We are introduced – genealogically – to Moshe twice. The first time is, quite naturally, when he is born. Yet unlike pretty much every other prior biblical figure he is not given – or at least we are not told – his name at birth. He is “a son, a child, a boy” but he has no name. His parents are also nameless. The father is a man from the house of Levi and the mother a daughter of Levi – it is unclear (at this point) whether that is Levi the person or a descendant of Levi. This unnamed baby is the perhaps first person both of whose parents were born Jewish and possibly even the first person since Yitzchak who had two Jewish parents[1].
But as Jewish as he may have been at birth there is little question he was raised as an Egyptian. He was the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, the Torah clearly stating that “he was her son” (Shemot 2:10). She rescued him, named him – Biblical names reflecting one’s identity – and raised him. As our Sages teach “he who raises a child is considered as if he gave birth to them”.
Moshe, it seems, identified as an Egyptian. While Moshe may have had some knowledge of his ancestral heritage, likely taught to him by his “mother”[2] he clearly gives the vibe of an Egyptian. “And when they came to Re῾u᾽el their father, he said, How is it that you are come so soon today? And they said, ‘an ish mitzri, an Egyptian man delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock” (Shemot 2:18-19). A rabbinic Midrash goes so far as to claim that because Moshe identified as an Egyptian, he did not merit to be buried in the land of Israel.
Spending many years in the home of Yitro, the priest of Midian, did little to heighten Moshe’s awareness of his Jewishness. When G-d tasks him to go to Egypt no longer does Moshe have the sense of justice he had many years prior when he came to the rescue of the Jewish slave. After being forced by G-d to go and redeem the Jewish people, G-d Himself has a change of heart and is ready to kill Moshe for not circumcising his son. Moshe knows little and seems to have little interest regarding G-d’s covenant with Abraham.
Yet we are genealogically introduced to Moshe once again as he is tasked “to take the Jewish people out of Egypt”. But this is a very different account of his lineage. No longer is he some nameless person, cast adrift in the water by his nameless parents. We are introduced to his parents, Amram and Yocheved, to his cousins, nephews and extended family. The Torah traces his lineage back some four generations, to the children of Israel (Yaakov) indicating its great importance. This is the family chosen by G-d to be His special nation. And it this re-born Moshe who is tasked with their redemption from slavery, to bring them to the “the good and spacious land, the land flowing with milk and honey” (Shemot 3:8) stopping on the way “to serve G-d on this mountain” (Shemot 3:12).
Moshe is no longer Ish Mitzri, Moshe the Egyptian, but is beginning the process of becoming Moshe Rabbeinu. The dual identity of Moshe is inherent in his name. Named by the daughter of Pharaoh the name Moshe means – in Egyptian “one who is born” and in Hebrew he is called Moshe “because he was drawn from the water”. Moshe is the son of Pharaoh’s daughter who unlike her father’s orders to throw Jewish children into water took him out of the water to save him and raise him.
In addition to his family we learn of Moshe’s age, 80 when he appears before Pharaoh. We now know he spent many, many years in Midian. While the Torah does not tell us how old he was when he fled it does tell us it was when “grew up” which happens (we hope) during one’s teenage years.
80 is twice 40, 40 being the number of weeks of gestation. Moshe is twice born, once as an Egyptian and once as a Hebrew, hence the two genealogical accounts[3].
Having grown up in the Royal Palace, Moshe did not develop a slave mentality, thus giving him the wherewithal to be their redeemer. At the same time having grown up in Royal palace and spending many years in the home of “the priest of Midian” it was not easy to become the leader of the Jewish people. Changing one’s “identity”, is not easy and we should not be surprised that Moshe had little interest in doing so[4]. But change he did. This is part and parcel of what makes Moshe the greatest of all prophets.
This ability to change, to move forward in spite of one’s past is the mark of greatness. May we have the strength to do so when necessary.
[1] At this point in the Bible it seems being Jewish meant having a Jewish father. While it seems a bit shocking to claim that Rivka, Rachel and Leah were non-Jews there is no indication in the text that they ever converted. Unlike Sarah they were not given a new name to symbolize a new identity. Clearly many of the children of Yaakov had non-Jewish wives, with the Torah mentioning the non-Jewish wives of Shimon, Yehuda and Yosef.
[2] Hence Moshe “went out to his brothers”
[3] I thank Leon Kass, Founding G-d’s Nation (Yale University Press, 2021) for this insight.
[4] It is worth noting that the Rambam advises a ba’al teshuva, a repentant (former) sinner to change their name, symbolizing a new identity. Moshe the Egyptian and Moshe Rabbeinu had the same name but with two different meanings.
