Weekly D'var

Parashat Pekudei
Paula Madansky

“You are not required to complete the task, however you are not free to withdraw from it.” 

This quote is from the Talmud, Pirkei Avot, Attributed to Rabbi Tarfon. One of the five rabbis we read about in the Maggid section of the Haggadah. 

The songwriter and performer, Shaina Taub, quoted this in her acceptance speech at the 2024 Tony awards. Her musical, which she also starred in, called Suffs, won the Tony that year for the best book and score. 23 members of my family and I were fortunate to see this show on Broadway last Thanksgiving weekend. It was beautiful, moving and educational. 

Suffs is not a comedy. It covers the years from 1913 until 1920. It tells the story of the Suffragists, women activists who took on the struggle for women’s suffrage. Their goal was that women’s right to vote would become an amendment to the Constitution. 

The story is told almost completely in song, and the quote from Pirkei Avot pops up in the lyrics several times. 

It is based on the book, Jailed for Freedom, by Doris Stevens who herself was one of the suffragists. It was originally published in 1920. They were a brave group of women led by Alice Paul who was played on stage by Shaina Taub. They took up the reins of a movement that had started to take root in England, and the US but with little success. Doris Stevens kept a detailed journal describing the obstacles and humiliations the women faced.

On March 13, 1913, the day before the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson to the presidency, 8000 women marched on Pennsylvania Avenue in a dramatic parade, accompanied by marching bands and floats intending to bring the issue of women' s right to vote to the attention of the public and the incoming administration. 

Subsequently, the women sent repeated delegations to President Wilson pleading with him to promote suffrage for women. He continually ignored and then refused them. 

In 1917 the Suffragists began to picket the White House.This was also the time of World War 1. In August 1917 they raised a banner chastizing the government for fighting to make the world safe for democracy while curtailing civil liberties at home. 

The book and the musical describe the continuing demonstrations the women held in front of the White House and their subsequent arrests. 

In jail, they suffered brutality and humiliation at the hands of their guards, all of which was played out on stage 

They were force fed when they went on a hunger strike. They slept in filthy cells with buckets in which to relieve themselves. They were denied bathing facilities, and changes of clothing. But they were determined to get the attention of the public and of President Wilson. 

In November of 1917 with the help of public opinion, the bedraggled prisoners sentences were commuted. 

But their struggle continued. After a few years President Wilson finally put the issue of womens’ suffrage up for a vote in the senate.

In a nailbiting scene, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees the right of every citizen to vote regardless of sex is finally ratified. The book and the play end in 1920. 

Tomorrow is 

Rosh Chodesh Nisan, on the 15th of Nisan we will celebrate Pesach. Again, our thoughts turn to Freedom. 

For a number of years, our family and many other families have placed special emphasis on the role women played in the Exodus, Moses, with the help of Aaron, did the heavy lifting but there were women without whom the exodus could not have taken place. 

There are Shifra and Puah, the midwives who refused to follow Pharoah’s order to kill the Hebrew baby boys at birth, claiming the Hebrew women gave birth without their help. 

There is Yocheved, Moses’ mother, who saved her baby by placing him in a small boat in the river hoping he’d be saved. There is Miriam, the baby’s sister who watched over him. There is Pharoah’s daughter, who adopted him knowing full well that he was a Hebrew baby. And again, Miriam who offered to bring Yochebed to be the baby’s wet nurse. And, who most likely instilled in him the knowledge that he was a Hebrew. 

Our Seder table always includes a Miriam’s cup filled with water as well as a Cup for Elijah. We take time at some point in our Seder to

acknowledge the role of women in our liberation and their continued heroic roles throughout our history. 

The First Seder is two weeks away. The task of preparing for Pesach has already begun. As we prepare, let’s remember the women who fought for suffrage, and all people who are continuing to fight for women’s rights. Let’s think about and support everyone who is fighting for people who are marginalized and living in fear. 

As Rabbi Tarfon said, 

“Lo alechah hamelachah ligmor, v-lo atah ben chorin l-hibatel mimenah.’ 

“You are not required to complete the task, however,you are not free to withdraw from it.” Let’s keep working at the task of ensuring freedom for all. 

And to acknowledge Parashat Pekudei. In the sixth aliyah we read that the Mishkan was dedicated on the first day of the first month in the second year of our freedom. Which is Rosh Chodesh Nisan. Tomorrow! 

I wish everyone Shabbat Shalom, and a sweet Kosher Pesach.