There may not be a cure,
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The Big Story

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• diabetic eye care
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• full service eye center (optical/contact lenses)

Charlotte Liioi Hartzell, M.D.
John C. Hart Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.
Brian R. Sygiel, M.D.

For more information or to make an appointment, please call:

0 1 1 1 1 .1

ASSOCIATES IN OPHTHALMOLOGY, P.C.

248-855-1020

Beaumont Medical Building • 6900 Orchard Lake Rd., Suite 307, W. Bloomfield

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MICHIGAN HERITAGE

Let us lend a hand

of direct combat. This Jewish mom
with an attitude delights in victory
and savors the derails of her enemies'
defeat.
"I, myself, trampled them with
power!" she lustily sings.
At the same time, Deborah gives
credit where it is due. Yael, she
sings, smashed the head of Sisera,
bringing down the mighty warrior.
(One can imagine, in today's parl-
ance, Deborah exclaiming, "You go,
girl!")
Deborah's song ends as she imag-
ines what Sisera's mother must be
thinking. Deborah is as caustic as
she is brave.
Mama Sisera looks out the window
and wonders where is her boy, why
is he so late coming home from bat-
tle? No doubt he is busy abusing
Jewish girls and looting their houses.
Even though she, too, is a mother,
Deborah has no sympathy for her
enemy. She prays that this should be
the end of all those who do not wor-
ship God, while those who live by
the Torah be like the "powerfully ris-
ing sun.''
Deborah is described as eshet
Lapidot. Some translate "Lapidot" as
her husband's name and thus, "wife
of Lapidot." Others interpret lapidot
in its common meaning as "lamps"
or "torches," and thus eshet lapidot
is a "woman of lamps" or a "woman
of torches." Picking up this theme,
the Midrashic take on Deborah is a
woman whose spirit is so intense as
to create sparks and flames — in
other words, a woman on fire.
These three women — Miriam,
Deborah and Yael — acted on their
own initiative, without the permis-
sion or guidance of a man. They did
what had to be done.
Miriam gave her brother Jews the
feminine perspective on the cata-
clysmic event they had all experi-
enced, a reminder that it was the
women who nurtured faith in the
future.
Yael demonstrated personal
courage of the highest degree, put-
ting her own life at risk to save oth-
ers.
Deborah, already elevated to the
political leadership of her people,
taught what it meant to be corn-
mander in chief — not merely to
delegate, but to lead.
At a time when Jewish women are
maligned in popular culture, it is
worthwhile to reflect on how these
Jewish women expressed both their
femininity and their Judaism, with
faith, creativity and courage. 1 I

