Serach bat Asher - The Transmitter of Secrets

(9) And when Joseph had finished giving them his orders, he turned: and went back into Egypt, ‎and the sons of Jacob went to the land of Canaan, in joy and happiness to their father. And ‎when they came to the boundaries of the land, they said to one another: What shall we do in ‎bringing this matter before our father? For if we impart it to him suddenly, and tell him all ‎about it, he will be greatly astounded at our words and he will refuse to listen to us. And when ‎they went on until they approached their houses they met Serach coming towards them, and ‎the damsel was exceedingly beautiful and wise, and a skilled player on the harp; and they ‎called her and she came unto them and she kissed them. And they took her and gave her a ‎harp saying unto her: Go, we pray thee, before our father and sit down before him and strike ‎this harp and speak unto him according to these words. And they instructed her concerning ‎what she had to say, and she hastened unto Jacob and she sat down before him. And she sang ‎and she played beautifully upon the harp, and she sang in the sweetness of her voice: Joseph ‎my uncle is alive and he reigneth over all the land of Egypt; he is not dead. And she often ‎repeated these words. And Jacob heard her words and it pleased him greatly, and when he ‎heard her sing it twice and three times, the heart of Jacob was possessed by joy, through the ‎sweetness of her voice, and the spirit of God came over him, and he knew that all her words ‎were true. And Jacob blessed Serach for singing these words before him, and he said: My ‎daughter, may death never prevail against thee forever, for thou hast revived my spirit, only ‎repeat thou this song once more before me, for thou hast caused me gladness with thy words. ‎And she sang once more the same words and Jacob listened, and he was pleased and he ‎rejoiced, and the spirit of God came over him. And while he was yet speaking with her, his ‎sons came before him with horses and chariots and royal garments and servants running ‎before them. And Jacob arose and went to meet them, and he saw his sons dressed in royal ‎garments and all the good things that Joseph sent unto them. And they said unto him: Be thou ‎informed that our brother Joseph liveth, and that he ruleth over the whole land of Egypt, and ‎it is he who hath spoken unto us all we have told unto thee. And Jacob heard all the words of ‎his sons and his heart fainted, for he believed them not, until he saw all that Joseph had given ‎unto them and all that Joseph had sent along with them, and all the signs he had spoken of ‎unto them. And they unpacked all the things before him, and they displayed all that Joseph ‎had sent, and they gave to every one of them what Joseph had sent him. And Jacob knew ‎that they had spoken the truth, and rejoiced greatly on account of his son.

The Gemara asks: And from where did Moses our teacher know where Joseph was buried? The Sages said: Serah, the daughter of Asher, remained from that generation that initially descended to Egypt with Jacob. Moses went to her and said to her: Do you know anything about where Joseph is buried? She said to him: The Egyptians fashioned a metal casket for him and set it in the Nile [Nilus] River as an augury so that its water would be blessed. Moses went and stood on the bank of the Nile. He said to Joseph: Joseph, Joseph, the time has arrived about which the Holy One, Blessed be He, took an oath saying that I, i.e., God, will redeem you. And the time for fulfillment of the oath that you administered to the Jewish people that they will bury you in Eretz Yisrael has arrived. If you show yourself, it is good, but if not, we are clear from your oath. Immediately, the casket of Joseph floated to the top of the water.

Nine people entered Gan Eden alive, namely: Enoch son of Jared, Elijah, the Messiah, Eliezer the servant of Abraham, Hiram king of Tyre and Eved-Melech the Ethiopian, Jabez the [grand]son of <Rabbi> Judah <HaNasi> (see I Chronicles 4:9-10), Batya the daughter of Pharaoh, and Serach bat Asher, and some say also Rabbi Joshua ben Levi.

