s insistence that she accompany him to the war she instructs him to wage. Here too we face some halachic concerns- women are not, according to most understandings, supposed to go out to war. What might be the motivation for Barak to insist on Devorah coming? What is her role with Barak on the battlefield? Abarbanel³ explains that while Barak trusted Devorah and her prophecy, he did not believe he would be able to convince his soldiers to join him against the 100 000 chariots of metal of Sisera’s. This was much more than a daunting task. Devorah’s presence on the battlefield was not a military role, but rather a spiritual and emotional one- she would give the soldiers the faith in Hashem and in themselves that they needed to face the fierce enemy, much in the way that the presence of a mother will help her child find their confidence.

Devorah agrees to go, but cautions Barak that if she does he will not receive any glory from his military victory, and that it will go to a woman. Barak accepts this. Here we see Devorah referring to either her own femininity (according to the Radak), or possibly that of Yael’s, who kills Sisera. Either way, she is emphasizing the role of women in this event. 

After the war Devorah and Barak co-author a song of praise to Hashem, referred to as Shirat Devorah. According to Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner⁴, its main purpose is pedagogical.  Devorah begins with teaching the nation that there are consequences to their actions – if you sin, Hashem will turn away from you – and then imbues them with motivation to do better, with praise for their actions. She moves her generation to repentance, and to unity.

Rabbi Harber⁵ explains similarly, that the message of Shirat Devorah is one of unity. She tells the tribes, after criticizing those who refused to join the war, and praising those who did, When we stand together, we succeed. When we are self-involved, we fail. According to Rabbi Harber, Devorah’s womanhood is especially relevant to this message;  ‘I arose, like a mother in Israel’⁶ – like a mother who sees her family falling apart and takes action to unite them, like a matriarch of the nation.

Lessons from Devorah

Devorah exemplifies an approach to female leadership. She is a strong woman who takes action and speaks the truth, but in a nurturing way, and the leaders and people of Israel recognize this and are drawn to her. Perhaps her strength and ability to transform Am Yisrael stems from the fact that she was a role model, as a mother should be. As it says in Eliyahu Rabbah 9:1: “What made Devorah great- that she judged and prophesized for the nation? Wasn’t Pinchas ben Elazar around those days too? It is because whether Jew or non-Jew, man or woman, slave or maidservant, the Divine Spirit rests upon people – all according to their actions.” The people recognized Devorah’s actions, just as Hashem did, through her wisdom, her modesty, and her faith. 

We are blessed to live in a world with many ‘Devorahs’ today- talmidot chachamot who are true female Jewish leadership, wearing multiple hats, juggling multiple roles. These women, along with Devorah, show us that one does not have to compromise on one’s femininity to be a strong Jewish leader – indeed Devorah points her own out!  Rather, they show us a way to synthesize a feminine role as ‘mother’ or matriarch, with the ability to foster wisdom, teach and make decisions, through closeness to Hashem, with no need to compromise on any aspect of the above. Devorah serves as inspiration for all Jewish women (and men) to keep striving in our avodat Hashem and in the multiple roles we play. 

¹ _{Judges 4:4-5}

² _{Sefer haChinuch, R. Chavel edition, p. 141}

³ _{Abarbanel on Shoftim 4;8}

⁴ _{https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/886665/Devorah’s-Song,-Week-1 (Part one of a three part series)}

⁵ _{https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/1080734/Female-Wartime-Leadership:-Devora-Hanevia-and-Her-Message}

⁶ _{Shoftim 5:7}