He accepts their explanation but ups the ante by no longer disguising his evil design, commanding his people to toss every Jewish male now openly into the river.

Rashi, quoting the Midrash, cites the Talmud’s interpretation on the word used to describe their proficiency in birthing their children without any assistance — חיות, in its most literal meaning — beasts of the field, which require no midwifery.

Many of the tribes are indeed compared to beasts of the field; Yehuda to a lion cub; Binyamin, a predatory wolf; Yosef, an ox-like sovereignty; Naftali — swift as a gazelle, alluding to this additional beastlike quality, to birth independently, as well.

Are we to take this literally? Have Jewish women lost this unique skill? Was this original talent a top-secret unknown to Pharaoh? Did he really accept their excuse? Clearly there was no repercussion for the midwives, indicating some level of acceptance.

In addition to the extraordinary resourcefulness of the Jewish mothers in giving birth unassisted, there was another even more remarkable miracle. We are taught that the bearing of sextuplets was a regular occurrence, attributing to the uncanny proliferation of Jewish children despite Pharaoh’s efforts to stifle their growth. There is an opinion that the women carried sixty fetuses per pregnancy, resulting in sixty infants per birth.

The Saintly Maharal, takes note that all the numbers associated with the national body of the Jewish nation revolves around the number six. From the description of the birth of ששה בכרס אחד — six fetuses in one womb, to the six hundred thousand souls who made the exodus from Egypt and stood at Mount Sinai.

Six, he explains, represents the complete reality of the physical realm we occupy. A three-dimensional world must consist of length and width, plus depth and height — six directions: right, left, forward and backward, up, and down. (גבורות פ' יב)

It encompasses us wholly, but is only as complete as we promote the oneness of that world in perfect consonance to the will of G-d. When every component of that space called reality, reflects in our every movement and action a consciousness of His will, that is when its ‘unity’, its oneness, is complete.

Elsewhere he adds, that the sixth letter of the Alef Bais — ו, a straight, vertical line. This vertical straightness is a sign of perfect truth, of one who does not stray from the truth to either side. It represents those who are true and loyal to their Creator and fit to be the leaders of the Jewish people. A vertical line may also be viewed as a pillar, representing אמת — truth, that supports others and the world. (דרך חיים ב יד)

It first appears in the very first verse in Torah where it serves to connect, perfectly, את השמים — the heavens, ואת הארץ — and the earth.

The Maharal points out that it for this reason our twice daily declaration of Shma, the absolute acceptance of G-d’s sovereignty, consists of six words, conveying this very idea — to unite the three-dimensional earth and all its components, in perfect harmony with heavenly direction and influence.

Why is this lesson enmeshed with the verse that retells the miraculous multiple births in Egypt?

When Yaakov sought to reveal to his children when Moshiach will arrive, the Divine Presence deserted him. He thought it was due to an impurity within his progeny that made them unworthy of sharing that secret. He questioned his children whether this is so, and they in unison responded their allegiance by declaring Shma Yisroel... Just as in your heart G-d is One, so in our heart there is only One! Yaakov then replied with great relief, Boruch Shem... for ever and ever.

We read at the beginning of Shemos how until the very last son of Yaakov died, we flourished. With the death of the very last brother, their spiritual descent began.

What was suddenly missing that we suddenly became so vulnerable to our enemies?

The Talmud reports how Mar Ukva was being taunted by certain people and he wanted to report them to the authorities and have them punished. He inquired of Rebbe Elazar whether he would be justified. Rebbe Elazar directed him to a verse in Tehillim: Wait silently for the salvation of G-d and wait longingly for Him. (תהלים לז ז)

He directed Mar Ukva to resign himself to the Lord, do not do anything, and He will strike them down as many corpses. השכם והערב — Rise before and stay later than them in your visits to the study hall, and they will disappear on their own.

This same exact phrase, השכם והערב — Rise before and stay later, appears when Goliath taunts the Jewish nation, early in the morning and in the evening. The Talmud states that he sought to frighten them each morning as they recited the Shma, and during their evening recitation of Shma, in order to foil their intentions to defeat him.

It has been suggested that in the episode of Mar Ukva, it was the power of the reading of Shma, that he was told would cause his tormentors to fall.

If the declaration of G-d’s dominion over all was equal to that of Yaakov, we were assured that our enemies will become powerless. In a world that resonates with the living embodiment of G-d’s absolute sovereignty and will, they simply cannot exist.

The Rashba describes the true expression of Shma and its declaration of G-d’s oneness in the following manner: ...to put our mind that He is One and He is our Lord, that we are obligated to give our lives, desires, and possessions for His Name. We must conclude and absolutely agree... that we simply cannot escape his dominion and hold back from doing His will. We must be like one who loves and pines to fulfill His will and discover exquisite honor and pleasure in that pursuit. (תשובות ח"ה נה)

The Vilna Gaon in his commentary on Avos alludes to this tactic advised to Mar Ukva, based on the verse in Tehillim, as the source for what is expressed in the Mishna that states: Nullify your will before His will, so that He will nullify the will of others before your will. (אבות ב ד)

The measure of whether one fulfills mitzvos perfunctorily or with an eagerness that is instinctive to one who pines to fulfill the beck and call of the One, one loves, is evident in the attitude to rise before and stay later, or simply do whatever it takes. (Based on a Shmuz of HaRav Dovid Breslauer)

One of the great Tzadikkim who perished in the holocaust, Rav Shem Klinberg, Hy”d, directs us to the sentiment the midwives expressed to Pharaoh, when defending themselves.

‘Because the Hebrew women are unlike the Egyptian women, for they are חיות — experts; בטרם — before the midwife comes to them, they have already given birth.’

He says the key word is בטרם — before. We must be בטרם Jews, eager to connect with zeal and love, driven to His will.

The instincts of the beasts of the field, represent the ‘natural’ abilities one is equipped with when living in true ‘reality’. Beasts, lack free-will and are imbued with healthy instinct. We make choices. It is precisely the poor choices man has made that de-constructed an otherwise perfect world and led the world to suffering and contention. When we right the world, by striving to promote the Will of G-d, recreating true ‘reality’, our enemies fall away, for G-d will nullify those who seek to tear away His presence, and those who represent Him.

Rashi brings one last verse to prove the ‘beastlike’ ability to birth alone.

Yechezkel laments the lost quality of the Jewish nation who is described as אִמְךָ לְבִיָא — Your mother a lioness.

Bilaam also depicts us as, a people who כלביא יקום — arise like a lion cub. (במדבר כג כד)

Rashi adds: When they awaken from their sleep in the morning, they show the vigor of a lioness and a lion in grasping mitzvoth, to don a tallis, recite the Shma and put on tefillin.

Yocheved, the chief midwife, was the completion of the seventy core souls that descended to Egypt, who was born as they arrived ‘between the walls.'

The mystical teachings reveal that the enlarged letter ע that appears in the Torah at the end of the first word of שמע, alludes to Yocheved, whose letters of her name יוכבד, spell כבודי — My honor.

She carried the last vestige of purity of mission that the brothers represented in expressing, Just as in your heart G-d is One, so in our heart there is only One!

She stood fearlessly, confidently and convincingly before Pharoah, teaching him the lesson of those who live a life of בטרם, knowing that when we reflect the honor of G-d, submerging our personal drives, willing to risk it for a G-d we love, we can rest assured that He will nullify the will of others before your will!

באהבה,

צבי יהודה טייכמאן