In Praise of the Women of Israel

The men accompanied the women all who were willing of heart brought bracelets, earrings, finger rings, and body ornaments, all made of gold; so did every man who presented a wave offering of gold  to God.                               Exodus 35:22

            The verse teaches the praise of the women of Israel. Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra (and following him, Naḥmanides and Rabbeinu Beḥayye) explains that the verse intends that the donations of the women preceded those of the men. Naḥmanides phrases the point thus: “the women were there first, and the men were secondary.”

            The donations of the women of Israel for the construction of the Tabernacle stand in contrast to the sin of the golden calf. In response to the nation’s demand “Come, make us gods to lead us,” [Exodus 32:1] Aaron the High Priest responded “Remove the rings from the ears of your wives and children.” [ibid. 2] In practice, “All the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.” [ibid. 3] Da’at Zekeinim of the Tosafists comments that the word translated “took off” is in the reflexive form, indicating that he men forcibly took their wives’ earrings. (Therefore, the more exact translation would be “they had their earrings removed.”) Thus, in contrast to the women’s refusal to contribute to making the golden calf, they now gave their jewelry “with alacrity, joy and good heart.” [Pa’aneaḥ Raza (Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Yehuda haLevi, one of the later Tosafists – late 13^th century c.e.)]

            On the assumption that the women of Israel did not worship the golden calf, there is an additional significant distinction between the women’s donation to the Tabernacle and the donations of the men. Kli Yakar notes that the men needed to donate their jewelry as a matter of atonement for their souls in the aftermath of the sin of the golden calf, while the women who did not contribute to making the golden calf had no need for atonement. Thus, the women’s donations to the Tabernacle were purely for the sake of Heaven.

            The Torah adds praise for the women of Israel when it states: “Every skilled woman put her hand to spinning and they (all) brought the spun yarn of sky-blue wool, dark red wool, crimson wool, and fine linen.” Meshivat Nefesh (Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Aharon Luria [1440 – 1514]) comments that the women did not satisfy themselves with merely bringing donations, but appreciated the mitzva to the extent of bringing their own handiwork. Indeed, haK’tav v’haKabala (Rabbi Ya’akov Zvi Mecklenberg [1785 – 1865]) adds that the words “put her hand to” are apparently superfluous, but are intended to stress that the spinning was the work of the women’s own hands, they did not purchase spun wool from others, nor did they hire others to spin the wool, rather they themselves spun the wool as a demonstration of their love of the mitzva. Meshivat Nefesh concludes that in their deeds the women of Israel realized love of God “with all their hearts, all their souls and all their might.” [Deuteronomy 6:5, the second verse of Shema Yisrael]