JULY 25 • 2024 | 45 J N I f you ask me what part of the Torah I find most inspir- ing, I would probably not say “the begats, ” the long genea- logical lists such as in this week’s portion. God orders that a national census be taken so that the land can be parceled out after the impending conquest of Canaan. This census lists the 12 sons of Jacob, their sons and those among their male descendants who have established their own clans. It is glaringly obvious in this list of almost 100 names, only six women are mentioned: the five daughters of Zelopechad and Serach, the daughter of Asher (one of the sons of Jacob and Zilpah). The small num- ber of women mentioned is distressing. It reveals there is a large number of female biblical figures about whom we know absolutely nothing. One remedy is the classical midrash. Regarding Serach, we are only told, “Now the name of Asher’s daughter was Serach. ” (Deuteronomy 26:46) Only by examining the mid- rash do we receive a much fuller account of Serach’s life. She was a very talented musician as a child. Because of her talents, her uncles gave her the responsibil- ity of telling Jacob that Joseph was not really dead. To cushion the shock, she played music on her lyre to relax Jacob. Serach miraculously lived for more than 400 years and was the only person of her genera- tion still alive at the time of the Exodus. When the Children of Israel were ready to leave Egypt, Pharaoh’s magicians had hid- den Joseph’s bones in a metal coffin in the Nile, knowing full well that the Israelites could not leave without them. Moses asked Serach to lead them to the correct location. It is only through the lens of midrash that we have gained an understanding of another pos- itive female biblical figure. Yet it is not enough to rely on the classical midrashim. As a liberal Jew, I feel that there is a legitimate claim to create midrash in our day that restores our mothers’ names to their rightful places on the genealogical lists. In the book Taking the Fruit: Modern Women’s Tales of the Bible, edi- tor Jane Sprague Jones argues in favor of writing modern midrash. She writes, “Women’s roles in the Torah were circumscribed and limited while women’s roles in the modern world are expanding. Therefore … contemporary women (and men) [should] study the text and write modern stories that incorporate their own experi- ences and consciousness into Judaism. ” According to the mystical tradition, the revealed Torah is found in the black letters, the hidden Torah is found in the white spaces between the letters. It is my hope that this Torah — which includes both our mothers and fathers — will be revealed in our lifetimes. Rabbi Debra Cohen was the chaplain at JARC and the rabbinic resource person at Congregation T’chiyah. This article originally appeared in the JN on July 2, 1999. GET IN THE GAMES Join our team as a host family. Support the largest Jewish youth event in the world. The JCC Maccabi Games® are almost here, and we still need host families to ensure the event’s success. If you can open your home (and your heart) from July 28 through August 2, please sign up now. MaccabiDetroit.com SPIRIT TORAH PORTION Biblical Females BY RABBI DEBRA COHEN Parshat Pinchas: Numbers 25:10-30:1; Jeremiah 1:1-2:3.