Merle Feld, "We All Stood Together"
for Rachel Adler
My brother and I were at Sinai.
He kept a journal
of what he saw
of what he heard
of what it all meant to him
I wish I had such a record
of what happened to me there
It seems like every time I want to write
I can’t
I’m always holding a baby
one of my own
or one for a friend
always holding a baby
so my hands are never free
to write things down
And then
As time passes
The particulars
The hard data
The who what when where why
Slip away from me
And all I’m left with is
The feeling
But feelings are just sounds
The vowel barking of a mute
My brother is so sure of what he heard
After all he’s got a record of it
Consonant after consonant after consonant
If we remembered it together
We could recreate holy time
Sparks flying
Nahum Sarna, JPS Torah Commentary on Genesis
"It is inconceivable that Jacob's 12 sons, who themselves had 53 sons in all, should have had only one daughter. In light of the general tendency to omit women from the geneologies, there must be some extraordinary reason for mentioning her in this particular one, although no hint of it is given in the text."
(24) At length, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” (25) So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”
Exodus Rabbah, 5:13
The Israelite people heard that the Eternal had visited - they believed because they heard, not because they saw the signs. What made them believe? The sign of God's visitation which He communicated to them, for they had this as a tradition from Jacob, Jacob having handed down the secret to Joseph, and Joseph to his brothers, while Asher, the son of Jacob, had handed down the secret to his daughter Serah, who was still alive.
This is what he told her: "Any redeemer that will come and say to my children: 'I will surely visit you,' shall be regarded as a true deliverer." When, therefore, Moses came and said these words, Serah said, "This is the man who will redeem Israel from Egypt for this is the secret password that I learned from my father."
(ט) ויכל יוסף לצוות אותם ויפן וישב מצרימה, ובני יעקב הלכו ארצה כנען בשמחה ובטובה אל יעקב אביהם. ויבואו עד גבול הארץ ויאמרו איש אל רעהו, מה נעשה בדבר הזה לפני אבינו. כי אם נבוא אליו פתאום ונגד לו הדבר ויבהל מאוד מדברינו, ולא יאבה לשמוע אלינו. וילכו להם עד קרבם אל בתיהם וימצאו את שרח בת אשר אשר יוצאת לקראתם, והנערה טובה עד מאוד וחכמה ויודעת לנגן בכינור. ויקראו אליה ותבוא אליהם ותשק להם, ויקחוה ויתנו לה כינור אחד לאמור. בואי נא לפני אבינו וישבת לפניו, והך בכינור ודיברת ואמרת כדברים האלה לפניו. ויצוו אותה ללכת אל ביתם, ותיקח הכינור ותמהר ותלך לפניהם ותשב אצל יעקב. ותיטיב הכינור ותנגן ותאמר בנועם דבריה, יוסף דודי חי הוא וכי הוא מושל בכל ארץ מצרים ולא מת. ותוסף ותנגן ותדבר כדברים האלה, וישמע יעקב את דבריה ויערב לו. וישמע עוד בדברה פעמיים ושלוש, ותבוא השמחה בלב יעקב מנועם דבריה ותהי עליו רוח אלוקים וידע כי כל דבריה נכונה. ויברך יעקב את שרח בדברה הדברים האלה לפניו ויאמר אליה, בתי אל ימשול מות בך עד עולם כי החיית את רוחי. אך דברי נא עוד לפניי כאשר דיברת, כי שמחתני בכל דברייך. ותוסף ותנגן כדברים האלה ויעקב שומע ויערב לו וישמח, ותהי עליו רוח אלוקים. עודנו מדבר עמה והנה בניו באו אליו בסוסים ומרכבות ובגדי מלכות, ועבדים רצים לפניהם. ויקם יעקב לקראתם וירא את בניו מלובשים בלבוש מלכות, וירא את כל הטובה אשר שלח יוסף אליהם. ויאמרו אליו, התבשר כי יוסף אחינו חי והוא המושל בכל ארץ מצרים, והוא אשר דיבר אלינו ככל אשר דיברנו אליך. וישמע יעקב את כל דברי בניו ויפג לבו אל דבריהם, כי לא האמין להם עד ראותו את כל אשר נתן להם יוסף ואשר שלח לו ואת כל האותות אשר דיבר יוסף אליהם. ויפתחו לפניו את שקיהם ויראוהו את כל אשר שלח יוסף, וידע יעקב כי נכונה דיברו וישמח מאוד על בנו. ויאמר יעקב, רב לי אשר עוד יוסף בני חי, עתה אלכה ואראנו בטרם אמות. ויגידו לו בניו את כל הקורות אותם.
(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 reigns 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.
According to Midrash Tanhuma, Beshalah 2, it was the immortal Hebrew wise-woman, Serah bat Asher, the granddaughter of the Patriarch Jacob, who yet again came to the rescue. Here is how the ancient midrash might be expansively re-imagined:
Serah led Moses to the banks of the Nile and said "My voice is weak with age, and your voice is thick and your speech heavy. But perhaps you can find the words to make Joseph hear again”. Moses gazed into the dark waters of the river until words welled up from within him. Stretching forth his staff out over the still waters, he cried out: "Joseph, son of Jacob! The oath our forefathers swore to inter your bones in our homeland has finally come. And we are poised to go there now! But we cannot end our enslavement in Egypt without you!”. Still, the waters remained unmoved.
Then, Serah, reaching into folds of her robe, pulled forth a gold pendant. Embossed on it was the head of a horned bull and below were incised, in ancient Hebrew characters the words: Aleh Shor "Arise, Oh Bull". Immediately, Moses understood what he must do. He took the pendant and cast it with all his might. As it arched out over the waters of the Nile, he cried out the words: Aleh Shor! Now, thunder rolled, lightning flashed in the heavens and the waters of the Nile began to ripple. Slowly, a magnificent Egyptian sarcophagus, adorned with the head of a horned bull, appeared and floated up to the surface. Moses wadded into the river and shouldered Joseph's coffin. As he slowly made his way to what lay ahead, Moses bowed slightly, not only from the weight of the holy burden he bore, but also in deep humility and gratitude to the undying Serah bat Asher.