The primary reasons why I chose the name Tzipporah for our new dog were the meaning of the name (bird), and the sound of it, but I was also thinking of Moses’s Wife Tzipporah in the Hebrew Bible. There was something about her that resonated for me, but I couldn’t quite remember what it was, so I decided to do a little bit of research.
Tzipporah, in the Hebrew bible, was the daughter of a Midianite priest named Jethro (and Reuel and Hobab, for some reason). Jethro himself becomes important to the story after the Exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites are camped out at Mount Sinai and Moses needs help figuring out the nitty gritty of how to lead his new nation.
But first, the beginning of the story: Moses runs away from Egypt (because he killed an Egyptian slave master who was striking a Jewish slave), and as he is passing through Midian he sits down to rest by a well. While there, he sees that Jethro’s daughters are being bullied by a group of shepherds. Moses steps in to help the girls get water for their flocks, and when they get home, Jethro tells them to invite Moses home for dinner, and then to stay, and then to marry his daughter Tzipporah.
The interesting bit comes later on, after Moses is called by God to save the Israelites from Egypt. Moses and Tzipporah and their sons are staying at a roadside inn, on their way to Egypt, when an angel of God comes to kill Moses (there’s no explanation in the text for why God wants to kill the man he just recruited, but, okay). Tzipporah decides that the only way to dissuade God from killing her husband is to circumcise her son Gershom, and then touch her husband’s leg with the bloody piece of skin (or to fling the foreskin at the angel, the text is unclear on this point). And, Moses is saved!
Putting aside the ick for a second, it’s fascinating to me that Tzipporah is the heroine of this story, rather than Moses. Moses does nothing to protect himself. Tzipporah, on the other hand, grabs a sharp stone and does precise surgery on her baby to save her husband. I read a commentary that says the reason God was so angry at Moses in the first place was because he had failed to circumcise his son by the 8th day, so Tzipporah was just doing the job Moses was supposed to have done earlier. But that seems like a lot of impatience, even for God. The interesting thing, to me, is that circumcising baby boys was seen as a way to protect them from evil spirits (blood in general is seen as a prophylactic against evil in the ancient world), so here’s Tzipporah using the same ritual as a way to protect her husband from God, as if God is playing the role of an evil spirit in this story.
The contradictions in the text, and the sense that we’re missing important details of the story, seem to be a feature rather than a bug in the Hebrew bible. A modern-day text would have had all of these contradictions edited away, and all of the missing details filled in, but instead we have this text that includes multiple versions of the same stories, with conflicting and confusing details that lead to wildly different interpretations; which, intentionally or not, allows each of us to reinterpret the text in our own way, and find layer upon layer of possible meanings.
It’s this decidedly-lean-on-details aspect of the Hebrew bible that led the rabbis to write Midrash, or stories, to help us try to understand the lessons to be learned. That’s where we get some of the explanations for why Tzipporah was named Bird in the first place: maybe she was named after (or inspired by) the Egyptian Bird goddess, Isis, who also saved her husband’s life (in Egyptian mythology); or maybe she was named Bird simply because birds are beautiful and she is beautiful; or maybe she was named Bird because birds are the animal sacrifice used in the case of a house covered in leprosy, and Tzipporah cleansed her father’s house of idols, which is sort of like cleansing the house of leprosy (though I don’t remember anything in the story where Jethro gives up being a priest of Midian, or any of his idols, so…).
Sometimes the commentators just come up with things because that’s the story they want to be true. Midrash was never added into the text of the Hebrew bible itself, and we are not supposed to confuse midrash with the text of the Hebrew bible, and yet, the way these stories are often taught to children, and remembered by adults like me, the line between what’s actually in the Hebrew bible itself and what was added by the rabbis in the midrash can become blurry.
But, even with all of that, the text of the Hebrew bible seems pretty clear that Tzipporah is a fierce protector of her husband and children, and that she is very beautiful, and maybe that fierceness and beauty were what made the name seem right for my own Tzipporah. She survived four years in a puppy mill, and that alone takes a lot of grit, but then she came to a new home and was able to be curious and find new adventures, which suggests that she has a lot of spirit and bravery for such a little girl.
My hope for my own Tzipporah is that she continues to write her own midrash, her own fanciful stories, to create a new life, and that she never has to protect herself from an angel of God, or anyone else, so she can devote all of her fierceness to the goal of living a good life in her new home, and finding as much happiness as her little paws can hold.
If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check out my novel, Yeshiva Girl, on Amazon. And if you feel called to write a review of the book, on Amazon, or anywhere else, I’d be honored.
