By Teresa Samtur, WLCJ Recording Secretary and Garden State Region Immediate Past President
“She opens her mouth with wisdom; And the law of kindness is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:27
My mother-in-law, Evelyn Samtur, z”l, was loving, kind, outspoken and fearless. She was protective of her family and a force of nature. When she told me the story of how her mother, Miriam, came to the United Stated in 1905 – by herself – on a steamship – at twelve years old! to live on a dairy farm with her aunt and uncle in New Jersey. I knew the apple had not fallen far from the tree! Her father was a butcher so she taught me the best cuts of meat to buy, how to cook a brisket, and how to kasher my kitchen for Passover.
Evelyn liked dressing well and wearing fine jewelry. I felt honored that she let me borrow her pearl earrings when I married her son almost 48 years ago.
Evelyn Samtur was someone you could turn to, she was an Eshet Chayil.
I am sharing these memories of my precious mother-in-law because in Parashat Ki Tisa, we read about the Israelite women, their jewelry and the making of the Golden Calf.
The Israelites, fearful and thinking that something bad had happened to Moses while on the mountain, ask Aaron to make a Golden Calf to worship. Aaron responds saying, “[You men,] take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” (Exodus 32:2).
According to tradition (Midrash Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer 45), Aaron tells the men to take the rings from their wives, thinking the women will refuse out of vanity. However, the women refuse, “not because of vanity, but because they were pious. They say to their husbands: Should we make a calf which is an abomination and has no power to save us? We will not listen to you!” The Midrash goes on to say the women were rewarded with an extra day off from work, once a month, to observe Rosh Chodesh. As a further reward for being faithful, the sages say that every woman (except Miriam) was allowed to enter the Promised Land.
I am grateful to have learned of these Midrashim (rabbinic legends). I cannot conceive of all the memories, traditions and wisdom that would have been lost without the grandmothers, and great-grandmothers. Who would pass down their stories of slavery in Egypt, the difficulties in the desert and of the revelation at Mt. Sinai? Who would tend the sick, feed the hungry or soothe a fussy child? We learn these things from our mothers and grandmothers just as they learned them from theirs.
March is Women’s History Month and WLCJ has several resources to learn about Jewish women who have influenced our lives and Women’s League. Lisa (Kogen) Ellison has already presented two programs on the 100-year history of Women’s League. Her next program, WL Archives: A League of Our Own, Part 3 is Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET. In the meantime, you can watch recordings of Part 1 & Part 2, which can be found in the Education folder on the WLCJ Member Document page.
On a side note, a few years ago I bought a used copy of The Five Books of Miriam– A Women’s Commentary on the Torah, by Ellen Frankel, Ph.D. It is a great resource for a woman’s perspective on the weekly parshiyot.
Shabbat Shalom,
Teresa Samtur
tsamtur@wlcj.org
