Miriam, Yael, Queen Esther, Hannah the barren woman, and Ruth the Moabite. What can we learn from these female figures in order to build a better society?
When Moses was placed in the basket, Miriam kept watch. And when Pharaoh’s daughter drew him from the Nile, Miriam immediately appeared and offered help in finding a nurse for him. Yael, through her ingenuity, brought about the downfall of Sisera, the commander of the enemy army. And Queen Esther, with wisdom and subtlety, guided both Ahasuerus and Haman until she succeeded in saving her people.
Certainly, there is profound depth behind the biblical narratives. Yet even on the simplest level, we can identify recurring traits among prominent women: wisdom, flexibility, strategic thinking, concealment, influence behind the scenes, and some form of clever initiative that brings about positive change.
The same is true within the family. The feminine force is what sets things in motion. A mother’s desires push her children toward development and achievement. The father, too, often dances to her tune, as we all know. Another feminine characteristic is closeness to nature and to the system of life itself. A woman nurtures a fetus within her womb, gives birth, and experiences creation from within. She possesses the capacity to nourish, to give, to feed, and to care for others.
Woman, in the essence of the concept, is the mother. She is the earth. From her, human beings are born and raised, both physically and spiritually. Certainly, the masculine force has its own role in the world, but it cannot be fully realized without the guidance of the feminine force.
Looking more broadly, the reality in which we live has become increasingly interconnected. Mutual dependence is growing, and we are all in the same boat. At the same time, however, each person’s ego continues to grow without restraint. As relationships at every level begin to collapse, we find ourselves in need of feminine wisdom the wisdom of a mother.
“Stop fighting,” she tells us again and again. “Be good children.”
Slowly, patiently, and persistently, she instills new habits and healthier behavior. She does not confront our ego head-on, as men often do when they charge into battle. Instead, she works gently, indirectly, and creatively.
This is one of the important lessons we can draw from these biblical stories. As a society, we must act wisely. We need to build educational and cultural processes that lead people to feel that it is better to connect with others than to wage endless battles against everyone and everything around them.
Another recurring motif in the Bible is barrenness. Sarah was barren. Rachel was barren. Hannah is perhaps the most famous example. On a social level, barrenness symbolizes a world that is not functioning properly, a lack of healthy connection between people that can give birth to positive development.
Here it is important to understand a key principle connected to the inner meaning of the Torah and the inner essence of the nation of Israel.
Our story begins with Abraham, who discovered that all of nature is united and that a single force underlies reality, guiding us toward complete unity. Based on this discovery, he began teaching people how to relate to each other with kindness and love. Yet only a small portion of humanity at the time was ready to absorb such a lofty idea. Over time, from that group emerged the people of Israel.
At their deepest level, all the stories of the Torah describe the struggle between humanity’s natural egoistic tendency and the need to develop connection and love. All the characters, all the conflicts, depict a battle over whether we will move toward a reality where “we are all one family” or remain trapped in ordinary egoism. When egoism overcame us and we fell into unfounded hatred, destruction followed.
The women who prayed for children—including Hannah, whose prayer is especially well known—symbolize the spiritual yearning to give birth to a corrected society. A society that resembles the one force whose qualities are benevolence, love, and pure giving.
Prayer, in this sense, is a profound inner lack, a feeling that “I must bring about the correction of the world.”
Hannah prayed for this with all her heart and was granted Samuel, who contributed greatly to the wisdom and unity of the nation.
The story of Ruth the Moabite portrays a woman who left behind everything she had in order to join the people of Israel. Ruth symbolizes the feminine willingness to face every challenge and hardship along the way for the sake of a higher ideal.
From her lineage came King David, whose role reminds us that, ultimately, all human beings will need to unite in love as one family.
“All nations shall flow unto it,” and “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” the prophets declared.
The people of Israel are merely the pilot project, the pioneering group in which an example of harmonious connections above division must first be formed.
If we wish to see ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren successful, secure, healthy, and fulfilled, we need to create an environment that functions like a good family.
This aspiration is deeply engraved within the Israeli soul, and from there it can spread to all humanity. Family-like bonds will ensure that no one wishes to harm us and that everyone will want to bond in connection and love.
All of this depends primarily on the “Great Mother,” the “Wise Woman,” who will compel the world to fulfill her powerful inner demand: that there be peace within the home, that everyone live in unity and mutual complementarity.
This is a mother’s happiness, and all the forces of nature will come to her aid.
Based on “New Life 166 – Outstanding Women in Jewish Culture, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.