Parshat Pinchas presents us with another census counting the people and in this census the name of Serach bat Asher appears. This is interesting because Serach bat Asher was also mentioned in the book of Genesis, more than 200 years earlier which would mean that she had lived for many years and is still alive long after the first generation has died off.
There are no details about Serach in the text, but she is named twice, which is significant. This lack of details and Serach's longevity leads to a wealth of midrashim written by the rabbis about her. In the Midrash, Serach is the one chosen to inform Jacob that Joseph still lives because of her gentle singing voice. There is another midrash where Serach convinced the Hebrews to accept Moses as a leader, despite being an outsider in their community and another where Serach appears with the rabbis of the Talmud as they debate how the water of the Red Sea appeared when the sea split. The rabbis wove their tales of the water, but Serach bat Asher piped up saying that they were wrong and because she was there when the seas parted. It is said that Serach bat Asher never died and entered the Garden of Eden still alive, a gift only bestowed on a few characters in Tanach.
I imagine Serach bat Asher as an old woman who carries not only her age, but also the history of her people. Serach should give older women the confidence that they are the gatekeepers of our collective past and the storytellers of a generation.
Serach bat Asher: The Memory Keeper
Listen
old woman,
in your heart you believe
that the sands that flow through the hourglass
have decreased your worth in the world;
that you are not seen
and your voice is not heard;
that your age has
flattened you.
Old woman, listen.
****
Serach bat Asher
the ancient one,
once you were
willowy and young.
You,
whose thin white braid
trails behind you
like a comet's tail.
You, whose skin is as thin as parchment
and whose spine bends
like a reed in the wind.
You,
with your stooped shoulders
and your heart slowly beating;
you are the ancient messenger
holding history
in your purple veined hands.
You are the memory keeper
the story whisperer;
with you,
the stories of the generations.
Where do you store these treasured stories,
Serach bat Asher?
Do you wear them
stored tightly rolled
in a scroll around your neck
so they lay close to your heart,
or do they remain
behind your eyes
which are as blue as the Nile,
as blue as the waters of the sea at crossing,
as blue as the dye of the fringes?
Serach bat Asher,
ancient woman;
you are
The Gatekeeper,
the eternal memory weaver.
We are your witnesses.
Serach bat Asher,
we are your listeners.
So speak,
your voice still soft and breezy.
We sit at your knees
and listen to your stories
We inhale your memories
as they are woven into our own.
Others stand on the shoulders of giants,
but Serach bat Asher,
you are a giant.
Your memories span centuries.
and your stories connect generations.
Stories of deserts,
comings and goings,
folly,
filaments of hope
for a land
for a people.
Serach bat Asher, you are proof that old women never die,
their bodies may whither but their stories continue.
They are the storytellers.
They hold the keys to wisdom.
They hold open the doors to the past,
bringing that which was
to that which is;
carried in gently folded arms
The gift of perspective
of history.
*****
Old woman, never doubt
the power of your stories,
the timelessness of your memories.
Sit.
Tell your stories.
*******
The sons of Asher [were]: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, and Beriah, and their sister, Serach.
וּבְנֵ֣י אָשֵׁ֗ר יִמְנָ֧ה וְיִשְׁוָ֛ה וְיִשְׁוִ֥י וּבְרִיעָ֖ה וְשֶׂ֣רַח אֲחֹתָ֑ם וּבְנֵ֣י בְרִיעָ֔ה חֶ֖בֶר וּמַלְכִּיאֵֽל׃
Genesis 46:17
וְשֵׁ֥ם בַּת־אָשֵׁ֖ר שָֽׂרַח׃
The name of Asher’s daughter was Serach.
Numbers 26:46
***********
For more information on Serach Bat Asher:
There is a synagogue in Iran named for a miracle associated with Serach Bat Asher.
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