Bilha and Zilpa first appear in history as the servants of Raḥel and Leah. Looking at the etymology, the word “shifḥa” – female servant – is related to the word “nispaḥ” – something that is secondary to a more important person or object.
Throughout the Torah, female servants appear in close proximity to women of importance.
It seems likely that the servants served as teachers for Israel’s matriarchs.
The Torah informs us that the name of Rivka’s wet nurse was D’vora (B’reishit 35:8). It is a sign of great respect that Scripture mentions her death but not that of Rivka, who – according to our sages – left our world on the same day. The reason is that D’vora was the source of Rivka’s exemplary personality and piety.
D’vora, named for the bee that makes honey, was a wet nurse who provided milk. Milk and honey remind us of mystical secrets, in that they are transformed from blood and impure material into pure foods permissible for consumption.
Milk is obtained from the udder of an animal, which is itself a combination of milk and meat, two substances which, according to our laws, must never be combined. In regards to milk, we see that from something non-kosher – or something “not quite kosher” – we get a substance (milk) that is completely kosher.
The same applies to honey. A general principle of kashrut is that anything obtained from a non-kosher animal is deemed not to be kosher. Bees are insects and are therefore themselves not kosher. Yet honey is permissible for Jewish consumption.
Thus, both milk and honey are violations of the general principle of “kosher derived from non-kosher” (and this hints to one of the most important qualities of the “land of milk and honey” – that it has the power to render kosher whatever non-kosher might be found within it).
This concept illustrates the role that D’vora played – to remove Rivka’s pure soul from the house of B’tuel. The same is true of Bilha and Zilpa, who taught and protected Raḥel and Leah. This is how we should remember the hidden influence of the maidservants.
There was another person in Avraham’s family who seems to be a minor character at first glance but who was evidently responsible for educating Sarah. This was her sister Milka, about whom it is written, “Behold, Milka has also borne children to your brother Naḥor” (B’reishit 22:20).
The root of the name Milka is related to “l’himalekh” – to give advice. We can therefore conclude that in Avraham’s family there was a hidden order of female servants whose function it was to teach and safeguard the matriarchs.
We can see the backstories of Bilha and Zilpa hinted at at the end of Parshat Vayetzei.
“And Lavan declared and said to Yaakov: the daughters are my daughters…” (B’reishit 31:43)
Our sages understand from this that Bilha and Zilpa were also Lavan’s daughters, from a different wife.
But in the apocryphal book, The Testiment of Naftali, it is written that the mother of Bilha and Zilpa was named “Ḥava” and their father was “Aḥoti.” The parents of Bilha and Zilpa are reminiscent of the first couple, Adam and Ḥava.
The mother’s name is the same, while the father’s name, Aḥoti (“my sister”) is a hint of the trait of wisdom, which Adam lost after the sin.
The Testiment of Naftali adds more details about the family of these servants.
Aḥoti’s sister was D’vora, Rivka’s wet nurse. And their father was Utz, the firstborn son of Naḥor and Milka.
Thus, all of these servants – Milka, D’vora, Bilha, and Zilpa – were members of a single branch of Naḥor’s family. And the name “Utz” is related to the concept of giving advice. Wisdom and understanding (as hinted by the names Ḥava and Aḥoti) were influenced by the Master of the Universe.
Thus, we have encountered four important figures in the family of Naḥor:
(1) Ḥava: She is a symbol of understanding – “He gave the woman extra understanding” (Nidda 45b)
(2) Aḥoti: A symbol of wisdom – “Tell wisdom, you are my sister” (Mishlei 7:4)
(3) Utz: The root of desire, a deep influence on wisdom and understanding.
(4) D’vora: A bee, which sweetens justice, and draws out purity from the impure.
These four characters represent the hidden traits in the world that are not openly revealed.
