Sarah Imeinu

Imagine going to Israel for the first time ever,
Do you think that it would be at all clever,
To join a five star guided tour,
Or on your own would you explore?

For Jewish women always, and especially today,
Sarah Imeinu is the best guide because she paved the way.
When faced with challenges, to her we turn.
From Sarah Imeinu there is so much to learn.

The key to Sarah's everlasting success,
Was that she was a true princess.
Sarai, which means "my princess", is how Avraham called his wife.
It was changed to Sarah - "princess of all", later in life.

To be heard, she didn't have to shout or scream,
She worked with her husband as a team.
While about monotheism he taught the men,
In her regal way, she influenced the women.

(Every woman is Hashem's princess who deserves love and care,
When she receives it, she can reach her potential, it is clear.
A surprise treat or compliment seems like a small gesture,
But it gives her the fuel to constantly nurture.

When like a princess the woman does act,
Her soulmate, her husband she does attract.
Self care is important for you and me,
When we use it to serve Hashem and be the best we can be.

If you want to feel like a princess, here is a start:
Welcome in the Shabbos Queen with all your heart!
Light your Shabbos candles happily and early.
It will bring calmness and serenity to your family.)

When Hashem commanded her husband, Avraham, to go,
With complete faith in Hashem she did follow.
In the place of Cana'an, a famine they did face.
Nevertheless, the challenge she did embrace.

As they crossed the famous Nile River,
Avraham saw Sarah's reflection in the water.
He was reminded of her beauty, which was secondary,
To her spiritual beauty, which was primary.

The Egyptians were great at science and technology,
But they lacked the basic rules of morality.
Avraham had a plan A and B,
So that they could fulfill their mission and return safely.

"... Avram came to Egypt," the Torah does state,
From here we learn that Plan A was to hide Sarah in a crate.
Plan B was to say that she was his sister, not his wife,
So that the Egyptians would give him gifts instead of ending his life.

To marry Sarah, Avraham asked for a price unaffordable,
Not realizing that Pharaoh could pay any price imaginable!
For treating Sarah as a nameless woman,
Through her protecting angel, Pharaoh's household was smitten.

Why did Avraham risk putting her in a situation so dangerous?
How could he think of material gain if he was so selfless?
Avraham and Sarah are compared to a body and soul,
They worked together towards one goal.

The reason why this world, Hashem did create,
Was so that the physical we could elevate.
This power was given especially to the women,
Who elevate the most physical to raise their children.

Sarah extracted holiness from Egypt for her children's sake.
Physical and spiritual wealth, out of Egypt, they'd take.
Avraham knew she was superior to him, so he didn't worry,
Of Hashem's protection he knew Sarah was worthy.

In the body is where G-d's essence does shine.
A women's physical beauty she could elevate to the Divine.
Therefore, in the Mishkan, Hashem did choose,
To have the wash basins made of the mirrors that the women did use.

During the week we enjoy physical pleasures for the sake of heaven,
While they are elevated automatically on day seven!
Seven represents the feminine energy.
The Shabbos Queen elevates beauty and tasty, naturally.

The soul wants to stay close to Hashem's glory,
But it can only achieve when it comes down into a body.
The soul's descent is for one purpose only:
So that it could achieve a higher ascent ultimately.

When Moshiach comes the soul will be nurtured by the body.
Over the masculine, the feminine will have superiority.
Let us learn from Sarah to get in touch with our energy!
The crown of her husband every woman will be!

Sources:
Chabad.org
Abraham & Sarah by Mrs. Chana Slavaticki
Lesson 2: Body and Soul - Man and Wife
Innerqueen.org
Lessons 1-2 by Mrs. Brocha Lipszyc

Yehudis

"What you see is what you get," was the Greek philosophy, 

They worshipped beauty, money, intellect and the human body.

But logic and all that is physical, is a means to an end,

Hashem created these tools, but they didn't comprehend.

Torah and Mitzvos the Greeks did ban,
To separate a Jew from Hashem was their plan,
They wanted to contaminate all that is holy,
So they targeted the women who hold the key to family purity.

It happened at this time, the story is told,
Of a majestic, beautiful bride so bold.
Her wedding was one that was extraordinary,
Because she was from a prominent priestly family.

In the center of the wedding hall, with her hands she did tear,
The beautiful bridal gown that she did wear!
Her embarrassed brothers rose to drag her out angrily,
But she stood firmly in place and stated clearly:

"You who are so zealous that you would kill me,
Are not zealous enough to protect me from the decree,
Of the governor who will come here tonight,
To assault me and tamper with what is holy and right!"

This was the last straw that broke the camel's back,
That made the Maccabees finally attack.
Halachicly, to go to war, wasn't necessary,
But they couldn't refuse their sister's plea.

Women have a strong and special power.
They guard what is holy at every hour.
They use their feminine quality of nobility,
To assertively influence others to do what is necessary.

"Yishmael must go," Sarah Imainu did say,
Hashem told Avraham to listen to her right away.
The sanctity of the Jewish nation was her priority.
She wouldn't allow Yishmael to affect Yitzchok negatively.

Rivkah Imainu arranged that the brachos, Yaakov would receive,
Although it seems like her husband she did deceive.
From our Imahos, Yehudis did learn,
To save the sanctity of the Jewish nation she did yearn.

