Sh’mot | שמות

Judith Margolis, USA/Israel      

Moses is swaddled in Pharoah’s arms, as if cradled in his foundling's basket. He is observed by Pharoah's daughter, who is sometimes referred to as Batya, “daughter of God.” A midrash explains her fortuitous presence in the water at dawn, not as random chance, but because she was immersing herself in water, the ritual mikveh associated with ritual purity and conversion. Presumably knowing that Moses was Jewish and therefore willfully flouting her father’s decree that Jewish male infants be murdered, she proves herself an appropriate surrogate mother for him. She rescues him and has him raised in Pharoah’s household. 

Professional Background  Artist/essayist Judith Margolis, is Art Editor of Nashim: Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies and Gender Issues. Her work appears in ARTweek, Parabola, Sh’ma, Tikkun, Architectural Worlds, and CROSSCurrents. Her art can be found in rare book collections, including those at Yale University and the New York Public Library.