ויקרא מלך מצרים למילדת ויאמר להן מדוע עשיתן הדבר הזה ותחיין את הילדים ... (א-יח)
The posuk praises the Yiras Shamayim of the Jewish midwives, as opposed to their chessed. The Chofetz Chaim zt”l explains that chessed alone might have caused them to resign their jobs, but their intention was that no one else should do the heinous job of killing Jewish babies. Thus, it was specifically their יראת שמים that spurred them on to perform the will of Hashem.
The question is, why did Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, ask the midwives, “Why have you done this thing? You kept the Jewish babies alive!” In actuality, they didn’t DO anything. It was their lack of DOING that kept the babies alive. So why does the Torah specifically employ the word for doing ("עשיתן") when their lack thereof was their greatest achievement?
The Shem M’Shmuel gives us a beautiful insight into what it means to DO something. Shifra and Puah were so filled with happiness and satisfaction for defying the Egyptian decree, that their faces radiated joy and enthusiasm. This, he explains, is what they were DOING! "הנאה נחשבת כמעשה" - “Enjoyment equals action.” How does a person know that he is truly living, truly accomplishing? If he is feeling joy and satisfaction in life! Sometimes, people are so busy! They have no time to breathe. They have no time to enjoy what they are doing! What exactly are they accomplishing by being so busy if they are not happy? On the other hand, often times you meet someone who doesn’t seem to be accomplishing all that much, but whatever it is he is doing is bringing him much joy, satisfaction and inner growth - just nobody knows about it!
Perhaps this is the meaning at the end of the posuk: “Why have you done this thing? You kept the babies alive!” In other words, “YOU have been kept alive by the babies!” It was their lack of DOING that filled the righteous midwives with LIFE! They had such pleasure and satisfaction from their work that it filled their lives with meaning, purpose and joy. So, don’t just be BUSY, running in circles and getting nowhere. Take satisfaction in what you do - and sometimes what you aren’t DOING!
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