וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר׃
He (Hashem) called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: (1:1)
The Midrash tells us that Moshe is referred to throughout Tanach (the Scriptures) by ten different names. The name his parents actually gave him was Tuvia (טובי-ה) which means G-d’s goodness. But the name by which G-d addressed him was “Moshe” which was the name he was given by Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya, after she found him floating in a basket in the Nile. ”She named him Moshe, explaining, ‘I drew him out of the water’ (Exodus 2:10).” The Midrash points out that we see this from the first few words of this week’s parsha which read, “He (Hashem) called to Moshe,” meaning Hashem first called out, “Moshe”, and then spoke with him.
Why did Hashem choose the name given to him by Pharaoh’s daughter over even the name his parents gave him?
Let’s start with trying to understand Batya’s intention in giving him that name. Was it so that Moshe should remember what she had done for him for the rest of his life? Perhaps it was not about what she had done but about what Hashem had done for him. The hand of Hashem was clear in his survival. Not only did he not drown in the waters, he was drawn out of the water by none other than the daughter of Pharaoh who wanted to kill every last Jewish baby boy! Her message to Moshe was to remember by the name he was given for his entire life the clear kindness that Hashem bestowed upon him. This would engender a tremendous sense of gratitude from Moshe to Hashem.
Gratitude is the greatest foundation for serving Hashem. Gratitude to Hashem humbles us before Him and a desire to reciprocate His kindness instills in us the drive to do His service. Therefore Hashem declared that the greatest leader of the Jewish people will be called by the name Batya gave him because that name carries the key to everything that Moshe represented. Acknowledge the kindness that Hashem has bestowed upon you and show your gratitude by dedicating yourselves to His will.
Perhaps she had another goal in mind. It actually was about what she had done for him. She didn’t mean to be self-serving rather to be an example for Moshe for the rest of his life. Simply put Batya put her life on the line to save Moshe. She was defying her father Pharaoh’s decree to drown the Jewish baby boys. Her act would be described as an act of mesiras nefesh. Literally translated this means giving up the soul, which means self sacrifice and dedication to a cause greater than oneself. She wanted him to always remember that he is alive because of someone’s self sacrifice and to live by that example for the rest of his life.
This term mesiras nefesh is often used in the context of giving up or risking one’s life in the service of Hashem which is sometimes called for. But this very meritorious quality is not reserved for that. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, of blessed memory, would say that the essential form of mesiras nefesh is expressed when a mitzvah goes against your nature and you overcome your nature to perform it. That is mesiras nefesh because you are sacrificing something of yourself to serve the Almighty. This means that the merit of mesiras nefesh is available to us constantly.
Therefore Hashem declared that the greatest leader of the Jewish people will be called by the name that would remind us of how the quality of Batya’s mesiras nefesh gave us Moshe and that we should follow her example in all facets of our lives.
Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak