Have
mercy! Lord, have mercy on my poor soul!” Women gave birth and whispered cries like
this in caves and out-of-the-way places that humans don’t usually use for
birthplaces. Moses hadn’t come yet, and
these were the years when Israel first made tears. Pharaoh had entered the bedrooms of
Israel. The birthing beds of Hebrews
were matters of state. The Hebrew womb
had fallen under the heel of Pharaoh. A
great ruler in his newness and new in his greatness had risen in Egypt and he
had said, “This is the law. Hebrew boys
shall not be born. All offenders against
this law shall suffer death by drowning.”
-Zora Neale Hurston, Moses, Man
of the Mountain
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