Asher went and took Adun daughter of Apalel sone of Hadar son of Ishmael as his wife, and brought her to the land of Canaan. But Adun the wife of Asher died at that time without issue. After the death of Adun, Asher went across the River [Euphrates] and took Hadurah daughter of Avimal son of Ever son of Shem as his wife. Now the maiden was of comely appearance and intelligent, and she had been wife to Malchiel son of Elam son of Shem. Hadurah had borne a daughter to Malchiel, and he named her Serach. Malchiel died after that, and Hadurah returned to dwell in her father's house.

So it was, that after the death of Asher's wife he went and took Hadurah for a wife, and brought her to ‎the land of Canaan. And Serach her daughter came with her also, and she was three ‎years old; and the damsel was brought up in Jacob's house. And the damsel was of comely ‎appearance, and she went in the holy ways of the children of Jacob, lacking in no point, and the Lord gave her ‎wisdom and understanding. And Hadurah, the wife of Asher, conceived and bare unto him ‎Yimnah, and Yishvah, and Yishvi and Beriah; four sons.

(17) Rabbi Eliezer said: The five letters of the Torah, which alone of all the letters in the Torah are of double (shape), all appertain to the mystery of the Redemption. ... With "Pê" "Pê" Israel was redeemed from Egypt, as it is said, "I have surely visited you, (Paḳôd Paḳadti) and (seen) that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt" (Ex. iii. 16, 17). ... These letters were delivered only to our father Abraham. Our father Abraham delivered them to Isaac, and Isaac (delivered them) to Jacob, and Jacob delivered the mystery of the Redemption to Joseph, as it is said, "But God will surely visit (Paḳôd yiphḳôd) you" (Gen. 1. 24). Joseph his son delivered the secret of the Redemption to his brethren. Asher, the son of Jacob, delivered the mystery of the Redemption to Serach his daughter. When Moses and Aaron came to the elders of Israel and performed the signs in their sight, the elders of Israel went to Serach, the daughter of Asher, and they said to her: A certain man has come, and he has performed signs in our sight, thus and thus. She said to them: There is no reality in the signs. They said to her: He said "Paḳôd yiphḳôd"—"God will surely visit you" (ibid.). She said to them: He is the man who will redeem Israel in the future from Egypt, for thus did I hear, ("Paḳôd Paḳadti") "I have surely visited you" (Ex. iii. 16). Forthwith the people believed in their God and in His messenger, as it is said, "And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel" (ibid. iv. 31).

Seven people entered Gan Eden alive, namely: Serach, as it says, I am one of those who seek the welfare of the faithful in Israel. I am the one who completed the number of those who entered Gan Eden...

(1) A scoundrel named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the horn and proclaimed: “We have no portion in David, No share in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, O Israel!” (2) All the men of Israel left David and followed Sheba son of Bichri; but the men of Judah accompanied their king from the Jordan to Jerusalem. ... (14) [Sheba] had passed through all the tribes of Israel up to Abel of Beth-maacah; and all the Beerites assembled and followed him inside. (15) [Joab’s men] came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah; they threw up a siegemound against the city and it stood against the rampart. All the troops with Joab were engaged in battering the wall, (16) when a clever woman shouted from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come over here so I can talk to him.” (17) He approached her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “Yes,” he answered; and she said to him, “Listen to what your handmaid has to say.” “I’m listening,” he replied. (18) And she continued, “In olden times people used to say, ‘Let them inquire of Abel,’ and that was the end of the matter. (19) I am one of those who seek the welfare of the faithful in Israel. But you seek to bring death upon a mother city in Israel! Why should you destroy the LORD’s possession?” (20) Joab replied, “Far be it, far be it from me to destroy or to ruin! (21) Not at all! But a certain man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Sheba son of Bichri, has rebelled against King David. Just hand him alone over to us, and I will withdraw from the city.” The woman assured Joab, “His head shall be thrown over the wall to you.” (22) The woman came to all the people with her clever plan; and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it down to Joab. He then sounded the horn; all the men dispersed to their homes, and Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

(1) I am [of the] loyal and trustworthy in Israel. I am from the people of the city that are loyal and faithful to Israel and to the king. An Aggadic Midrash [states:] this was Serach, the daughter of Asher. I delivered the faithful to the faithful: Through me, the location of Joseph's coffin was revealed to Moses. I told Jacob that Joseph was alive.

