The Women of the War
I have been struck by the role of women in this war. Of particular interest to me is the way that the stories of women are echoing those of individuals within the Tanakh. Here are three stories that reflect this.
The Clever One
This is the story of Rachel Edri, a modern-day Yael.
Five terrorists came to Rachel’s home in Ofakim. She kept them calm, plied them with food, secretly communicated with the police officers who came to rescue her, and survived based on her quick wits. Here’s the story as related in Ynet.
Four hours after she and her husband were taken hostage, Edri decided to offer them refreshments. "I asked them if they wanted tea, coffee and cookies. They told me 'bring them.' Part of it was due to my desire to bribe them, but part of it was due to my nature. I went downstairs again with one of them. He held me close to the side of the stairs so that I wouldn't get close to the policemen, so I told the policemen at the entrance (which is close to the kitchen), to prepare them and I explained to them where everything was. While the police were making them their hot drinks, one of them asked the terrorist: 'How many friends do you have at home?' The terrorist replied: 'What do you care?' I immediately realized that this was an important question, so I put my whole palm on my cheek, to signal to them that they were five. The terrorist caught what I was doing and shouted: 'Rachel, no problems'. I told him: 'No, my head just hurts.' He hit me in the head with his cartridge. So my head really hurt."
Everyone wants to know what cookies these were. What was in them? "These were cookies made in a cookie press. Moroccan cookies that I made for Yom Kippur to eat with a cup of tea. They really liked them a lot. At first they asked me to taste them to make sure there was no poison in them, but after that they drank and ate, and they became much calmer. I asked them how old they are. One of them was 40 years old and the rest were 25 to 30 years old. There was one who was really bad. A devil. He kept saying he was a martyr. But with the others I started having conversations, and at one point I even forgot for a moment that they were terrorists."
A few hours later, the first rescue attempt was made from the house. During the shootout one of the terrorists ("the worst of them all") was killed and another was wounded in the hand. Adri realized that the terrorists' agitated mood would work against her, and hurried to calm them down. "I told the wounded man: 'Come, show me,' and then I bandaged his hand to stop the bleeding. I gave him a glass of water and told him, 'Rest.' I told him he deserved something sweet. I asked the officers downstairs to bring me a can of pineapple, and I fed him until he fell asleep again.
Around four o'clock in the afternoon, I saw that the terrorists were starting to look nervous again. I imagined that they must be hungry and that hunger only adds to the nervousness. I asked them, 'Are you hungry?', they answered me, 'Yes.' " I went down again with the terrorist who accompanied me with a weapon on the stairs, and I asked the policemen to bring them something to eat. Right after that they were calmer again," Edri says.
This story parallels that of Yael, the heroine who welcomed Sisra to her tent, then plied him with food, waited for him to fall asleep, and murdered him with her tent peg. See the full story in Judges 5:18-22.
The Warrior Woman
This is the story of the female tank commanders who saved Holit.
Sotah 44b states
בְּמִלְחֲמוֹת מִצְוָה, אֲבָל בְּמִלְחֲמוֹת חוֹבָה — הַכֹּל יוֹצְאִין, אֲפִילּוּ חָתָן מֵחֶדְרוֹ וְכַלָּה מֵחוּפָּתָהּ.
But in obligatory wars, everyone goes, even a groom from his room and a bride from her wedding canopy.
While there are commentators who do not understand this literally, the Rambam in Hilchos Melachim u’Milchamot 7:4, does.
We also see in Shoftim 4:8 that Devorah accompanies Barak to war, although she herself does not appear to wage war with weapons.
Here is the story of the female tank commanders who saved Holit. They are the first and only female tank commanders in the world. On October 7, they proved they are every bit as capable as their male counterparts.
The Defiant One
This is the story of Rimon Kirsht, who defied Hamas.
Rimon was taken into captivity alongside her partner, Yagev. When Rimon was told she was slated for release, she argued with Hamas. According to Israel HaYom,
When they told her she was being released, she didn't want to go. She told them, 'Either we leave together, or I stay here, and no one gets released.' Hamas terrorists told her, 'You have two options: Either get released willingly or we'll drag you on the floor.' They didn't leave her a choice. She looks much skinnier than she was before she was captured."
At the handoff site, Hamas wanted Rimon to simper for the cameras. She defied them once again, stating, "No one will hug us now. We will leave here alone and with our heads held high.”
One cannot imagine the unbelievable courage she had to stare down terrorists with guns, while a jeering mob shouts in the background.
Rimon reminds me of the Hebrew midwives who defied Pharoah, and also of the child who refused to play along with Antiochus’s idol worshipping propaganda scheme. A version of this story appears in Gittin 57b:
אֲמַר לֵיהּ קֵיסָר: אֶישְׁדֵּי לָךְ גּוּשְׁפַּנְקָא וּגְחֵין וְשִׁקְלֵיהּ, כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלֵימְרוּ: קַבֵּיל עֲלֵיהּ הַרְמָנָא דְּמַלְכָּא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: חֲבָל עֲלָךְ קֵיסָר, חֲבָל עֲלָךְ קֵיסָר; עַל כְּבוֹד עַצְמְךָ כָּךְ, עַל כְּבוֹד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה!
It was the youngest brother who had said this, and the emperor pitied him. Seeking a way to spare the boy’s life, the emperor said to him: I will throw down my seal before you; bend over and pick it up, so that people will say that he has accepted the king’s authority [harmana]. The boy said to him: Woe [ḥaval] to you, Caesar, woe to you, Caesar. If you think that for the sake of your honor I should fulfill your command and do this, then for the sake of the honor of the Holy One, Blessed be He, all the more so should I fulfill His command.
So which woman are you?
The clever one who placates the enemy but secretly plots against them?
The warrior who goes out to protect innocents?
The defiant one who refuses to bow to corrupt people in power?
A combination of all three?
The women we have now are like the women of ancient times. The Torah is timeless, Judaism is timeless, and our women’s cleverness, tenacity and defiance are also timeless.