One of the unique qualities in the source sheets for the Bilhah Zilpah Project is that they only include the Torah lines that reference Bilhah, Zilpah, or their children. As characters that have always been there, but whom often have to be introduced when brought into Torah study, this choice was an attempt to keep the focus on Bilhah and Zilpah.
Next Shabbat, we read Vayeshev, which contains a single line invoking Bilhah and Zilpah. Breishit 37:2 finishes the long accounting of the descendants of Yaakov that ends Vayishlakh. The line returns Bilhah and Zilpah to the status of wives.
The parasha is named for the opening line he dwelled. Bilhah and Zilpah dwelled as well. We learn that Yosef is seventeen. This can help us guess minimum ages for Bilhah and Zilpah. By now, these women have now dwelled through multiple stags of their lives and enslavement to reside as concubine matriarchs of one third of the twelve tribe namesakes.
The feud between Rachel and Leah lives on through Yaakov’s children even after Rachel’s death. Yosef is identified as being the favored son (of the favored wife). However, the line also suggests that Yosef worked alongside Bilhah and Zilpah’s children in specific tasks of tending the sheep. The negative reports could be of all of the brothers, but why mention Bilhah and Zilpah if not to indicate that the report defames Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher? The children were named after all, not for hopes of their futures, but for how Rachel and Leah hoped their births would affect their relationship with Yaakov, even the children of Bilhah and Zilpah.
Despite the Torah laying out the intention that Bilhah and Zilpah’s children would belong to Rachel and Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah appear to have retained their status as mother. However, this line invites consideration for if their children were seen differently and for the legacy of how these children were named.
Reflection Questions:
• What do you notice in the begetting accounting, especially relative to Bilhah and Zilpah?
• How have the status of Bilhah and Zilpah changed over time?
• What clues do we have about the relationships Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher had with their brothers?
Our homecoming continues with: Bilhah Zilpah Dreaming: Creative Play for Reclamation on Sunday December 3. You can also join us for the third and final event in this series: Bilhah & Zilpah Drew Near: Listening for Torah Women’s Wisdom on Sunday December 17.
Meanwhile, look out for our next Bilhah Zilpah Project email on Sunday December 10. And, if you missed it, check out the Vayishlakh and Vayeitzei reflections…
We see you Bilhah & Zilpah!
Jews of Color Sanctuary 