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Why does Pharaoh address the midwives with incomplete sentences, and what is the significance of naming them Shifrah and Puah? The shiur argues that Pharaoh was attempting to change their function from postnatal caregivers (Shifrah and Puah) to midwives involved in delivery—when they could carry out his murderous decree. Their refusal to accept this role change, rooted in yiras Elokim, prevented them from being accomplices to infanticide.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a series of difficult grammatical questions on Shemos 1:15-16. The verse states "Vayomer melech Mitzrayim lameyaldos ha'ivriyos asher shem ha'achas Shifrah v'shem hashenis Puah" — "And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shifrah and the name of the second was Puah." This appears to be an incomplete sentence; the verb "vayomer" (said) requires an object—what did he say to them? The actual command only appears in the next verse (1:16), which begins with another "vayomer." Why the repetition? Furthermore, Rashi (רש"י) identifies Shifrah and Puah as Yocheved and Miriam, yet the text seems to assert "asher shem"—"whose name was"—as if Shifrah and Puah were their actual names. This creates an apparent contradiction. Additionally, the term "meyaldos" suggests midwives involved in childbirth/delivery, yet Shifrah and Puah describe postnatal functions: Shifrah means beautifying (meshaperes) the baby, and Puah refers to soothing/speaking to a crying infant—activities performed days or weeks after birth, not during delivery. Why would Pharaoh call them "meyaldos" if their actual function was postnatal care?
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Shemos 1:15-22
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