Yeshiva Girl is about a Jewish teenager on Long Island, named Isabel, though her father calls her Jezebel. Her father has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with one of his students, which he denies, but Izzy implicitly believes it’s true. As a result of his problems, her father sends her to a co-ed Orthodox yeshiva for tenth grade, out of the blue, and Izzy and her mother can’t figure out how to prevent it. At Yeshiva, though, Izzy finds that religious people are much more complicated than she had expected. Some, like her father, may use religion as a place to hide, but others search for and find comfort, and community, and even enlightenment. The question is, what will Izzy find?
rachelmankowitz 
Your naming of Tzipporah is an auspicious choice. Perhaps she will somehow save your household from danger someday.
Oy. I hope she never has to.
Women have strong roles in the Bible. Strong roles today also, just we don’t seem to sing your praises as much any more. I wonder how we got away from that? Must make a note to do so more often.
I love that!
I can’t get over how much Tzipporah resembles (at least face-wise) our new pup, Oscar, a Yorkie-Poo with a healthy dose of Australian Shepard mix. Very sweet pup indeed!
Congratulations!
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Claude Leboeuf
what a beautiful telling! i love that you do good research too. it’s really auspicious for Tzipporah for so many people to resonate with her story, for it’s a healing story. for all of us🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼
Thank you!
Tzipporah’s name seems very fitting. I had forgotten the story of Tzipporah and Gershom, and I like the idea that the Tzipporah in the Bible was fiercely protective of her family. The women in the Bible need to be recognized more.
They get so little stage time, but when they appear, they make it count.
Tzipporah rolls off the tongue nicely.
It really does! Thank you!
Tzipporah is looking more comfortable in her new surroundings, has the look of a wise old soul.
She’s definitely finding her way.
Oh wow, I’ve been travelling and didn’t know you got a new dog. What a wonderful way to finish this year. Congratulations.
Thank you!
It sounds like little Tzipporah is starting to settlie down in her new home. After reading your last post (The Midnight Cry), I came across this advice:
The 3-3-3- rule (google it for a lot more info) applies to rescue dogs going into new homes and it means it takes:
• 3 days for a dog to decompress and get over the shock of the change
• 3 weeks to start to learn any routine and
• 3 months to start to feel at home
You probably know all this, but I thought it might help.
She’s probably going to need more time to get used to us, but it will happen.
I’m sure it will!
Wow. I never knew all this “background” on that story. Amazing! And I think you picked exactly the right name for your new pup. (Can we call her Tzippy?)
My Mom calls her Tzippy most of the time, so absolutely. I’m just partial to the music of Tzipporah.
A lucky little girl. Congratulations!
Thank you!
Happy Hanukkah, Rachel! I’m glad you now have a fierce protector yourself in Tzipporah. 🙂
Me too! Thank you!
she is beautiful, and her eyes show no fear. What a wonderful life she will have. Thanks for the backstory.
Fingers crossed! Thank you!
Appreciating the backstory.
It helped me too!
A strong woman, just like you. (Believe it! You are!)
Thank you!
She’s very fortunate that you’ve adopted her.
Thank you!
What a little cutie she is!
She really is!
She’s beautiful Rachel
Thank you!
Rachel, what a cutie. I like the memorable name. Keith
Thank you!
I love your hopes for your beautiful little bird. ❤️🐦⬛
Thank you!
My, I enjoy your retelling of the narrative, citing the commentaries, and especially your sharing your own insight (as commentary). I remembered the icky event once you began to describe it and appreciate the emphasis on Tzipporah as the hero of the story. She combines heroism with ickiness in order to save maybe all the rest of the family. And so also Israel. And maybe, as you cite and say, Moses should have done the appropriate, ritual thing to begin with. Your dog looks lovely and at home in the photographs. And I’ve no doubt she’ll live the pronounciation, meaning, and accountings of her name. I hope you, Tzipporah, and all your family enjoy a Hanukkah of happiness and blessings.
Thank you so much!
Tzipporah is very lucky to have you to protect and take care of her. Happy Channukah.
Thank you!
Does she answer to “Tzipporah” when called, Rachel? Fascinating information. And the closing photo shows how lucky you, your mom, and Tzipporah all are to be together!
Thank you! She doesn’t answer to anything yet, but we’re working on it.
Beautiful girl (the dog), and weird story (flinging a piece of penis)? Seems like all bibles have some weird stuff in them.
Yep. Thank you!
Fascinating! I’ve read that story many times without focusing on Tzipporah. You bring depth and new meaning to an old, old story. And – a perfect name for your beautiful rescue girl. God bless y’all.
Thank you!