Shemot: The First Act of Civil Disobedience

We often think of history as shaped by dramatic moments, but the Torah insists that it often turns on private decisions far from the spotlight.

In Parshat Shemot, Pharaoh orders that Hebrew baby boys be killed at birth, and he summons two midwives to carry out his charge. Likely Egyptians who served the Hebrew population, these two women, present at birth—the most private and vulnerable moment of human life—were now commanded to violate the very purpose of their work. 

Pharaoh naturally assumed they would comply. 

That assumption proves wrong. 

Instead, the midwives “did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them; they let the children live.” Rabbi Jonathan Sacks described this episode as the first recorded act of civil disobedience in history. The midwives disobey a direct command from the most powerful ruler of their time. They place themselves in danger simply because it’s right—not through public protest or confrontation, but by refusing to carry out an immoral instruction. In the Torah’s words, they refuse because “they feared the Lord.”

Tellingly, Pharaoh too is driven by fear—fear of the growing Israelite population and fear of losing control. This contrast is intentional. Unlike Pharaoh, the midwives’ fear is not about doing whatever is necessary to retain power. Instead, it reflects an awareness that human life has value and that there are limits to what can be done, even under orders. Fear of God establishes a moral boundary—the recognition that some actions cannot be justified simply because they are demanded by authority.

This contrast is underscored by a detail that is easy to overlook. The midwives are named—Shifra and Puah—while Pharaoh is mentioned only by his title. Power is left anonymous, but moral courage is remembered. By naming the midwives, the Torah shows that history preserves not those who give orders, but those who rightly refuse to carry them out.

The Torah highlights not only who these women are, but also when they act. Their refusal comes at a decisive moment, as Pharaoh’s fear turns into violence and the Israelites stand at the edge of survival. The Torah describes this moment as a mashber—a word that means both crisis and the birthing stool, the most dangerous stage of childbirth. What happens here determines what can come next. In such a moment, Shifra and Puah choose to preserve life—and because they allow life to continue, the story continues. A child can be born and survive. The Torah will soon introduce that child by name: Moses.

Redemption does not begin with miracles or revelation. It begins earlier, with a refusal that makes everything else possible. The midwives do not act dramatically. They do their work, protect those in their care, and return to their lives.

Most of us will never be asked to risk our lives. But many of us are asked to stay quiet in a meeting, to enforce a rule we know is wrong, or to look away because “that’s how things are done.” Parshat Shemot’s first act of civil disobedience teaches that moral responsibility does not disappear when wrongdoing becomes routine—and that the most consequential choice is often simply not to go along.

 

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