"And Paroah said to the Hebrew midwives.. and when you see.. if it a boy, you shall kill him, and if it is a
girl, she shall live.  And the midwives feared Hashem and did not do as the king of Egypt told them, and
they sustained the children..
And it was because the midwives feared Hashem, He made for them houses (Rashi: houses of Kehunah,
Levi'ah and Malchus)."

When Hashem rewards us for the Mitzvos that we do, there is always a connection between the deed and
the payment.
We are told that the midwives in Mitzrayim feared Hashem.
Fear is an emotion that is generally associated with worry, anxiety and tension.  When a person is
frightened, he is unsettled and uneasy.
This is correct regarding all worldly fears.

Fear of Hashem, Yir'as Shomayim is different.

Yir'as Shomayim is the fear that results from our awareness of Hashem's constant Presence and Providence over us. As a matter of fact, in Lashon HaKodesh, the word for fear (yir'ah) is very similar to the word for seeing (r'iyah).  In some
grammatical forms, the conjugation is even identical.  Thus, there is a connection between seeing and
fearing.  Sight enables awareness.  Fright is a result of awareness.  And Yir'as Shomayim is spiritual
awareness, "R'iyah biKedushah".

David Hamelech says in Tehillim,
Shivisi Hashem l'negdi samid, ki mi'mini bal emot.  Lachen samach libi vayagel kevodi, af besari yishkon
lavetach.
I have set Hashem before me always, at my right side, thus I won't fall. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and
my soul delights, also my flesh dwells secure..

When we are aware of Hashem's constant Presence and Hashgacha over us, we realize that nothing in the
world can happen to us except for His Will, no one and nothing can touch us without His Consent.  This
realisation brings us to menuchas hanefesh, inner serenity and tranquility (and great simchah).

We see this in the case of the midwives in Mitzrayim, who blatantly defied the orders of Par'oah.  Hashem
made for them "houses."  A house is a shelter.  A "home" connotates security and peace of mind.  Rashi
explains that these midwives merited that the leadership of Klal Yisrael be born from them. No wonder.
Children raised in an atmosphere of tranquility and joy, nonwithstanding the dire circumstances of slavery
and the brutal demands of the authorities, matured to become clearheaded adults, capable of reasoning
and acting unimpeded by external and extraneous pressures. These are the "hothouses" that breed
leadership capable of facilitating redemption.
                                                                 *

"Vatomarnah hameyaldos el Par'oh, ki lo kanashinm hamitzriyos ha'ivriyos ki CHAYOS hainah.."
And the midwives said to Par'oh, the Jewish women are not like the egyptian women, for they are lively
(CHAYOS)..

There is a very significant allusion is this description of the Jewish women in Mitrayim:
The wife of Adam HaRishon was called Chava, "ki he haysa aim col chai", for she was the mother of all living.
If so, Chava should have been called "Chaya".  The aramaic word for serpent is "chavya".  Originally, Adam
wife should have been called Chaya; however, because she sinned and took direction from the serpent and
caused Adam to sin, she was named Chava.

The figure in history to rectify the mistake of Chava was Sara Imeinu.  She accomplished this tikkun at the
age of ninety when she gave birth to Yitzchak.  Thus, the mal'ach exclaimed to Avraham, "ca'eis CHAYA
v'hinai vain l'Sarah.." Sarah Imeinu at this point had completed the tikkun of Chava, and now was worthy of
giving birth to the Jewish nation.

So, the midwives and all of our righteous foremothers in Mitzrayim followed in the ways of Sara Imeinu.
"vat'chayena es hayeladim", "ki CHAYOS heinah".

In the merit of the righteous women of that generation, our forefathers were redeemed from Mitrayim.
And in the merit of righteous women will come the final Geulah.

May Hashem grant us, this month, Chayim shetehei banu ahavas Torah v'yiras shomayim.