The scene: Pharaoh, terrified by the growing Israelite population, issues a horrifying command to the Hebrew midwives. "When you deliver the Hebrew women," he says, "and you see them upon the ovnayim, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live" (Exodus 1:16). It's a stark and brutal decree, but the Rabbis in Shemot Rabbah don’t just accept it at face value. They ask: Why this method? Why instruct the midwives, specifically?

The answer, as interpreted by the Rabbis, is chillingly pragmatic. Pharaoh, in his twisted logic, sought to deflect blame. He wanted the midwives to bear the responsibility, hoping that the Holy One, blessed be He, would punish them, not him directly. A cowardly act, attempting to hide behind others to avoid divine retribution.

But what exactly are these ovnayim? The verse says, "And you look upon the ovnayim..." The text explains this refers to the place where the baby emerges during birth. Think of it as the birthing stool itself.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon offers another interpretation. He says that the Holy One, blessed be He, makes a woman’s limbs as hard as stones – avanim in Hebrew, similar to ovnayim – when she is sitting on the birthstool. Without this divinely granted strength, he argues, she might not survive childbirth. Rabbi Pinḥas the ḥaver, a colleague or associate, reinforces this idea in the name of Rabbi Yona, connecting ovnayim to a hard block, like the potter's wheel.

See, the Hebrew word ovnayim can also mean "potter's wheel." As it says in Jeremiah 18:3, “I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was at work on the wheel [ovnayim].” Rabbi Ḥanin takes this further, drawing a vivid analogy: Just as a potter has one thigh on each side of the wheel with the clay in the middle, so too, a woman giving birth has her thighs on either side, and the newborn emerges in the middle. It’s a powerful image, connecting creation and birth. Some even say that when a woman crouches to deliver, her thighs grow as cold as stones.

Then comes the question of how to distinguish between male and female infants. Rabbi Ḥanina suggests a “clear sign”: If the baby is face down, it’s a boy, looking at the earth from which he was created. If it’s face up, it’s a girl, looking towards her source, the rib, referencing Genesis 2:21, "He took one of his ribs" to create woman.

But here’s where the narrative takes a sharp turn. The Holy One, blessed be He, rebukes Pharaoh: "Wicked one," He says, "whoever gave you this counsel is a fool! You should have killed the females! If there are no females, where will the males marry women? One woman cannot take two men, but one man can take ten women, or one hundred!"

The text concludes by linking this foolish advice to the "princes of Tzoan," mentioned in Isaiah 19:11. These princes, the passage implies, were the source of Pharaoh's flawed strategy.

What are we to make of this? It's more than just a historical account. It’s a commentary on the nature of power, the futility of evil, and the ultimate wisdom of the Divine. Pharaoh’s plan, born of fear and executed with cruelty, was not only morally reprehensible but also strategically unsound. It reveals how shortsighted wickedness can be, ultimately undermining its own goals. The story reminds us that true wisdom lies not in oppression, but in recognizing the interconnectedness of all creation.