Let My People Know

"A second chance for man and womankind"

 

The Exodus has been interpreted as a second chance for man and womankind.

It is as though God were saying here that, at the time of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the commandment to abstain from eating its fruit was given to Adam, and the sin was the sin of Eve who did not herself receive the commandment. 

Therefore, in order to receive the Torah, and in a sense be created afresh, Israel must be approached from the opposite direction, through the women, and thereafter to convince the men. 

This new combination of events and forces would be more stable because, despite all later errors and deviations, the role of the women, in receiving the Torah was expressed in "We will do, and be obedient" (Exodus 24:7). 

And this remains the significant and existential task of women throughout the generations. 

Herein, too, lies the essence of Miriam's role: she is the "big sister" who watches and worries and prepares for the future–an essential and fundamental part of the process of redemption.

–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
 
From Biblical Images by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz