Comentario sobre Exodo 2:6

ותפתח ותראהו lit., AND SHE OPENED IT AND SHE SAW HIM — whom did she see? את הילד THE CHILD. This is the literal sense of the suffix in ותראהו. A Midrashic explanation is (taking את in the sense of “with”— she saw Him with the child): she saw the Shechina with him (cf. Sotah 12b).

AND BEHOLD IT WAS A WEEPING LAD. “His voice sounded like that of a grown lad.”⁶⁹This interpretation is based on the change of reference to Moses within the same verse: And she opened it, and saw it, even ‘hayeled’ (the child), and behold it was a weeping ‘na’ar’ (a young lad). Hence, in accordance with Rabbi Yehudah’s opinion in Sotah 12 b, Rashi construed that he was a child with the voice of a young lad. Thus the language of Rabbeinu Shlomo. Now the Rabbis have already rejected this opinion, saying,⁷⁰This is the opinion of Rabbi Nechemya (ibid.). “If so, you have made Moses our teacher appear as having a blemish [and being unfit for Levitical service in the Tabernacle].”⁷¹Part of the Levitical services in the Tabernacle — and later in the Sanctuary in Jerusalem — consisted of the chanting of the services. A Levite who had no sweetness of voice was disqualified for this service. (See Maimonides’ The Commandments, Vol. I, pp. 32-3, Soncino.) Now if as an infant, Moses, who was a Levite, already had a voice like that of a young lad, as he grew older his voice must have thickened. After the building of the Tabernacle when he was past eighty, his voice naturally could no longer be a singer’s voice, as it would have been greatly out of proportion to his age. Besides, what reason is there for Scripture to mention his unnatural voice?
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that his limbs were developed as that of a young lad. Perhaps Scripture mentioned this in order to denote the child’s beauty. It was due to his exquisite beautiful appearance that she [the princess] had compassion for him since she recognized that he had been recently born and yet his limbs were well-developed like those of a lad.
A more correct interpretation is that his was a strong and unrelenting cry like that of a lad, and therefore she had compassion for him. A homiletic exposition has it:⁷²Shemoth Rabbah 1:28. “A weeping lad. He was a child whose behavior was that of a lad [who is not prone to crying]. At that moment, the angel Gabriel came and struck him so that he would cry and she would be compassionate towards him.”
In my opinion there is no need for all this. From the day of his birth, a child is called na’ar (lad) [in Scripture], as it is said, What shall we do ‘lana’ar’ (to the lad) that shall be born?⁷³Judges 13:8. Similarly, And David besought G-d for ‘hana’ar’ (the lad).⁷⁴II Samuel 12:16. The subject there is a child, not a grown lad. Conversely, Scripture calls a grown lad yeled (child), as it is said in the case of Ishmael.⁷⁵And she cast ‘hayeled’ (the child) (Genesis 21:16). At that time, Ishmael was seventeen years old. (See Ramban, Vol. I, p. 270, and Note 329, ibid.). Yet he is called yeled. Similarly, ‘v’hana’ar na’ar’ (and the lad was young),⁷⁶I Samuel 1:24. That Samuel was but a child at that time is explained by Ramban in the text, and yet Scripture refers to him as a na’ar. meaning that he [Samuel] was a young child of twenty-four months. As soon as she [his mother, Hannah] had weaned him, she brought him up to Shiloh, as it is written, And she gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her.⁷⁷Ibid., Verses 23-24.

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד, anyone explaining that the meaning of the line is that “she saw the infant,” is in error. Who does not know that when someone would open the basket that he or she would see the infant? Surely, the Torah did not have to tell us something so elementary! Therefore, the meaning of the line is this: when she opened the basket and saw the infant and wanted to know if it was male or female, she found that the baby was a נער, that it was male and not female. When she also observed that his member had been circumcised, she realised that this baby had not been abandoned but had been hidden in the reeds. If she would have found that the baby was a girl, she would have assumed that it had been abandoned (as an illegitimate birth) There is nothing unusual about an infant being called נער, as we find Manoach asking the angel who had predicted the birth of Simshon מה נעשה לנער אשר יולד,”what shall we do for the boy once he will be born?” (Judges 13,8).

