Nadene Goldfoot
Women's History Month has set aside March 1 to March 31 as the time to spotlight women of our world. It's been a month where International Women's Month fell on Shushan Purim, the day after Purim, daylight saving time, Spring, so now we'll get to us women.
We were formed out of Adam's rib, showing we're made of the same stuff, and he was the origin of life. However, that job was given to Eve and all the rest of us females, so we're given a lot of compensation for that requirement of being a woman. Yet our DNA of women (X) seem to be traced back farther than the males (Y). It's like what came first, the chicken or the egg, and biblically, the chicken came first, I suppose.
"Among all living creatures, Man alone is endowed, like his creator, morality, reason and free will. He can know and love G-d and can hold spiritual communion with Him, and Man alone can guide his actions through reason. (Rambam). This no doubt includes Women as well-thus, Mankind."
The most interesting thing showing the difference between the sexes to me is that biologically, Man was given in his bloodline, two different haplotypes/haplogroups, the X and the Y. Man carries both, but women only carry the X. This has to do with our DNA.
Our DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid), is the blueprint of life, the sequence of chemicals that defines each human being as unique, with the exception of identical twins who share the same genetic makeup. So if you want to know what the haplogroups of your mother and father are, test your brother. He carries both their lines.
Thus, the male line is very important, as men are listed as "the son of--meaning the father," and could include both parents and this is the Y line. So a man carries an X and a Y, but the woman carries XX.
We have 23 chromosomes, and the 23rd is the sex determiner. It tells us if the originator of our line was a male or a female.
Women who stand out in our Jewish history are Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. While this label is important to signify the role of these women in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, it creates a sense of hierarchy that allows for the exclusion of other Women in the Book of Genesis.
In all periods of Mesopotamian history, the moon god was regarded as a major deity. In Ur, he was imagined as the divine ruler of the city, and as a result had a prominent role in the local royal ideology. Other places where he played a particularly important role include Harran and the Diyala area.
Interesting that this moon cult went from Ur to Haran, following Abraham's family right up the Euphrates River.
Harran (Akkadian Harrânu, “intersecting roads”; Latin Carrhae): ancient city in Mesopotamia, famous for a temple of the Moon god Sin and the defeat of the Roman general Crassus in 53 BCE (“battle of Carrhae”). From the third millennium BCE until medieval times, Harran is mentioned as an important trade center in northern Mesopotamia, situated on the road from the Mediterranean Sea to the heart of Assyria. It is also mentioned as provincial capital in the Assyrian empire (until the late seventh century BCE) and sanctuary of the moon god Sin, well into the third century CE. This sanctuary was called Ehulhul, and was restored by Assyrian rulers like of Šalmaneser (858-824) and Aššurbanipal (668-631).Other gods venerated in Harran were Sin’s consort Ningal, the Syrian goddess Atargatis and the Arabian goddess Allat (“Mrs. God”). In the Bible, it is mentioned as one of the towns where Abraham stayed on his voyage from Ur to the promised land.
The well where a servant of Abraham met Rebecca, who was to become the wife of Isaac,note is still shown today.
The town was named for the founder, Haran, brother of Abraham. Assyrian inscriptions from this time mention a Habiru (Hebrew) settlement in the vicinity which some scholars link with Terah's residence there. Terah was Abram's father. There was still a small Jewish community by 12th century found by Benjamin of Tudela.
Sarai/Sarah was the wife of Abram/Abraham who was born in about 1948 BCE. She was his niece as well. Her father was Haran, father of Lot and son of Terah, etc. She lived at Haran in Aram-Naharaim, marrying Abram before they left Haran. They came from the same family tree. Sarah was the mother of Isaac. She was said to be beautiful with her beauty attracting the local ruler in Haran. It took her a very long time to become pregnant with Isaac. She died at age 127, buried in the Cave with Abraham in the Cave of Machpelah.
Rebekah was the wife of Isaac and came from the family of Bethuel, son of Nahor II, son of Terah, etc that leads to Shem of Noah. She was the mother of Esau and Jacob. Her kindness attracted the attention of Abraham's envoy who had been dispatched to Aram Naharaim (Syria) to seek a wife for his master's son, Isaac. She later supported Jacob in his struggle with son Esau. She was said to be the ideal type of Jewish womanhood.
Leah was Rachel's older sister, the one who got to marry Jacob first, so of course was the daughter of Laban. She lived at Haran in Aram-Naharaim. Jacob thought the bride in front of him covered with a veil was Rachel, but had been tricked into marrying Leah first. Leah then bore over the years 6 sons by Jacob; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and also a daughter, Dinah. She was said to have had weak eyes.
Rachel was Leah's younger sister in line for a husband, daughter of Laban and also lived at Haran in Aram-Naharaim. Jacob had to work for another 7 years to marry Rachel who became the mother of Joseph and then Benjamin. She died in giving birth to Benjamin near Bethlehem. The Tomb of Rachel stands there today. The biblical image of the compassionate mother Rachel, weeping for her children driven into captivity, became a favorite figure in Jewish folklore (Jer.31:15)
We've had others of Biblical history that have made a difference. Deborah was one. She was the nurse of Rebekah and became a prophet. Born about 1150 BCE, her husband was Lapidoth. She roused the Israelite tribes to revolt under Barak, son of Abinoam (12th century BCE) , against the Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor and Sisera, his ally and commander. The song of victory attributed to her is regarded as one of the oldest compositions preserved in Hebrew. Barak led the forces of Naphtali and Zebulun which defeated the army of Sisera (Judg.4).
Miriam, older sister of Moses; Huldah, prophetess in Jerusalem at the time of Josiah who foretold the catastrophic fall of Judah and that Josiah would die prior to the calamity; even the queens Jezebel of Israel and Athaliah of Judah were important.
Angela Hunt wrote a novel about this queen. Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged. In the 2nd Temple Period, Queen Salome Alexandra ruled Judea (76-67) and reversed her husband's rule about the Pharisees. So she gave control to the Pharisees while she controlled the army and foreign policy. Her oldest son was Hyrcanus and she appointed him the high priest. Salome is said to be the sister of Rabbi Simeon Ben Sheteh. Josephus, the writer, was critical of her.
WOMAN OF WORTH
The book of Proverbs warns men against female wiles, but also depicts the "woman of worth" who is the mainstay of her household.
This section is read every Friday night at the Shabbat table to everyone. It starts: An accomplished woman who can find? Far beyond pearls is her value, "She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands."Proverbs 31 continues.....
In Hellenistic Times, the Jewish Woman status was superior to that of the Greek woman as she was independent and legally could own property, and continued when single or widowed and could retain certain property in her name after marriage, but allowed increments to go to her husband.
The concern of rabbis was that women held that sexual power over man. Marilyn Monroe born 1926 had married Arthur Miller born 1915, playright. He was Jewish and of Polish-Jewish descent, only 11 years her senior.
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.kanaga.tv/archaeology/harran.html
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sin_%28mythology%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_%28mythology%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller
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