Jewish Women Who Understood the Assignment
Bedtime Stories for Strong Jewish Girls tells the stories of 50 women throughout history who changed the world
Starting a new tradition here on the Drop where I begin by sharing a Hebrew (or any Jewish language) word I learned this week, since I am aggressively learning Hebrew and want to share my journey with all of you!
This week’s word is metoraf / מטורף (fem. metorefet מטורפת), which means “crazy” to describe something unbelievable. I saw some Israelis write it on social media this week to describe the damage inflicted on buildings by Iranian missiles and hadn’t recognized the word. Now I will, and you will too!
This week was International Women’s Day! Lately, we’ve been inspired by strong women, from brave Iranians risking their lives to protest the regime in the streets and the 30 female Israeli pilots partaking in the strikes on regime sites, to Queen Esther’s leadership which we celebrated on Purim.
These women understood the assignment, as Gen Z would say. Specifically, in Jewish history, there’s women who have accomplished amazing things while fully and proudly embracing their Judaism, unlike women in history who are amazing and just happen to be Jewish. Good for them, but they’re not the focus of this Drop.
I learned about dozens of these women in a new-ish book: Bedtime Stories for Strong Jewish Girls: Tales of 50 Jewish Heroines Who Changed the World by Melanie Goldberg Silver, illustrated by Jess Goldsmith.
This collection contains 50 snapshots of trailblazing women throughout history, each paired with a colorful illustrated portrait. The featured women range from ice skaters and chess players to Talmud scholars and resistance fighters.
And this beautiful hardcover book is not just for children! Out of the 50 women, I was surprised to find I had only heard of three: prophetess Devorah, Hadassah founder and pioneer Henrietta Szold, and singer Ofra Haza. I enjoy flipping through this book and choosing a leading lady to learn about in under five minutes, someone who was brave, or smart, or dedicated enough to live forever in these pages. It’s really the perfect gift for a special gal in your life (my dear niece, I’m thinking of you even though you can’t read this yet!).
Here’s a word from the author, Melanie:
“I wrote this book when I had my first daughter and couldn’t find a book to inspire her about the legacy of strong Jewish women she was joining. I then realized that I too knew less about this history than I would’ve liked. So I started researching and got to work.
The most fun part about the book was narrowing down the list. If I only had time to write about 50 women, who would I want to inspire my children? I decided that the 50 I would choose had to meet the following parameters: (1) they had to be of diverse cultures and eras (Sephardic and Ashkenazi, biblical to the 20th century), (2) their stories had to be complete (meaning they had to be deceased), (3) they had to have a diversity of professions (from race car driver to physician, queen to Olympian), (4) their Judaism needed to be central to their lives and not a mere anecdote, and (5) they had to be more than their profession: a doting mother, a caring wife, a central part of their local community to build something greater than themselves.These would be the women to inspire the youngest of readers. And, instead of reading like magazine interviews or Wikipedia pages (which similar books that popped up during the five years it took to complete my book did), I would make sure to write their stories to read like those of the imaginary princesses girls seemed to love so much.”
So, to share some of these legacies with you, here are three stories from the book - click to enlarge each photo!
Glückel of Hameln, Memoirist Matriarch (1645-1724)
Eta Wrobel, Partisan Hero (1916-2008)
Éva Székely, Unapologetically Jewish Fish (1927-2020)
Get Bedtime Stories for Strong Jewish Girls for all the girls in your life here!
✨ Jewish Joy of the Week (yes, another new section!)
I dined at Motek, the Miami-based Israeli restaurant. Not only were the dishes like the crispy schnitzel sandwich on challah and juicy beef-and-lamb arayes delicious, but it was joyful to see servers walking around the crowded restaurant with Hebrew letters on their shirts and bags of Bamba lining the bar.
Tell me your Jewish joy of the week in the comments!
Shabbat Shalom,
💧If you’re interested in strong Jewish women, check out this Drop:
Jew Ho! The Jewish Bollywood Drop
Throughout most of March, I’m going to highlight Jewish women in history who have made an impact on society, challenged norms, shook things up, and inspired many while wearing their Judaism on their sleeve. Our first Jewish woman was Bollywood’s leading lady, Ruby Myers, otherwise known as Sulochana.
Courage: Let the Queens Show Us How It's Done
In the Purim story, we see two distinct models of resistance from Vashti and Esther. Vashti’s defiance is immediate and public, while Esther conceals her identity for much of the story. Both methods require bravery, a deep sense of self-awareness, and an unwavering commitment to their principles. This week, I’ve been reflecting on these two leadership styles in the context of recent encounters with antisemitism.
Definitely a good thing to have. My wife and I raised two daughters and we have been blessed to see them grow into mature, accomplished Jewish women. When our kids were young, reading at bedtime was part of the routine, and now they do it with their kids. When our first daughter was 5 or so, I wanted something along the lines of a strong Jewish woman. So, I read her the story of Deborah (spread over multiple nights), out of Judges 4-5. The best part was in Judges 4:17-24, where Yael whacked the Canaanite general, Sisera. Sort of like the Sopranos, only messier. It was a teaching moment that sometimes you have to show strength and do what you have to do.
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