24 Tevet, 5784

January 5, 2024


Parshat Shemot

In Parshat Shemot we are introduced to perhaps one of the most pivotal figures in all of Tanach – Moshe Rabbeinu. Despite his incredible humility, Moshe ultimately became a strong leader whose actions helped Bnai Yisrael leave Egypt and whose capable leadership helped ensure that the Jewish people eventually ended up in Eretz Yisrael.


While his exploits are well-known, his humble beginning doesn’t always get as much attention. Yet, it is Moshe’s entry into this world that warrants a closer look due to the lessons that can be learned from this less-heralded part of this week’s parsha.


וַתֵּ֤רֶד בַּת־פַּרְעֹה֙ לִרְחֹ֣ץ עַל־הַיְאֹ֔ר וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֥יהָ הֹלְכֹ֖ת עַל־יַ֣ד הַיְאֹ֑ר וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֶת־הַתֵּבָה֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַסּ֔וּף וַתִּשְׁלַ֥ח אֶת־אֲמָתָ֖הּ וַתִּקָּחֶֽהָ׃


The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. (Shemot 2:5)


After Moshe’s mother, Yocheved, put her infant son in a basket in the Nile in an attempt to save him from Pharaoh’s decree that every Jewish boy that is born must be thrown into the Nile, Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the basket and had it pulled out of the water. Not only did she save Moshe, but she took him into her home and raised him as her own son.


What would cause Pharaoh’s daughter to save a child that the Torah says she knew must be a Jewish child, particularly at a time when her father was going out of his way to make life miserable for Bnai Yisrael?

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The Gemara in Masechet Sotah (12b) notes that Pharaoh’s daughter went to the Nile that day in order to cleanse herself of the idolatrous life she had been living thus far, with the intention of converting and becoming Jewish. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who was commonly known as “the Rav,” said that although it seems that two different things were occurring simultaneously; namely, the impending conversion of Pharaoh’s daughter and Moshe being saved, both events were in fact related to each other.


The Torah says וַתַּחְמֹ֣ל עָלָ֔יו – she took pity on him. (Shemot 2:6) In doing so, the Torah is emphasizing the important role that the characteristic of displaying pity played in Moshe’s rescue. The Midrash in Shemot Rabbah tells us that an angel hit Moshe in order to cause him to cry, thereby engendering a sense of pity from Pharaoh’s daughter. According to the Gemara in Masechet Yevamot (79a), having an innate sense of compassion is a quality that often manifests itself in Jews. As Pharaoh’s daughter was intending to become Jewish, she possessed that trait of compassion at that very moment and saved Moshe.


Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, zt”l, notes that the sense of compassion that Pharaoh’s daughter demonstrated was not an isolated incident. She didn’t merely save Moshe and then move on. She named him, raised him and cared for him, which likely merited her the special status of being one of just nine people who entered Gan Eden alive, as noted in Masechet Derech Eretz Zuta.


The story of Pharaoh’s daughter teaches us an important and powerful lesson. Demonstrating a sense of virtuousness and compassion can have a lasting impact on others, even if the act of kindness itself may not seem so significant at the time. As Jews, we have a strong moral compass that can point us in the right direction at all times. It is up to us to ensure that we keep that foremost in our minds and never pass up an opportunity to show compassion for others when the situation warrants it.


Shabbat Shalom,



Nachi Troodler

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