It is fitting that upon this week’s 20th anniversary of Spielberg’s classic, Schindler’s List, this week’s Torah portion contains the first example of two women who were truly righteous among the nations.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Schindler’s List. I remember going with my entire high school to see Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust film in the movie theatre when it came out. The epic film brought the Holocaust to the forefront of American culture through the heroic story of Oskar Schindler, a non-Jewish German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Jews.

Along with Schindler, during the Holocaust there were nearly 25,000 “Righteous Among the Nations,” defined by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum as people who risked their lives to rescue a Jew. Certainly there were many Gentiles who were opposed to the Nazi regime, but only a person who was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice is officially recognized and honored with the “Righteous” title. This week’s Torah portion contains the first example of two women who were truly righteous among the nations.

In Synagogues this week, Jews begin to read the Book of Exodus. A new Pharaoh comes to power who does not recall the vast contributions made by Joseph in preserving Egypt during the devastating famine. Here we see the formation of a pattern that is all too well known throughout history, the original precedent for anti-Semitism. The Jews are welcomed into a country, make great contributions while there, but are ultimately forsaken. The host nation turns on its Jewish residents, using them as scapegoats, and becomes fearful and suspicious of their loyalty.

And he [Pharaoh] said unto his people: ‘Behold, the people of the children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us; come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalleth us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.’ (Exodus 1:9,10)

Pharaoh begins to make life horrific for the People of Israel. He establishes state-sponsored cruelty that could have served as Hitler’s playbook.  However, in the midst of this chaotic turn of events, and downward spiral of hatred, two heroines emerge:

“The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives of whom the name of the first was Shifra and the name of the second was Puah. And he said ‘When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, you are to kill him, and if it is a daughter, she shall live. But the midwives feared God and they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live.” (Exodus 1:15-16)

The identity of these “Hebrew midwives” (meyaldot haivriyot) is debated by Rabbinic commentators. Many sages have assumed the literal meaning, that they were Jewish women. Other commentators, including the Abrabanel, argue that the story makes much more sense if we are talking about Egyptian midwives. After all, why would Pharaoh have Jewish women do his dirty work? Moreover, the text says that it was the midwives’ fear of God that guided their actions, and interestingly enough, when the Bible refers to ‘fear of God,’ it is often used to describe the behavior of exceptional Gentiles.

According to these interpreters, meyaldot haivriyot, or “Hebrew midwives,” is a deliberately ambiguous phrase that actually means “midwives for the Hebrew women.” Shifra and Puah were Egyptian.  As such, they are the first people in history who risk their lives to rescue a Jew and incredibly, the Bible refers to these two non-Jews as Hebrews.

Throughout our history, the Jewish people have faced persecution, starting from Pharaoh and lasting till this very day. 3,500 years after Pharaoh and 70 years after Hitler, ruthless dictators still threaten Israel with extinction. Sure, there are many good people around the world who are opposed to Iran. But who are the righteous gentiles of our generation who are willing to throw their lot in together with the Jewish People?

Before moving to Israel, I went to the Christians United for Israel Conference in Washington DC and remember Pastor John Hagee addressing this very issue:

“I stand here as Israel is surrounded and hounded, boycotted and threatened. I stand here with a strong message of solidarity with you, my Jewish brethren, the apple of God’s eye. At this difficult juncture in our history, permit me to say something to you straight from the heart. Please know that what I say now is a sentiment shared by millions of Christians across America and around the world. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ani Yisraeli – I am an Israeli’…. If a line has to be drawn, then let it be drawn around both of us – Christians and Jews, Americans and Israelis.”

In one of the more poignant scenes in Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler’s workers give him a ring engraved with a quote from the Talmud, “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” Schindler didn’t save a thousand lives, he saved a thousand “entire worlds”. By saving the life of baby Moses, Shifra and Puah established the precedent which reminds us of the need for more Righteous Among the Nations.  Thank God, around the world today, there are millions of Christians, not just individuals here and there, who are willing to cast their lot with the nation of Israel.

Editor: Put in the comment box below if you are willing to cast your lot with the nation of Israel!