According to the Midrash, the "palm of Devorah" (the prophetess) was actually the "alon" (oak) under which the nursemaid of Rivka was buried, as recorded here in Parashat Vayishlach. Why would the Midrash draw such an association between Devora the nursemaid and Devora the prophetess?
Perhaps the answer lies particularly in the stark contrast between these two personalities.
In the middle of Parashat Vayishlach, we read of the death and burial of Devora, the nursemaid of Rivka (35:8). Rashi, in his commentary to this verse, explains that Rivka had sent Devora to bring Yaakov back home from Charan, and Devora died as she accompanied Yaakov on the way home. The Ramban, however, argues that Rivka would not have sent such an elderly woman on so far a journey to bring Yaakov home; she would have sent a younger servant. He therefore explains that Devora, who had accompanied Rivka many years earlier on her initial trip to Canaan to marry Yitzchak (see 24:59), at some point returned home to Charan. Alternatively, the Ramban suggests, Devora was not the same nurse who accompanied Rivka to Canaan. In any event, he writes, Devora joined Yaakov as he returns to Canaan, perhaps in order to care for Rivka, who was now an elderly woman.
Why does the Torah mention the death of Devora? According to the Ramban, we must accept the Midrash's comment that at the time of Devora's death, Yaakov received word of another death - that of his mother, Rivka. The Midrash explains that the Torah never explicitly records Rivka's death because of the disrespectful burial she received. Since her husband was blind and Yaakov was away in Charan, Esav was the only family member who attended her funeral. This may have prompted people observing such a burial to utter humiliating comments about Rivka, bemoaning the fact that Rivka's only legacy is the corrupt and ruthless Esav. She was therefore given a private, nighttime funeral so as to protect her honor. Due to the dishonorable nature of her burial, the Torah does not explicitly record her death. The Ramban claims that for this reason the Torah mentions the death of Devora, to provide a context in which to allude to Rivka's death.
The Da'at Zekeinim Mi-Ba'alei Ha-Tosafot cites a Midrash associating Devora, Rivka's nursemaid, with the other, far more famous Devora - the prophetess who led Benei Yisrael to triumph over the Canaanite king Yavin during the period of the Shoftim (see Shoftim 4-5). In introducing Devora the prophetess, the verse writes in Sefer Shoftim (4:5) that she "would sit under the Palm of Devora... " According to the Midrash cited by the Ba'alei Ha-Tosefot, this palm was actually the "alon" (oak) under which the nursemaid Rivka was buried, as recorded here in Parashat Vayishlach. Why would the Midrash draw such an association between Devora the nursemaid and Devora the prophetess?
Perhaps the answer lies particularly in the stark contrast between these two personalities. Devora the prophetess was a woman of wealth, prominence, leadership, and, of course, spiritual insight. In fact, Rashi, in his comments to the aforementioned verse in Sefer Shoftim, interprets that verse as a reference to Devora's vast holdings in the palm-rich region of Jericho and other areas. And in the following verse, she summons Barak, the nation's military general, and orders him to launch an offensive against the Canaanites. This woman of power and authority contrasts sharply with Devora the nursemaid, whose most prominent feature appears to be her anonymity. The Torah leaves with hardly a clue as to her identity. saw, the Ramban is unsure whether she was in fact the nurse mentioned in Parashat Chayei-Sara, who accompanied Rivka to Canaan. And in the Midrashim, we find two views as to whether she was Rivka's mother or aunt. In any event, the Torah tells us nothing about her, other than her name and profession.
For this very reason, perhaps, the Midrash draws a connection between these two women. As prominent and influential as Devora the prophetess was, she nevertheless "sat under the Palm of Devora" the nursemaid. She made a point of retaining a soft, gentle, humble demeanor, even as she took the reins of leadership in an attempt to restore stability to an anarchy-stricken nation. She found the way of being both a "nevi'a" (prophetess) and a "meineket" (nursemaid) - a woman of intellect and authority on the one hand, and, on the other, of simplicity, sensitivity and compassion.