As a historical figure, Hanna Senesh has more definitions and dimensions to her than she has spellings of her first and last names. As a representative of an early female pioneer, however, she ticked very few of the established boxes of early Israeli womanhood. Instead of being remembered as a wife or a mother, she is remembered as a writer and a fighter. Her first portrayal on the Israeli stage in Hanna Senesh (1958), written by playwright and lifelong friend Aharon Megged and starring Miriam Zohar in the title role, highlights certain aspects of her character, on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. Ultimately, though, it adds more to the question of the woman and legend – who is she? Can she be considered a heroine to Jews, despite not being a religious believer? Can she be considered a heroine of the Jewish state, despite never having been a wife or mother, nor living to see the sun rise on an independent Israel? To the Jewish nation, is she the paradise-dwelling Eve, or is she the salt-of-the-earth Sarah? Or is she someone else entirely?
In this paper, I propose that Senesh is the Jewish “mother-sister-primordial-goddess” of Israel and its army, and that this early portrayal is key in understanding a person who, despite defying Jewish norms and the Israeli binary, has persisted as a heroine of Israelis and Jews everywhere.