Women play a tremendous role in Jewish history. The sages teach us that the Jewish people were redeemed from slavery in Egypt only in the merit of the righteous Jewish women[xxxi]. Furthermore, the sages go on to say that we will be redeemed from our current exile, too in the merit of the righteous women[xxxii].
The list of women who made an impact on Jewish history is quite long, from…
· The four Imahos (matriarchs) who founded the Jewish people alongside the Avos (patriarchs),
…to
- Yocheved
- Miriam
- Basya
…whose combined efforts brought us Moshe Rabbeinu, to the
- seven prophetesses, including the leader and judge Devorah
- Queen Esther
- Yael
- Yehudis
- the daughters of Tzilafchad,
and more. On the negative side, sometimes we suffered from less-than-righteous women, who used their capabilities for the bad, including
- Shimshon’s wife Delilah,
- Queen Izevel (Jezebel),
- Queen Asalya (who nearly succeeded in eradicating the Davidic royal family and dynasty)
- The wife of Potiphar.
More questions about Jewish women in history and beyond? Get your answers.
[xxxi] Sotah 11b
[xxxii] Yalkut Shimoni Rus 606 (according to the understanding of Yalkut M’am Loez Parshas Shoftim “Maalas ha’isha hakshera”
By Rabbi Pinchos Fried