ותפתח, she then saw that this was an exceptionally beautiful baby.

And behold! A youth was crying. This refers to Aharon, for his mother placed him near the wicker basket (Yalkut Shimoni, Parshas Shmos, 166). “A youth was crying” in gematria is equivalent to “this is Aharon HaKohen”.

ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בכה, When she saw the child it turned out to be a crying boy. Why did the Torah write ותראהו, "she saw him," instead of simply "she saw, etc.?" Presumably she assumed that the basket would contain an abandoned baby and she planned to rescue the baby. The Torah therefore refers to the princess "seeing what she expected to see, i.e. an abandoned child." Had the Torah written ותרא את הילד, the Torah would have created the impression that the princess saw something she had not expected.

והנה נער בוכה. “and here there was a crying lad.” Rashi understands the phrase as meaning that the voice of this baby was as strong as that of a lad, i.e. a growing youngster.” According to Nachmanides, Rashi’s explanation has already been discounted, for if it were correct we would have to view Moses as being halachically blemished, something that according to our tradition disqualifies a person from becoming a prophet, or performing priestly duties. Ibn Ezra writes that Moses’ limbs were exceptionally large for a baby of his age, as large as those of a growing lad. This would not be a blemish, but, on the contrary, would be a compliment to Moses and might account for the fact that Pharaoh’s daughter took pity on that child. I believe that the correct interpretation of our phrase is that the manner in which Moses cried was that of an older child, something not as irritating as a baby’s howls, and that this was what prompted Pharaoh’s daughter to have pity on him. According to the Midrash Moses did not display symptoms of being much older, but the angel Gavriel struck him so that he broke out weeping on account of his pain, which in turn attracted the attention of the daughter of Pharaoh and aroused feelings of pity within her. I do not believe that there is any need for such esoteric explanations. Children are described as נער already at birth, compare Judges 13,8 מה נעשה לנער אשר יולד, “what are we supposed to do to the child that is going to be born?” on the other hand, growing lads are referred to by the Torah as ילד, such as when Avraham placed the 17 year old Ishmael on Hagar’s shoulder in Genesis 21,14, so that there is nothing strange in the Torah again applying this adjective in our verse.

She saw the Divine Presence with him. If [the verse means that]she saw Moshe, it should have stated ותראה (she saw). Therefore, the letter ו at the end of the word ותראהו refers to the Divine Presence, [Whom she saw with the child].

V. 6. Sie öffnete und sah es. Erst als sie es öffnete, erfuhr sie den Inhalt. Es kann also das Kind nicht geschrien haben. Was muss das für ein "ילד "טוב gewesen sein! In solcher Lage! Wie spricht sich schon in diesem einzigen Zuge die Anlage zu dem künftigen ענו מאוד, zu der ruhigsten geduldigen Anspruchslosigkeit aus! Und da sie es öffnet, ותראהו את הילד, blickte es sie zuerst als Kind an, und erst nachher fing es an zu weinen. Ein schreiendes Kind ist nicht schön, gewinnt nicht durch Liebreiz, und darauf war ja die Rettung basiert. Der erste Eindruck des ruhig sie anblickenden Kindes gewann ihr Herz. Nachher erst weinte es. Der Anblick eines fremden Gesichtes bringt ein Kind zum Weinen, und noch dazu die Physiognomie einer Ägypterin, ein Kind, das bis dahin in seiner Verborgenheit nur die semitischen Profile seiner hebräischen Eltern und Geschwister gesehen. — חמל drückt wohl wie המל und עמל eine heftige Bewegung aus, חמל speziell die innere Rührung, die durch den Zustand hervorgerufen ist, in welchem ein Mensch oder ein Gegenstand sich befindet, oder von dem er bedroht wird.

