 was the daughter of Asher. She is only
mentioned in the Torah in the list of the seventy souls of Yacov's family
who descended into Egypt (Genesis 46:17; Numbers 26:46; I Chronicles
7:30). However, we know that whenever a person merited mentioning, there
was good reason. Serach's story is told in the Midrashim, which tell a
wonderful story of a little known heroine in Jewish history. Serach's
fascinating story has captured the imagination of the Jewish People
throughout history. However, there is much depth to Serach, and the
message of her life is one of the truth overcoming lies, of life and
redemption.
Just before they
arrived at home, the brothers began to consider what to do now. If they
suddenly came and told their father that Yosef was still alive, he might
die of shock. Yacov had been mourning Yosef for so many years; now they
would have to break the good news that he was still alive, occupying a
high position in Egypt.
While they were
discussing the problem, Asher's daughter Serach came by. The brothers knew
that she was an extremely intelligent young girl. After greeting her, the
brothers said, "We have an important favor to ask of you. Take your harp
and sing a song to Father. In the middle of the song mix in the words,
'Yosef is alive. He is ruler of all the land of Egypt.' Do not pronounce
the words clearly; let them be swallowed up by the song. Do it so that
Father will not realize what you are saying until you have sung it many
times. Let every refrain end with those words." The brothers had made an
oath that no one should tell that they sold Yosef, and that anyone who
violated this oath should be excommunicated. They now sat down and
annulled this oath so that they would be able to tell Yacov that Yosef was
still alive.
Serach took her harp
and went to Yacov, singing a very beautiful, haunting melody. She sang
that Yosef was alive and a ruler in Egypt; and although she did not sing
the words clearly, Yacov heard them and began to pay attention. Each time
he caught the words more and more clearly, and soon he began to understand
that she was trying to tell him that Yosef was still alive.
At this point the
brothers appeared. They had sent word through their servants that they had
arrived, and now Yacov saw them returning dressed magnificently. The
brothers had sent Naphtali ahead with the news, since he was a very fast
runner. (When he arrived, however, he apparently did not go in to see
Yacov until his brothers arrived, and transmitted the message through
Serach.)
Yacov blessed Asher's
daughter Serach, "You brought my heart back to life with your good news
and your beautiful melody. May you live forever and never die." His
blessing came true; Serach was one of the individuals who entered Paradise
alive.
Serach can be understood to suggest abundant life.
Serach's name means "abundance" and is also very similar to, and a form
of, "Sarah", which means "princess". The difference between the two names
is that the last letter is a  (chet)
rather than a  (heh). The chet is the
letter in the Hebrew alphabet that stands for life (chai). Yacov blessed
her: "May you live forever and never die." Legend tells us that she
lived into the time of King David and then became one of the few souls who
went into Gan Eden alive, fulfilling her grandfather's blessing that she
would never taste of death.
Yacov's blessing was highly significant for the merit of her act.
Midah neged midah, the blessing fit the deed. When Yacov thought
Yosef was dead, his grief was so great that he became as dead himself. His
spirit was so low that the Ruach Hakodesh left him; his spirit withered
and died within him. Serach's words restored the Ruach Hakodesh to
him--quite literally resurrecting him from the dead. The first mitzvah is
to love G-d. We strive to love Him, loving our neighbors, communing with
him on an upper soul level, then ultimately we may reach that highest
place of loving Him, of His living through us, that translates into "life
of life". This is the level of being able to speak life even into the
dead. Lies bring death; truth negates that and restores life. When Serach
spoke the truth, the words of her mouth had the power to resurrect Yacov
from his spiritual death. This power of speech to life is one of the
secrets of the chet in Serach's name.
The chet is formed with a bridge joining the two legs; this bridge is
called the "hunchback". In Rebbe Nachman of Breslov's story "Seven
Beggars", one of the beggars is a hunchback. He says that he has the
ability of "little holding much", for he can lift the Torah with his back.
