The child grew up, and [Yocheved] brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became like her son. She named him Moshe, and she said, “For I drew him from the water.” – Ex. 2:10
Jewish mysticism teaches that one’s Hebrew name embodies that person’s essence and destiny. According to the Torah, the name Moshe comes from the Hebrew verb meaning “to pull out/draw out” and the baby Moshe was given the name by Basya, Pharaoh’s daughter, after she rescued him from the Nile.
Rabbi Yirmiyahu Abramov notes the teaching of our Sages that Moshe had ten names, each describing an aspect of his spiritual greatness. Of all these names, why did God choose the one given to him “by a non-Jewish woman which was intended to commemorate a specific act of hers? Even though Moshe was completely passive and did not do anything to merit his name, it is the name that was recorded for posterity.”
Rabbi Abramov answers the question with a beautiful teaching from Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz. When Basya drew the infant out of the water, she risked her life by violating her father’s decree that every Jewish baby boy should be drowned. Basya’s act of exceptional lovingkindness and self-sacrifice imbued Moshe with these virtues, enabling him to become the greatest prophet and leader of the Jewish people. Rav Chaim teaches that when we make loving sacrifices for our children, we create a propensity in them to do the same for others. Kindness creates kindness!
Image: “Moses Saved From The Water” by Raphael, 1519
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