ותפתח ותראהו “she opened (the basket) and she saw him;” who is the subject of the suffix הו in this line? Seeing that at that point Pharaoh’s daughter did not yet know if the infant was an abandoned girl or an abandoned baby boy, the word ילד, is used which is neutral. After she opened the basket, she realised that it was a crying baby boy. Another exegesis: she suddenly noticed an older boy crying, i.e. Aaron, seeing that he was the brother of the baby in the basket. Noticing Aaron, she immediately came to the conclusion that the baby boy in the basket must be one of the Hebrews. Our sages, commenting on the fact that the baby Moses is once called ילד, and once נער in the same verse, teaches that his mother had made a wedding canopy inside that basket. (Sotah 12) She did so as she worried she might not merit seeing him get married.

והנה נער בכה lit., AND BEHOLD A BOY WEEPING — Although he was a ילד, “a child”, his voice was like that of a נער, a grown up boy (cf. Sotah 12b).

AND SHE SAID, THIS IS ONE OF THE HEBREWS’ CHILDREN. [She came to this conclusion because] contemplating what happened, she said [that his mother had done it] in order to save him or that she had placed him there so that she might not look upon the death of her child, and why should an Egyptian do that? Some Rabbis say⁷⁸This opinion, found in Sotah 12 a and in Shemoth Rabbah 1:29, is ascribed to Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Chanina. that [she knew he was a Hebrew because] she saw that he was circumcised. If so, [we must assume that] she removed his clothes and examined him. But there is no need for this.⁷⁹Ramban’s intent seems to be that since Pharaoh’s decree to cast the male children into the river applied only to Hebrew children — as the simple meaning of Scripture indicates — there was no need for the princess to seek to establish his identity. There is, however, a Midrashic tradition mentioned in Rashi (above, 1:22) that for one day the aforesaid decree applied to all children. The astrologers had said to the king, “Today the deliverer of the Hebrews has been born, and we do not know whether he is born of an Egyptian father or of an Israelite.” Therefore the decree on that day applied to all children. In accordance with that opinion, it is logical to assume that she examined the child, and only then did she come to the conclusion that he was a Hebrew. This is the basis of the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Chanina (see preceding Note), i.e., that she knew he was a Hebrew because she saw that he was circumcised.

והנה נער בוכה, ותחמול עליו, because he was crying she took pity on him. Furthermore, because she saw that he was a circumcised boy, she added: מילדי העברים זה, that it was one of the Hebrew children. We find something parallel in Samuel I 1,5 where we are told ולחנה יתן מנה אחת אפים, that Elkanah would give his wife Chanah a double portion, the reason being explained later with the words: כי את חנה אהב “for he deeply loved Chanah.” This is all very fine, but why does the prophet stress the word אחת in the description מנה אחת אפים, “one portion twice,” instead of writing שתי מנות, “two portions?” The reason is that although she was childless her husband gave her a double portion (only), whereas Peninah, having numerous children received far more than 2 portions. Elkanah compensated Chanah for her childlessness. Here the daughter of Pharaoh reacted to the miserable condition Moses found himself in.

את הילד, בוכה, she noticed that though his size was that of an infant, when he cried he sounded like a far older child, a lad. Actually, from birth until maturity a child is still called ילד. The best proof of this is found in Kings I 12,10 where the advisors of Rechavam, the son of king Solomon who ascended the throne after him, is described as listening to his youthful advisors who are called הילדים אשר גדלו עמו “the children who had grown up with him.” [Rechavam was 41 years of age at the time. Ed.] Also in Daniel 1,4 youngsters at least in their teens are referred to as ילדים. The term נער is applied to someone who no longer enjoys the perfection of early youth. According to our author perfect co-ordination of one’s limbs results in one’s making wrong moves on occasion. The reason why servants are referred to as נער is that they frequently are inept in their movements to the annoyance of their masters. The daughter of Pharaoh recognised in this baby that though this child had only recently been born it already showed signs of physical maturity as she could hear by the manner in which it cried. נער בוכה, awakening, shaking himself like a child of this age.

ותאמר מילדי העברים זה, “She said: “this is one of the Hebrew boy babies.” According to the plain text she had every reason for this assumption, for why would an Egyptian place her baby in such a place at such a time? Our sages, however, say that she arrived at that conclusion when observing that Moses had been circumcised.

