Parashat Tetzaveh offers a powerful reflection on wisdom, humility, and shared holiness — themes that resonate deeply as we mark International Women’s Day this year. Nechama Leibowitz points out a striking contradiction between Exodus 28:2 and 28:3. In one verse, God instructs Moses to make the sacred garments for Aaron. In the next, it is the “wise-hearted” people, filled with a spirit of wisdom, who are tasked with creating them. So who exactly is charged with making the sacred garments for Aaron?
This shift highlights the concept of chochmah— It is not simply knowledge; it is the wisdom of understanding our small selves in an infinite and intact world of unending creation. It is the essentially modest position with or without a gold crown to remind us of our powers.
This kind of wisdom often manifests through humility and collaboration, qualities long embodied by powerless and unrecognised women throughout history. Too often, even today, women’s work — their creativity, care, and leadership — goes unnamed, much like the skilled, wise-hearted artisans in Tetzaveh.
Today in many cultures but not all, women shape communities, sustain traditions, and build futures. Women in most Masorti communities today can lead services, Leyn and learn Talmud alongside men. But we shouldn’t forget that not all women in all cultures and communities have this privilege.
On International Women’s Day, we honour the wise-hearted among us — those who lead and serve with skill and strength, knowing that true power lies not in titles and crowns, but in the persistent work of creation and care.
Liebowitz, Nechama. 1985. Studies in Shemot. Jerusalem:Haomanim Press.
