Shemot: Daughter of Paroah/Daughter of God: The Spiritual/Moral Mother of Moshe

Introduction

Moshe’s tremendous spiritual and moral greatness did not emerge from nowhere. His adoptive mother served as his progenitor with her remarkable ability to defy the fear-mongering dehumanization of her family and community and to choose a path of moral courage.

A close study of the midrash about her helps us to better appreciate her greatness and the way she paved a path for Moshe.

This podcast episode is sponsored by Robert Hammer in memory of his beloved late wife, Barbara Hammer z”l.

Credits:
Larry Kluger – Creative Consultant
Arlene Harel – Production Coordinator

Meesh Hammer-Kossoy

Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy is Director of the Year Program and Rosh Beit Midrash at Pardes, where she has taught since 1999. Originally from Washington, D.C., Meesh is a Pardes alumna herself, attending the Year Program in 1991-1992. Meesh holds degrees from Brandeis University and New York University, and received Orthodox ordination from Beit Midrash Har’el in 2015.

Meesh previously taught at NYU, Drisha, and Midreshet Lindenbaum. She has received multiple fellowships, including from ATID, the Memorial Foundation, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Despite having written her doctoral dissertation about criminal punishment in the Talmudic period, Meesh is known by her husband and three children as a lover of mercy and kindness.