Impact Of Women On Jewish History/Prof. L. Jackson

Nearly eighty-five years have passed since Sarah Aaronson shot herself in the head, putting an end to the torture her Turkish interrogators inflicted upon her for refusing to disclose information about her associates in the NILI, an anti-Turkish spying organization that supplied the British with intelligence.

I have always been overwhelmed by the sense of responsibility the message of Har Sinai has placed upon women. The Midrash teaches that the Almighty asked Israel: “What can you give as an assurance that you will keep my covenant?”

Her family descended from Portuguese Marranos who had sought asylum in England in the eighteenth century. Grace Aguilar was born there at the onset of the nineteenth century (1816), and her remarkable work would exercise an impact on the historiography of Jewish life in the ensuing three decades of that century.

We love the food, the hotels, and even the wildlife. We love the Israelis.

This year International Agunah Day was observed on March 7th, the Jewish calendar date of Taanit Esther, the Fast of Esther. The date was determined by ICAR - The International Coalition for Agunah Rights. ICAR is a coalition of 27 organizations working together to abolish defiance in granting a “get” (Jewish divorce) and extortion in the divorce process within the framework of Jewish Law.

Every vicious anti-Semite has a personal agenda. The anti-Israel assertions of Alice Walker, nationally celebrated feminist author and political activist, in her latest book are much too shrill to pass for your household pro-Arab hate speech.

Hadassa Dubrofsky, a lovely twelve-year old girl from Toronto, Canada decided to forgo bat-mitzvah presents and replace them with something even more meaningful and exciting – an act of chesed (charitable kindness).

Listening to her presentation on the TV Knesset Channel, I was amazed at her approach. Where did she come from? What part of Israel produced this extraordinary woman?

Operating under the umbrella of Esra for administrative help, Hadassa’s group delivers 120 food baskets every month.

I could not believe my ears. What? The horrible historical event’s survivors are still alive? And here in Netanya?

This amazing woman was able to do this when there were five students, as well as quite recently when there have been as many as 270 students in the program.

She’s seen as a poster child for The Jewish Home’s efforts to reach beyond its Orthodox base.

She writes intuitively, freely, and only afterwards understands the meaning of what she has written.

Eishet Chayil is a hymn customarily recited on Friday evenings before sitting down to the Shabbat evening meal. It is a twenty-two verse poem at the conclusion of the book of Mishlei, describing the woman of valor as the ideal wife and mother.

This belief was coupled with the spirit of “Am Yisrael HaShalem” (One United People), in the Ben Yehuda household: to love and help all Jews without distinction.

Shira was a latecomer to Orthodoxy, having grown up in Lawrence, Long Island, where her family and most of the other members of the Orthodox Beth Sholem Congregation were not shomer Shabbos.

She was a voice on the telephone, a pleasant, friendly voice: “How can I help you?” I had heard this question in the past five weeks more time than I care to remember. As soon as I explained what my quest was the questioner would switch me to another voice on the telephone, then onto another, and another, without any results. This went on daily ever since we moved to a new apartment and wished to have our landline telephone number reinstated, instead of the temporary one arbitrarily assigned by the company.

Escorting the refugees by ship from Naples, Italy, Ruth Gruber recorded their stories of survival.

Witness after witness told of how Emilie Schindler nursed them back to health.

Five weeks later, an agent of the Haganah’s secret service contacted her, attempting to enlist her in its espionage unit.

Lift up your eyes about you and see, All shall gather and come to you, As I live, says the Lord.

Moshe Sharett, the head of the Jewish Agency’s Political Department, visited Egypt in 1945. In Cairo he met a most remarkable young woman, a beautiful journalist who was the darling of Egyptian high society - from high-ranking military brass, to culture icons and Muslim sheikhs, to the court of King Faruk.

Embracing her grandmother, she led her to a nearby table and began gently to coax some information from the silent ninety-year-old.

How many of us realize that, surprisingly, it was through this act that woman attains motherhood?

Shifrah and Puah were on a very high spiritual level – obviously the type of women who would not hesitate to follow the way of the Torah, and to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of other Jews.

Ever since, the tragic tale is told and retold as “Chanah and Her Seven Sons.”

He related how they had to create a single chain of men, women and children in order to help them board the plane that had no seats. They had to be removed in order to accommodate as many immigrants as possible, among them Belaynesh Zevadia.

Her manner of speaking was that of a person from the charedi world.

The relatively young Eitam battalion has become instrumental in IDF Southern Command’s Division 80’s efforts to keep up with the ever-changing security situation in Sinai after the fall of the Mubarak regime – and the entry of terrorist elements to the region.

When I started to speak and my words drowned in tears, it was she who comforted me.