Torah is life and truth. Serach, a little girl, "lifted" first Yacov and
then later Moshe, both whom are representative of Torah and truth.
Serach was "bat Asher", daughter of Asher. Leah had called herself
fortunate and happy at Asher's birth. Serach, too, was a daughter of joy
and happiness. Her spiritual joy flowed through her soft song and enthused
Yacov with new joy of his salvation, just as King David would one day sing
psalms with his harp and ask to have the joy of his salvation restored to
him. Serach's song came from a spiritual level where there is only joy; no
sorrow or sadness can exist there at all, for it is the place of the
Divine Presence, of the Throne of Hashem. Her joyous melody repaired the
violent damage that had been done to Yacov's soul. "Yosef is alive; he is
a ruler over Egypt." Her soft words poured into her grandfather like a
healing balm from heaven. |
Asher's sons: Imnah, Ishvah,
Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serach.
--Genesis 46:17
(The brothers) went up from
Egypt, and they came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob.
--Genesis 45:25
They told him, "Yosef is still
alive. He is ruler over all the land of Egypt." Yacov's heart became numb,
for he could not believe them. They related to him all the words that
Yosef had spoken to him, and he saw the wagons that Yosef had sent to
carry him. The spirit of their father Yacov was then revived. Israel said,
"It's too much! My son Yosef is alive! I must go and see him before I
die!"
-Genesis 45:26-28
|
***
Until then, the
Israelites assumed that it was very unlikely that they would be freed
during their lifetimes. G-d had told Avraham that his offspring would be
subjugated for four hundred years, and they had only been in Egypt 210
years. Moshe now explained to them that the time had already come for them
to be freed. Moses' words are alluded to in the verse, (which can be
translated) "They heard that G-d had counted (pakad) the children of
Israel, and that He had seen their misery." G-d had counted the
Israelites, and had seen that they had increased in a totally abnormal
manner. Because of their great number, it could be counted as if their
period of exile had come to an end. For if one thousand people were
destined to be subjugated for 400 years, then two thousand people should
only be subjugated for 200 years.
Secondly, G-d had
seen their misery. G-d had only promised Avraham that the Egyptians would
"enslave and oppress them" (Genesis 15:13). The Egyptians, however, went
far beyond this in making the Israelites suffer. Therefore, the few years
that they had been enslaved would be counted as many. Hearing Moshe's
argument, the people believed in his mission. They bowed their heads to
show respect for Moshe, and prostrated themselves on the ground, thanking
G-d for remembering them.
The people also
prostrated themselves because they had heard the Explicit Name (Shem
HaMeforash) from Aharon's lips. This alone would be enough to convince
them, even without any other signs. Still, the two brothers performed the
three prescribed signs: the staff being transformed into a serpent, Moses'
hand becoming leprous, and the water transmuted into blood.
When G-d had told
Moshe to bring along Aharon as a spokesman, he instructed that Aharon
should perform all three wonders, whether the people believe at first or
not. G-d wanted to accustom Aharon to performing miracles in public, so
that when he had to do so before Pharaoh, he would be able to do so
effectively. The performance of a miracle involved extremely deep
meditation, and if Aharon had to do so for the first time in Pharaoh's
presence, he might not be able to concentrate out of fear of the king.
The Torah states that
"the people heard that G-d had kept in mind [pakad] the children of
Israel." The pakad [  ] alludes to the key
phrase, pakod pakad-ti [  ] that the
Israelites knew by tradition would be uttered by their true redeemer. G-d
had made Moshe leave Egypt while still a minor, so that people would not
be able to say that he learned this key phrase from his father, Amram.
Since Aharon was one of the main Israelite leaders, it was obvious that he
would know this phrase. One may wonder why the people did not suspect that
he taught Moshe the secret phrase.
