Reflections
JANUARY 3, 2013
20
Rabbi Asher Brander
SHEMOS: Of Rachmonus and Redemption
THE JEWISH HOME
In honor of the LA Jewish Home – a much needed voice of Torah Judaism in a wonderfully vibrant Los Angeles Jewish community. May you be successful beyond your wildest dreams! deliciously ironic and remarkable way as Paroh’s daughter, Batyah finds the basket as she goes out to bathe. She saw the basket among the reeds …She opened it and saw him, the child, and behold! a youth (na’ar) was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This one is from the Hebrew boys.” (miyaldei haivrim zeh). [The infant’s] sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call to you a nursing [mother] from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” “Go,” said Pharaoh’s daughter to her. The young girl went and called the child’s mother. In this quietly dramatic scene, much is left between the lines. Consider: Princess Batyah apparently doesn’t know right away that Moshe is Jewish. Something then happens that leads her to exclaim his Jewishness. We are not sure what it is. The descriptive term for Moshe switch-
es from yeled (child) to na’ar (youth); the latter implying a lad, not a babe – a strange term for a three month old child. When identifying the child she exclaims “this one is from the Hebrew boys”, a somewhat oblique (and yinglish) way of saying – he is a Hebrew child First, a few classic answers to our first two questions: a. How does Batyah know that baby Moshe is Jewish? 1. Ibn Ezra, Rashbam – She saw that he was circumcised. 2. Ramban (1st explanation) – logic
.. the incredible chesed of the Satmar community, whose bikur cholim in New York is legendary and blind to religious ideology; .. the shalom on the street one receives from the virtually unidentifiable Jew These stories happen all the time. When it matters, our kinship and deep existential connection binds us so very tight. Simply put, Jewish chesed is simply without peer; we produce philanthropy, generosity of spirit and kindness that is incredibly disproportionate to our statistical presence. Some are embarrassed by these words, when in fact, (with humility), we must teach our children and the world, the outstanding and unique attributes of Jewish chesed and rachmonus (mercy)– the very essence of our definition. So how does Paroh’s daughter know Moshe is Jewish ? Through rachmonus of course. Chizkuni and Da’as Zekeinim teach that the na’ar (lad) is not Moshe, but rather Aharon, Moshe’s slightly older brother. Consider this scenario: As Batyah picks up the baby, she hears weeping behind the bushes. [Aharon is trying his best to not make a sound]. She sees Moshe, hears Aharon’s cries, and then proceeds to turn and instantly identify the family as Jewish – for this is a family where rachmonus is so real that the 3 year old brother simply can’t stop himself from feeling his brother’s pain. Moved by Aharon’s cries, Batyah proclaims that one (Moshe) is most certainly from the Jewish people. Remarkably, Batyah protects the redeemer of Israel, and ultimately joins the nation marrying Kalev, the head of Yehuda Moshe, saved by rachmonus -- passes it forward as he exhibits the same heroic mercy in feeling the plight of his brethren. It is for this reason, says the midrash that he is chosen to be the redeemer. A bad Jewish joke proclaims that by the Jews, the fetus become viable when it graduates medical school. As we plod through an the exile of “me”-pods, “me”phones and sundry narcissistic paraphernalia, we might remind ourselves and our children of our legacy as rachamonim b’nei rechamonim, merciful ones the children of merciful ones, – for within that formulation is found our redemption.
THERE ARE TWO OF THEM, AND WE’RE ALONE.
F
or about three months, Moshe had a normal childhood. Then, under Paroh’s decree, mother Yocheved weepingly sets him afloat upon the Nile river. A most traumatic beginning manifests itself in a
- the boy was sent afloat to escape Paroh’s decree – ergo he must be Jewish. 3. Rashi – She saw the presence of the shechina. A special light emanated from his basket. (The phrase mentioned earlier that Moshe’s mother saw “he was good” (ki tov) hearkens back to Creation, about which the Torah states that God saw that the light was good. 4. Ohr HaChaim - Moshe refused to nurse from the non-Jewish midwives b. Why the term na’ar, implying a lad? 1. Rashi – His voice sounded like that of a lad – not of a baby 2. Rabbeinu Bechayei – His mother bedecked the the basket with a chupas neurim, a canopy of youth 3. Ramban – the word na’ar does not only imply lad, refers to one’s whole period of childhood. Chizkuni/Da’as Zekeinim offer a novel approach that moves me greatly. A cute prelude: Yankel and Berel were walking down a dark street when they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around and saw that they were being followed by two hoodlums. Yankel said to Berel, “Oy vey, we’re in trouble now. There are two of them, and we’re alone.” Jews are one. Yes, Jews occasionally argue - but for all the many wing tip labels of contemporary Judaism, our essential unity is absolute truth. Consider among thousands of real life examples: .. the consistent sacrifice that tens of thousands of Jewish and not-yet-religious soldiers manifest for their religious brethren.
Rabbi Asher Brander is the Founder of the LINK Kollel and Shul, located on 1453 S. Robertson Blvd and is a Rebbe at the wonderful Bnos Devorah Girls High School.