By Rabbi Ellen Bernhardt, Jewish Community Relations Committee Director and Community Chaplain
—
This is an issue devoted to women, so let us take a moment to celebrate some remarkable women in Jewish history who may not be as familiar as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Queen Esther, and Ruth. Their stories may not always receive the same attention, but they are no less inspiring. They were women of courage, conviction, vision, and faith—women whose actions helped shape the destiny of our people.
Noa: A Voice for Justice
The first is Noa, which happens to be my granddaughter’s name.
During the Israelites’ 40-year journey through the wilderness toward the Promised Land, a man named Zelophehad died, leaving behind five daughters: Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. In those days, inheritance generally passed through sons. But these five sisters refused to accept that their father’s name and property should simply disappear because he had no sons.
They approached Moses and made their case:
Why should our father’s inheritance be lost simply because he had no sons?
Their request was extraordinary. They were not merely asking for property; they were asking to be heard. They were challenging an established system and advocating for justice and for the dignity of women.
Moses brought their case before God, and God affirmed the daughters’ claim. Their courageous appeal resulted in a change to the laws of inheritance.
What is especially striking is that the Torah preserves their names. They were not anonymous. Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah stood before Moses and demanded that justice be done—and their voices became part of Torah itself.
For me, Noa’s story has an especially personal meaning. Every time I hear my granddaughter’s name, I am reminded of this courageous young woman who was willing to speak up when the existing rules did not seem just.
Shifrah and Puah: Women Who Chose to Protect Our Future
Next, we turn to two women whose names are sometimes overlooked, even though they played a pivotal role in the story of the Exodus: Shifrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives.
A new Pharaoh had arisen in Egypt who feared that the Israelites were becoming too numerous. His solution was brutal. He ordered the midwives to kill every Israelite baby boy at birth.
But Shifrah and Puah refused.
They defied Pharaoh—the most powerful ruler in Egypt—and allowed the newborn boys to live. The Torah tells us that they did so because they feared God rather than Pharaoh.
Think about the courage that required. These were women with little political power, standing up to the most powerful man in the country. They could have obeyed out of fear. Instead, they chose morality over obedience and life over death.
Their courage reminds us that heroism does not always come from people with armies, titles, or political influence. Sometimes heroism belongs to ordinary people who simply refuse to do what they know is wrong.
The story also brings to mind the extraordinary moral courage of individuals during the Holocaust who risked their own lives to protect Jewish children and families. Among them were people who refused to surrender their humanity even when surrounded by unimaginable cruelty.
Shifrah and Puah teach us a timeless Jewish lesson: there are moments when doing what is right requires us to stand against those who have power over us.
And the Torah does something remarkable—it remembers their names.
Rachel: The Woman Behind Rabbi Akiva
Finally, there is another Rachel—not Rachel, the beloved matriarch of Jacob, but Rachel, the wife of Rabbi Akiva.
Rabbi Akiva, who lived approximately from the first to the second century CE, became one of the greatest sages in Jewish history. His teachings profoundly influenced the Mishnah, the Talmud, and generations of Jewish thought. Yet his beginnings were remarkably humble.
According to the rabbinic tradition, Akiva was an uneducated shepherd who did not begin his serious Torah studies until he was 40 years old.
And behind this remarkable transformation stood Rachel.
Rachel recognized something in Akiva that he did not yet recognize in himself. She saw his potential. She encouraged him to leave their home and devote himself to Torah study. While Akiva spent years studying, Rachel carried the enormous responsibility of maintaining their home and raising their family.
She waited. She sacrificed. She believed. The Talmud tells a beautiful story about the couple’s eventual return to their community. After years of study, Akiva came home as a great Torah scholar, surrounded by thousands of students. In one famous account, when some of his students wanted to honor Rachel, he reminded them that much of his Torah—and therefore his greatness—belonged to her.
Rachel had invested in a dream that was not yet visible.
She teaches us that sometimes the person who changes history is not the one standing at the podium. Sometimes she is the person standing behind the scenes, encouraging, supporting, believing, and making it possible for someone else to become who they were meant to be.
Women Whose Voices Still Speak
Noa, Shifrah, Puah, and Rachel lived in very different times and circumstances. Yet they share something profound: they understood their own worth and were willing to act on their convictions.
Noa and her sisters challenged an unjust system. Shifrah and Puah defied a tyrant and chose to protect the future of our people. Rachel saw greatness in someone before he could see it in himself.
Their stories remind us that Jewish history was never shaped only by kings, prophets, rabbis, and warriors. It was also shaped by women whose courage, wisdom, sacrifice, and determination changed the course of our people.
Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful lessons of all.
The Torah and our tradition do not merely tell us that these women existed. They remember their names.
And perhaps we should remember them, too.
Header Image: “Women Dancing with Torah” by artist Salome Goldenstein
