{"id":14030,"date":"2014-05-09T10:31:19","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T16:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=14030"},"modified":"2014-05-09T10:31:19","modified_gmt":"2014-05-09T16:31:19","slug":"mothers-day-offering-what-a-bargain-for-mama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/mothers-day-offering-what-a-bargain-for-mama\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother’s Day offering (What a bargain for Mama!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Let me admit that I haven\u2019t gotten around to the research yet, but I will soon and I\u2019ll let you know if I\u2019m wrong.\u00a0 I promise.
\nMy contention is that our Chumash takes a most enlightened view of the Jewish mother.\u00a0 What pit would our history fall in without Sarah, Rachel, and Ruth?\u00a0 Recall that Ruth the Moabite is in the lineage of the Mossiach \u2013 David\u2019s grandmother \u2013 though she\u2019s a Moabite. The tent of Israel is a large one.<\/p>\n

But my point is that in a time when women were considered breeders and cookers, the G-d of Israel recognized them as equal to men \u2013 at least spiritually. They are movers and shakers in our history \u2013 witness the wives of our patriarchs, who with a little planning, shape dynasties for their sons.<\/p>\n

What if Sarah had not handed Hagar her walking papers? What if Rachel the Reckless had favored Esau over her sweet Jacob? And of five-star importance, what if Zipporah had not saved Moses from a wrathful G-d (Exodus<\/em> 4:25)?<\/p>\n

Or what if Ruth had told Boaz he was much too overweight? No marriage, no Jesse, no David. Maybe no hope for the Mossiach, who will raise the dead and bless the world with universal peace.<\/p>\n

What if my mother had not inspired me with weekly trips to the library? I\u2019d be laying brick in the cold outdoors instead of sprawled comfortably in my den writing Jewish stories. But all kidding aside. It\u2019s amazing how in a primitive age where women were demeaned the Chumash recognizes the power of mother.<\/p>\n

Consider, it\u2019s the most lopsided balance in human relationships. Mama gives all, including the nutrients of her own body. Baby gives nothing except a few gurgly, uninterpretable noises. And even as the infant turns into a child, mama is still the provider and gets nothing in return. You say \u201clove.” That\u2019s her payment? Not always.<\/p>\n

As the world turns, it\u2019s remarkable that more women don\u2019t regret this egregious bargain. We see it in a worldwide phenomenon.\u00a0 You owe her; she gave you life.<\/p>\n

Another thing:\u00a0 Nobody loves you like your mama. Mine, who\u2019s now in Heaven, frequently boasted about her son \u2013 me.\u00a0 \u201cHe performed so spectacularly at his Bar Mitzvah that the crowd loudly clapped, then hoisted him on their shoulders and paraded him around the synagogue like a Torah. . .\u201d\u00a0 Her favorite story. I don\u2019t remember the details, but I suspect exaggeration.<\/p>\n

Science has yet to \u2013 and may never \u2013 discover the magic elixir that the Creator has injected into the female body resulting in the Yiddishe mama. Mysteriously, in most cases she craves motherhood. There are exceptions, of course.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing to me that more potential mamas don\u2019t turn their back on the only relationship where one takes and the other gives. She\u2019s the giver, of course.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t despair; Mother\u2019s Day is coming. Hurray for Mom. I\u2019ve already reminded the three to whom my wife gave life, that they better come up with some appropriate rewards and I mean more than lunch or a rose. After all, childbearing is the immortality of the soul.<\/p>\n

\"Share