The Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us a historical incident when the government issued a decree forbidding Jews from Torah study, Shabbos and Bris Milah. The rabbis consulted with a certain matron [matronisa] whom all the prominent men of Rome would visit regularly, thinking that she would know how to annul the decree.  She said to them as follows: Come and cry out [hafgginu] at night in the streets and markets. They went and cried out at night, saying: O Heavens! Are we Jews not your brothers; are we not children of one father; are we not children of one mother? How are we different from every other nation and tongue that you issue such harsh decrees against us? And indeed the decrees were annulled, and the Sages made that day a festive day.

This is a strange story.  Why did the rabbis resort to this instead of the standard process of prayers and repentance?  And also, if the reason why they consulted with this woman was because they were looking for political influence, her answer was certainly indirect. Are we to really believe that the Jews bemoaning their fate, by indirectly complaining, would actually convince the leadership to nullify the mandatory regulations that they considered necessary for cohesion, uniformity and “public safety”?

Rashi and Tosafos (Taanis 18a) learn that it was a mixed message.  The crying out at night was also a prayer to Hashem.  I wonder if the peshat could be as follows: The rabbis wanted to have public prayer all night BUT this activity itself might have been considered seditious.  Therefore, they asked the matronisa for a political favor, which perhaps she did, but she also suggested something that they used as a cover for praying as well. 

Furthermore, we can understand this more deeply:

The term “matronisa” in mystical terminology is often referring to the Shekhina ( Peri Tzaddik Pinchas 18 ). Even more significantly, it can refer to the aspect of God that has been given to the running of the lower worlds and nature itself (Klal haschalas Hachochma 7:152).  Sefer Habahir notes that the two phrases of kedusha seem odd and contradictory:

קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ... מְלֹא כָל הָאָֽרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ:

‘Holy, holy, holy, is Hashem of Hosts, the earth is filled with His glory.’”

בָּרוּךְ כְּבוֹד־הֹ מִמְּ֒קוֹמוֹ:

Blessed is the glory of Hashem from its place

After we declare Hashem to be Holy, Holy, Holy and the whole world is filled with His presence, we then bless Him in His place?  Sefar HaBahir explains it by way of a parable.  The princes and nobles praise the Queen to the King for all her great acts throughout the country.  Then after that, the princes ask to see their mother, and the King says, “She is busy attending to her duties throughout the kingdom.”  The princes then say, ”Very well, let her be blessed wherever she may be…”

The point may be as follows, Hashem is holy of holies and the Jewish people can praise Him and thereby have a certain special access.  But the Shekina in her duties in handling nature and is accessible to all nations.

We can then see this story of consulting with the “matronisa” as a Theurgic act of appealing to the Shekhina.  However, it was not only a prayer through action, it also had content that was important.  The rabbis via their prayers and their actions were trying to articulate that the Gentiles had their place in the world and their opportunity to serve God as well, but they should not interfere with the Jewish way.  This is what they meant when they said, “Are we Jews not your brothers; are we not children of one father; are we not children of one mother?”

However, it is doubtful that an actual dialogue took place between the Jews and the Gentiles.  In aggadah, most dialogues between parties can be seen as the essential truth of the matter playing out its dynamic.  (For example, when Hashem has “discussions” with nature, it is about conversing with their angel, which is to say, conversing with the essential nature and truth represented in its deepest existence. See Psychology of the Daf, Rosh Hashana 11) The Jews were in dialogue with God and their very own souls to negotiate their place in the world. When they understand and respect their place in the world, the Gentiles will also respect and understand theirs. 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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