But Aharon was well
known to the people, and they had no reason to suspect him. They clearly
saw that Aharon was not saying anything on his own, but merely
transmitting the words that Moshe said to him. Moshe would say each thing
quietly to Aharon, and he would relate it to the people. It Aharon wanted
to use the key phrase falsely, he would have no reason to let himself be
secondary to his brother, Moshe. If he wanted to resort to falsehood, he
could have maintained the primary position for himself.
Furthermore, the
people knew that Aharon was a true prophet, and that he had been their
teacher for many decades now. This was enough to let them trust him. Since
Aharon was Moshe's spokesman, they believed that Moshe was G-d's emissary
without any question.
According to another
opinion, Moshe's staff itself miraculously spoke to the people and said,
"When I was in Midian, I was transformed and became a serpent." Moshe's
arm also miraculously spoke up and said, "I suddenly became covered with
leprosy, and then just as quickly, I returned to normal."
G-d did this to avoid
embarrassing Moshe. These two signs-the staff turning into a snake and
Moshe's arm becoming leprous-were signs that Moshe had slandered the
Israelites. When this happened, however, Moshe was alone. Now, G-d did not
want Moshe's hand to become leprous before all the people. He therefore
made both the staff and Moshe's arm speak up and tell about the miracles.
G-d therefore
literally told Moshe, "If they do not believe you and do not listen to the
voice (le-kol) of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the
latter sign" (Exodus 4:8). G-d spoke of the "voices" of the two signs to
indicate that both the staff and Moshe's arm would speak.
The Torah therefore
states here, "He performed the signs before the people." The signs were
that both the staff and Moshe's arm miraculously spoke. After this, the
Israelite elders went to Asher's daugher, Serach, and told her, "A man
came, claiming to be G-d's emissary. He performed miracles before our very
eyes."
"It means nothing,"
replied the ancient woman.
"But he recited the
key words, pakod pakad-ti."
"In that case, he is
the true redeemer. I have received such tradition from my father."
In this manner, the
people knew that Moshe was G-d's true emissary. Although anyone could have
said the words pakod pakad-ti, Yosef had told his brothers that there was
a Divine promise that no one would ever dare to use those words falsely.
One may question the reason for this phrase in particular to be used. Any
sign would be sufficient. The two words, pakod pakad-ti, indicated that
there were two reasons that the Israelites would be redeemed before four
hundred years of subjugation: first because they were many, and second,
because they were treated so harshly. Moshe explained to the people that
this was the meaning of the phrase, pakod pakad-ti, and the people
believed him.
Serach pointed to the redeemer. Yosef was not dead. Rather, he
was alive and a ruler over all of Egypt, where he had prepared a place for
the family's survival, a place where the family would be redeemed from the
famine that had stricken the world. Moshe came to deliver the people from
the hand of Pharaoh. Again Serach pointed to him as the redeemer sent to
miraculously save the children of Israel from oppression and death. The
time of redemption was uncertain, but Serach's confirmation of Moshe's
words settled all doubts. The time was at hand. She remembered the
prophetic words of her fathers and reminded the people of the promise G-d
had made to the Patriarchs. As she had played her harp and softly sung to
Yacov, she was even yet the still, small voice of certain hope of the
redemption. The oppression was over; the enemy's time of accounting had
finally come; G-d's salvation would soon be realized in their day. "Do not
lose hope, oh Israel. Our fathers' faith was not for naught. Hashem has
not forgotten us. Soon, yes, very soon, we will see our redemption
wondrously wrought with His mighty, outstretched arm! Here, see, our
redeemer is even now at hand."
|
Moshe and Aharon went, and they gathered all the elders of the
children of Israel. Aharon related all the words that G-d had spoken to
Moses, and he performed the signs before the people. The people believed.
They had heard that G-d had kept the children of Israel in mind, and that
He had seen their misery.
- Exodus 4:29-31
|
***
On the night of the
Exodus, all the Israelites were engaged in amassing treasures of silver
and gold. Moses, however, had another mission. For three full days, now,
he had been looking for the body of Yosef. Yosef had bound the Israelites
by an oath that when G-d brought them out of Egypt, they were to take his
body with them (Genesis 50:25).