All the souls belonging to Jacob ... were sixty-six. And the sons of Joseph ... were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob that came into Egypt were seventy souls (Gen. 46:26-7). R. Levi said in the name of R. Samuel b. Nahman: Have you ever seen a man give his neighbour sixty-six glasses, then give him another three, and count them seventy? But the extra one is Jochebed, who made up the number of Israel [to seventy] in Egypt. ...

Some say that Serah the daughter of Asher made up the number [of seventy]. Thus it is written, Then cried a wise woman out of the city: "Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come over here so I can talk to him.” He approached her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” Your name is Joab, meaning that you are a father (av) to Israel, whereas in fact you are just a reaper, and do not fit your name. Are you and David not scholars of Torah? Have words of Torah already come to an end? Is it not written, When you draw near to a city to to fight against it, offer it terms of peace (Deut. 20:10). "Who are you, then?" He asked her. I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel, She replied; It is I who made up the numbers of Israel in Egypt; it is I who delivered the faithful to the faithful: Joseph to Moses. Do you seek to destroy a city and I, who am a mother in Israel? Immediately Joab replied, “Far be it, far be it from me! He repeated far be it twice: far be it from David, far be it from Joab, far be it from the kingdom of the house of David. Not at all! But a certain man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Sheba son of Bichri, has rebelled against the King, against David. ... The woman assured Joab, "His head shall be thrown to you". How did she know this? She spoke thus: He who is insolent toward the royal house of David shall be decapitated by divine decree. Thereupon The woman came to all the people with her clever plan. "Do you not know David's record?" she urged them. "Which people has [successfully] resisted him, which kingdom has resisted him?" "What does he demand?" they asked her. "A thousand men," she replied, "and is it not better [to sacrifice] a thousand men than that your city be destroyed?" "Let everyone give according to his means," they proposed. "Perhaps he can be persuaded to forgo a little," she told them. She then pretended to go and appease him, and returned with the number reduced from a thousand to five hundred, then to one hundred, to ten, and finally to tone, who was a lodger there, and who was he? Sheba the son of Bichri. Forthwith, then they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri.

(5) Many women have done well (Proverbs 31:29): ... "She opens her mouth with wisdom" - this is the wise woman who said (II Samuel 20:16), “Listen, listen! Please tell Yoav, 'Come over here and I will speak to you,'” who saved the city with her wisdom; and this was Serach the daughter of Asher.

(2) They issued the ruling, and all the [other] students of the Yeshiva left. I requested permission, since [Shimon] Bar Yochai had asked the same question, and I was therefore shown what I had not known before: Oh, my teacher -- there were six chambers shown to me [though only four are described here], with so many delights and pleasures! These were from that curtain-divider and beyond, where no males at all may go up.

(11:13) Rabbi Johanan sat [in the teacher's seat] and expounded how the waters [of the Red Sea] became like a wall for Israel. Even as Rabbi Johanan was explaining that the wall of water looked like latticework, Serach bat Asher looked down [so Mandelbaum and Braude; Jastrow: "grew angry"] and said, "I was there, and the waters were, rather, like shining windows." [So Mandelbaum; Jastrow emends to istrophomata "like doors turning in sockets" and Braude emends to phasmata "something resembling [water]".]

(5) In another chamber, there is Serach bat Asher, and many myriads and thousands of women with her. Three times a day, the announcement comes: The likeness of Yosef the tzadik is coming! With joy she goes out, to that curtained area which is dedicated to her, and observes the light of the likeness of Yosef. With joy she bows before it, saying, "Happy was that day, when I gave the tidings before my grandfather [that you were still alive]!" Then she returns to the rest of the women, and they delve into the praises of the Ruler of the world, and praise the Name. How many places and joys each and every one of them has! Then they return and delve into the precepts of Torah, along with their meanings.