A Syrian-Greek general at the head of a huge army,
Holoferness, who was notorious for his cruelty,
Saw that he couldn't take the town of Bethulia by force,
So he made a seige and cut off their food and water source.

The town was soon brought to the verge of surrender.
"Give Hashem five more days," said Uzzia the Jewish commander.
Yehudis said, "Why do you test Hashem's salvation?
Besides, surrender is worse than starvation!"

As the daughter of the High Priest, who saw the dire situation,
Uzzia and the elders reluctantly agreed to her mission.
Although she was admired for her devoutness and modesty,
To gain Holofernes's trust she used her charm, grace and beauty.

For helping him capture the city, he promised to make her his wife,
But she made him drunk and with his sword she ended his life!
She wrapped his head in rags to hide her gruesome prize.
When she presented it to Uzzia, he could not believe his eyes!

"Prepare your men for a surprise attack," Yehudis did say,
When the enemy found Holofernes's headless body, they ran away!
Not only was this victory brought about by a woman,
But for the miracle of the oil, to the women the credit is also given.

This is the meaning of, "They, too, were part of the nes."
Their obligation to light Menorah relative to the men is no less.
With self sacrifice they did fight for what is holy and pure.
Because of their unconditional love, a unique miracle was in store.

We have seen other miracles that pertain to oil in Torah,
So what is so special about the miracle of the Menorah?
Sarah and Rivkah's candles burned all week we know,
Into many vessels, Elisha's blessing made the oil flow.

Sarah and Rivkah's oil had a miraculous special quality,
It was depleted slower than oil does usually.
But the Menorah's cups must be full each night the Halacha does say,
So it can't be that an eighth of the oil was consumed every day.

By Elisha, heavenly new oil was miraculously created,
The jug refilled as soon as it was depleted.
But oil for the Menorah must come from an olive, from it's tree,
So the miracle couldn't have been in the oil's quantity.

The miracle of the oil on Chanukah was one of a kind,
Because the Yidden served Hashem above the rational mind.
The oil was consumed and not consumed at the same time,
Which is impossible for the mind to understand, or define!

To the miracle in the Kodesh Hakidoshim it does compare,
The Aron had specific measurements it is clear.
Yet, it didn't take up any space that was physical,
Because Hashem isn't limited by the impossible.

Hashem reciprocated the love that they displayed,
And measure for measure to the Yidden He paid.
The reason the type of miracle is so significant,
Is because for eight days the miracle was constant.

On Chanukah, as Jewish women we commit,
The Holiness of Torah, to our children we'll transmit.
We will have Mesiras Nefesh to light up the night!
We will bring Moshiach and make the world bright!

Sources:
Chabad.org
Women at War by Chana Kroll
The Story of Yehudit
TheYeshiva.net
Chanukah and Quantum Theory

Chava

Biblical women played a major role in history,
Because they were in touch with their femininity,
The difference between masculine and feminine energy,
Is like the difference between waffles and spaghetti.

Each waffle square can be easily identified,
While the strands of spaghetti are completely intertwined,
The male energy appreciates structure, order and ritualized performance,
While the female energy is one of transendence.

Hashem expresses Himself in both male and female ways,
With 6 male attributes He created the world in 6 days,
Magnificent but finite, is how each creation is seen,
Holy and infinite is the Shabbos queen.

The attribute of nobility is a state of being,
It is beyond achieving, rather open to receiving,
It seems lowest because it comes at the end of the line,
Yet that is where Hashem's infinite essence can shine!

Shabbos relies on the weekdays that come before,
But to the week ahead it gives back infinitely more,
Because a woman is open to receive,
Within her womb, a baby, only she can conceive.

Chava was the first Biblical woman with the key,
To look beyond the surface and have the sensitivity,
To discover Hashem's unspoken, inner will and make it a reality,
In addition to the outer will that is plain to see.

In Gan Eden, Hashem did create,
Adam and Chava who were truly great,
How could it be, we need to understand,
That Adam and Chava didn't obey Hashem's only command?

"Do not eat from the tree of knowledge," Adam was told,
To eat from the tree how could they be so bold?
They could eat with permission, once Shabbos would begin,
For just a few hours, why couldn't they listen?

Adam and Chava were very clever,
Their decision would impact their children forever,
Their first choice was from the tree to abstain,
Righteous Tzadikim, pure and holy, they would remain.

Their second choice was to get their hands spiritually dirty,
And discover the G-dliness hidden in the earthly,
The good from the bad they would separate and elevate,
They would fix the world and make it great.

Chava understood Hashem's true desire,
They had to descend to a reach a level much higher,
Coming down to earth is not a tragedy,
It is an opportunity to make the physical world G-dly.

A loss of G-dliness is the definition of a sin,
But the highest level of G-dliness, is not in heaven,
They left the Garden of Eden with a great mission,
To make a home for Hashem, they would begin.

From Hashem this sin would temporarily draw them apart,
But they would return to Hashem with all their heart,
Although from the Garden of Eden they were banned,
A Bal Teshuva's place is greater than where a Tzaddik does stand.

Sources:
Chabad.org
A New Twist to an Old Story
By Rabbi Manis Friedman
The Crown of Creation: Intro
The Crown of Creation: Chava
By Rabbi Moishe New