On the night of the
Exodus, Moshe finally encountered the ancient Serach, daughter of Asher,
who had come to Egypt with Yacov. "Moshe, my master, " she said, "why are
you so exhausted?"
"I have spent the
last three days and nights looking for Yosef's remains. No one seems to
know what become of them."
"I know where he is.
Come with me and I will show you."
With that, she led
Moshe to a certain spot along the Nile. "This is where Yosef is. The
Egyptians placed him in a lead casket weighing over five tons, and placed
it here on the bottom of the Nile. They felt that Yosef had the key to
fertility, and felt that if he were here, the Nile would rise high and
irrigate their crops well. "Besides, the Egyptians knew of the oath that
we made to Yosef, not to leave without his body. They felt that with him
under the Nile, his body would be irretrievable, and we would never be
able to leave."
Moshe looked out at
the place where Yosef was under the waters of the Nile. In a loud voice he
said, "Yosef, Yosef, once you made our people swear that they would not
leave this land without your body. The time has now come when G-d is
freeing His people. Everything is prepared for us to leave. Even the
Divine Presence and the Clouds of Glory are waiting for you. We have no
other reason to remain now. "You have a great deal of merit; if you pray
to G-d to release you from your watery prison, he will hear you. If you do
not and we cannot find you, we will be exempt from our oath."
As soon as Moshe
finished speaking, the huge casket floated up to the top of the water.
Moshe edged it toward the shore and pried it open, removing the inner
coffin containing Yosef's remains. At the Exodus, the Israelites would all
be carrying gold and silver treasures. Moshe, however, would be leading
them carrying a greater treasure-the body of Yosef.
According to another
opinion, Moshe took a clean piece of pottery, wrote G-d's mystical Name on
it, and threw it into the Nile, raising Yosef's casket to the surface.
All through their
journeys in the desert, the Israelites took along Yosef's casket. Later,
when they made the ark of the covenant, holding the tablets of the Ten
Commandments, the two would be carried side by side. When bedouins asked
the Israelites what the two boxes were, they would reply, "One is the ark
of the dead, and the other is the ark of the Living G-d." When people
would question the propriety of carrying them together, the Israelites
would reply, "The man in one ark kept everything in the second ark. He
kept everything in the Torah, and therefore deserves to be carried
alongside its ark."
Serach stood against the lie of the idolaters. The Egyptians had
sunk Yosef's coffin on the bottom of the Nile, an attempt to keep the
Israelites from finding him. After Yosef had saved Egypt from the famine
and turned the nation into the power of the earth, the Egyptians quite
probably attributed deity to him. The presence of his coffin in the Nile,
which they also worshipped as the source of life, was very logical for
them. They would have resisted any attempt to remove his body from their
land. Therefore the place of his burial was concealed by the magicians.
Serach exposed this lie, the lie of the pagans, as she led Moshe to the
burial place in the Nile. Just as her words restored Yosef to his family
during life, they would now restore him to his family and Land so his
presence could continue to be a part of the Israel. "Rise up, rise up, oh
Shor!" Moshe cried. Yosef, the redeemer of his family, would be born up to
the Land by the redeemer of his people.
Serach bat Asher lives on in our memory as the most dynamic example of
the power of truth over lies--literally overcoming death with the words of
her mouth. She is the immortal tzaddikes, who stands for truth and life,
forever pointing to the redeemer of her people.
by Miriam Ben-Yaacov
________________________________
Midrashim are quoted from
Me'am Loez (the Torah Anthology by Rabbi Yaakov Culi)
For other articles about Serach see these interesting links:
A Lady of Legend Serah Bat
Asher
Joseph's
Bones and the Language of Redemption
The Name
Serach |
Moshe took
Yosef's bones with him. Yosef had bound the Israelites by an oath: "G-d
will definitely remember you, and then you must bring my bones out of here
with you."
-Exodus 13:19
|