His voice was like that of a [grown] boy. Rashi is answering the question: Why is he called a נער (grown boy)? This implies thirteen years old, but Moshe was not this age.

Our sages in Sotah 12 explain the pronoun הו at the end of ותרא as a reference to Batya seeing the שכינה together with the child. This is homiletics. We would have to assume that Batya had experience with the way the שכינה looked from her father and grandfather, something quite unlikely! Our sages may simply have meant that Batya saw that the baby was surrounded by a great halo; G'd arranged for this in order to impress Batya that this baby was someone special. The Zohar section 2, page 12 writes something similar concerning the words "the boy was crying," namely that the cries were on behalf of the Jewish people's suffering in exile." G'd opened her eyes in order for her to be able to "see" the great light surrounding Moses.

ותחמול עליו, seeing that he was such a beautiful baby, far too perfect a creature to simply throw into the river.

Alternatively, Batya's experience with the שכינה may be explained in terms of Shemot Rabbah 1,23 according to which Batya suffered from Tzoraat, the dreaded skin disease. As soon as she touched the basket she felt that she had been healed. This was her encounter with the שכינה. The word נער may then have a double meaning. When the Syrian general Naamon was healed of his Tzoraat, the prophet described his flesh as again becoming like that of a teen-aged boy, נער, (Kings II 5,14).

ותאמר מילדי העברים זה, this is not an illegitimate baby, abandoned by its mother. Such a baby, when it grew up was likely to become a criminal, as we know from Isaiah 57,4 ילדי פשע זרע שקר, “children born in sin, offspring of treachery.”

ותחמול עליו. She pitied him. Seeing that she had already set out determined to save the child, the pity mentioned here may refer to her determination to nurse the child. This is why Moses' sister immediately volunteered to call a Jewish wet nurse to nurse Moses. According to Sotah 12 all this occurred after Moses refused to accept milk from the breasts of non Jewish wet nurses.

ותאמר מילדי העברים זה. She said: "this one is one of the Jewish babies." This was quite obvious as the Jews would abandon their children near the river on account of Pharaoh's decree. On the other hand, if all this occurred on the one day when Pharaoh had ordered the Egyptians to throw also their new-born boy babies into the Nile, how did Batya know that Moses was a Jewish baby? This may have forced our sages in Sotah to say that Moses refused to drink the milk of non Jewish wet nurses. [I do not see this as a compelling explanation. The fact that the child had no foreskin clearly marked him as Jewish unless the Jews had abandoned the practice of circumcision already at that time as is evident eighty years later at the time of the Exodus. Ed.]

Accordingly, the Torah does tell us something that was not so obvious after all. Let us examine if the reason Batya saved the baby was because she thought it might be an abandoned Egyptian baby, or if she had made up her mind to save the baby even if it turned out to be a Jewish baby. If we were to assume the former, the words מילדי העברים זה express Batya's amazement at the fact that the child was Jewish. This would indicate that originally the thought of saving a Jewish child had not occurred to her. There would be nothing unusual about a Gentile displaying sympathy only for her own kind. Even though we observe that she held the child and hired a nursemaid for him after she found out that it was a Jewish child, this fact does not prove that she would have saved the child and have displayed pity for it if G'd had not first healed her from her affliction and provided a sign that the child was someone out of the ordinary. These incidents acquainted Batya with the wonderful ways of G'd.

If we are to assume that Batya already set out to rescue the baby although she was aware that it would turn out to be a Jewish baby, then the words מילדי העברים must be understood as the reason why the baby refused to suckle at the breasts of the Egyptian wet nurses. It was not because the baby had become weak through lying in the reeds of the river, or for any other biological reason, but because it was a Jewish baby. This is why his sister (Miriam) immediately volunteered the services of a Jewish wet nurse stressing the words: מן העבריות, "one of the Hebrew women," in order to prove that she knew the true reason why the baby refused to be nursed. This is also why the Torah had to report in verse nine that the child's mother took the child and was able to nurse him.