Shemot: What’s In a Name?

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Parshat Shemot takes its name from the parsha’s opening, a list naming those who travelled to Egypt with Yaakov Avinu. However, this is not the only time that names play a role in the parsha. Perek 1, pesukim 15 – 21 relate the story of Shifra and Puah, the Jewish midwives that Pharaoh attempted to enlist in his murderous campaign against male Jewish babies. In what Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks calls “the first recorded instance in history of civil disobedience,”¹ the midwives, who many commentaries² say were actually Yocheved and Miriam under different names, boldly defied Pharaoh’s orders, and birth rates of both girls and boys continued to flourish.

Rashi³, among other commentators, seeks to explain the pseudonyms used by the midwives. Yocheved was called Shifra, from a root meaning “improvement”, because she beautified the baby, and Miriam was called Puah, from a root meaning “cooing” because she would soothe the infants when they cried. These roles certainly explain why the names Shifra and Puah are chosen, but a question remains: why were pseudonyms used altogether?

A look into further commentaries can provide some level of clarity on the matter. One wonders why Pharoah had any inkling that the midwives would assist him in murdering Jewish infants. These were righteous women, leaders of the nation, and imbued with the same kindness and mercy that flows through every Jewish heart. Yocheved and Miriam were most certainly not going to kill Jewish infants, but Shifra and Puah might. Pharoah knew that a name is not merely a sound used to get someone’s attention; names represent the essence of a person or thing. Pharaoh gave Yocheved and Miriam new, Egyptian names in an attempt to rid them of their essence as merciful, righteous Jewish women⁴. The names he chose were Shifra and Puah, both related to the Egyptian root “פרע”⁵. With these new names, Pharoah reasoned, Yocheved and Miriam would succumb to their Egyptain identities as Shifra and Puah, and be willling and able to partake in his genocide. However, this was not the case. Yocheved or Shifra, Miriam or Puah, these women were still of righteous character and able to exercise free will. They would not allow themselves to be overtaken by Egyptian values, and held on tightly to their Jewish spirit of mercy and kindness⁶.

While the midrash’s definition of the names and Rashi’s explanations may seem to contradict one another, they represent two different intentions behind the pseudonyms. The Midrash describes Pharaoh’s intention – to give the midwives Egyptian names that would alter their essence to one of cruelty and apathy. The midwives, of course, did not share these intentions. They took the names Shifra and Puah, and found Hebrew roots within them that would support positive Jewish values. Instead of fighting against their Egyptian names and identities, they found a way to spin them to something positive and use them to their advantage. Rashi’s explanation reflects the midwives’ perspective on their names. Pharoah’s intentions were irrelevant – they saw their identities as Shifra and Puah as a reflection of their roles as caring and compassionate midwives to the Jewish people.

Maintaining Jewish names and Jewish identities was not a trivial matter. The Midrash⁷ praises Am Yisrael for their commitment to a Jewish identity, no matter how deeply ingrained they were in Egyptian culture. This identity was represented by three areas which remained uniquely Jewish, and Egyptian culture was not adopted – their manner of dress, their manner of speech, and their names. Names, as mentioned above, are more than just titles. They are a representation of identity, of essence. In keeping their uniquely Jewish names, the nation held tightly to their essence as people of noble birth and righteous character. The midwives were no different, and drew on this faithfulness to defy Pharaoh’s orders. They used their added feminine wisdom to find a G-dly essence in their names, and that gave them the strength to do what was right.

For their courage, wisdom, and faithfulness, says the pasuk, Hashem rewarded the midwives with “houses”.⁸ This is a fitting reward, for when Pharaoh initially commanded the midwives to slay the jewish boys, he threatened that if they did not comply, he would destroy them and their entire household. Some commentaries, such as Radak⁹, actually do not interpret the “houses” as divine reward for the midwives, but explain the term as a physical house, made either by pharaoh to place the midwives under house arrest, or by the Jewish Nation to thank them for their courage or safely shelter them from Pharaoh’s wrath. However, many commentaries, such as Rashi¹⁰ or Ibn Ezra¹¹, interpret these houses as reward that Hashem bestowed upon the midwives. Ramchal writes that in reward for saving the children of all Jewish families, the midwives were blessed with families of their own¹². According to Rashi, these “houses” were the prestigious dynasties that came from them – Kohanim and Levi’im from Yocheved, and royal families from Miriam. According to Abarbanel¹³, the word could also refer to wealth and honor, which brings prestige to their home. In reward for their bravery, loyalty, and wisdom, Hashem gave Yocheved and Miriam honorable homes that would sprout great dynasties.

This reward is reminiscent of the verse in Mishlei¹⁴ that says, “A wise woman builds her home…” The example that Rashi¹⁵ gives for such a woman is the wife of On ben Pelet, who sat outside with her hair uncovered so that the disciples of Korach would not approach her home to recruit her husband for their rebellion¹⁶. This wisdom and ingenuity earns her eternal praise, and she is said to have “built her home” through this. Eshet On ben Pelet built and preserved her home through her wisdom, and the midwives were similarly rewarded with honorable homes. Shifra and Puah employed their wisdom to find the Jewish spirit in their new names, and drew courage and faith from their Hebrew meanings. For this, they were rewarded with dynasties of righteous children, and memorialized as heroines in the annals of Jewish History.