Komentarz do Wyjścia 2:11

ויגדל משה AND MOSES WAS GROWN — But has it not already been written, (Exodus 2:10) “And the child grew”? Rabbi Judah the son of Eloai said: the first time it refers to growth in stature, the second time to greatness, — that Pharaoh appointed him to have charge over his palace (Tanchuma Yashan 2.2:17; cf. also Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 166:11).

AND WHEN MOSES WAS GROWN UP HE WENT OUT UNTO HIS BRETHREN. This is to be understood that he grew to manhood. It has already been said, And the child grew,⁸⁰Verse 10. which means that it was no longer necessary to wean him, and then the mother⁸¹Verses 8-9: And the maiden went and called the mother of the child, etc. brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son,⁸⁰Verse 10. for he was to stand in the presence of kings.⁸²See Proverbs 22:29. After that, he grew to manhood in maturity of mind.

מכה, perhaps he only struck him and did not kill him.

וירא בסבלותם. He made it his concern to take a benevolent interest in the afflictions suffered by his brethren.

2,11 איש עברי מאח ;יו, a Hebrew man, one of his brethren. The Torah makes a point of adding "one of his brethren." This is the Torah's way of hinting that Moses recognised that the individual in question was one of the righteous Israelites. There were at that time both righteous and wicked Israelites. It is worthwhile reading how the Mechilta 12,26 interprets the meaning of Exodus 13,18 that the Israelites marched out of Egypt חמושים, reduced to one fifth of their original number. According to the Mechilta only one in every five Israelites took part in the Exodus. The other 80% of the Israelites (the wicked ones) died during the plague of darkness so as not to publicise that fact and allow the Egyptians to gloat. The two Jews who are described as Jews fighting amongst themselves in verse thirteen were not described as "Moses' brethren;" this proves that they were wicked Jews; according to Shemot Rabbah 1,29 they were Datan and Aviram of whom we hear more in פרשת קרח.

ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו, “when Moses grew up he went out to his brethren, etc.” In verse 10 when the wet nurse brought Moses back to his foster mother the daughter of Pharaoh, he is described as ויגדל הילד, the child grew up. Now, in the verse following, the adjective “the child,” has been omitted. He was now an adult and had been told that he was actually Jewish.

He was one of the slave drivers. Since the beating [that the Egyptian did] is juxtaposed to the burdens of hard labor, they are related. Therefore Rashi explains: “He was one of the slave drivers.”

V. 11 u. 12. Der Mensch, der als Prophet in Israel aufstehen soll, muss, nach jüdischer Lehre, schon vor seiner Berufung als חכם ,גבור und עשיר ausgezeichnet dastehen. Nicht die Schwäche, nicht die Einfalt, nicht die soziale Abhängigkeit wählt sich Gott zu Boten seines Wortes und seiner Tat. "Stark, weise und unabhängig" muss der Mann dastehen, den Gott als seinen Boten senden soll. Mit diesem einzigen Satze scheidet sich scharf das jüdische Prophetentum von allem, was man gedankenlos mit diesem zusammen zu werfen manchen Ortes so gerne geneigt ist. Unter diesen Kriterien der zum Propheten sich eignenden Persönlichkeit steht גבורה, gesunde Körperkraft, wohl nicht unverdient in erster Linie. Wie sehr sucht man nicht der Tatsache der jüdischen Prophetie ihre Welt und Menschen bauende Kraft zu rauben, indem man sie zuerst ihrer hellen Göttlichkeit entkleidet, um sie dann in das Nachtgebiet der Visionen, des magnetischen Hellsehens usw. usw. zu verweisen. Alles dies sind jedoch Erscheinungen, die nur in Zuständen von Schwäche, Krankheit und Kränklichkeit vorkommen. Die erste Forderung aber, die unsere Prophetie an ihre Träger macht, heißt: גבורה, Gesundheit und Stärke. Nur in einem gesunden, ungeschwächten Leib erreicht der Geist jene Klarheit, die aus dem Born der allen geöffneten Gotteslehre die הכמה zu schöpfen vermag, welche die zweite Vorbedingung, und auch עושר, die Selbständigkeit und Unabhängigkeit, welche die dritte Vorbedingung bildet.

וירא בסבלתם AND HE SAW THEIR BURDENS — he set his eyes and mind to share in their distress. (Exodus Rabbah 1:27)

AND HE WENT OUT UNTO HIS BRETHREN. This indicates that they told him he was a Jew,⁸³See Esther 3:4. and he desired to see them because they were his brethren. Now he looked on their burdens and toils and could not bear [the sight of his people enslaved]. This was why he killed the Egyptian who was smiting the oppressed Hebrew.

וירא איש מצרי מכה איש עברי מאחיו. He was aroused to avenge his death because of this feeling of brotherliness to the victim.

מכה איש עברי מאחיו, “striking down a Hebrew man, one of his brethren.” Ibn Ezra queries the need for the additional word מאחיו in our verse, something we knew seeing that the man had been described as being a Hebrew. He therefore concludes that this word means that the individual in question belonged to the family of Moses. [seeing that his family members were all Levites and exempt from the forced labour, this appears tenuous. Ed.]

He would wake them at the crow of the rooster to their tasks. When the rooster crowed, they immediately needed to get up for their work.

איש מצרי AN EGYPTIAN MAN — This was one of the taskmasters appointed over the Israelite officers and he used to rouse them from their beds at cock-crow that they might proceed to their work (Exodus Rabbah 1:28 and Leviticus Rabbah 32:4).

He was beating and terrorizing him. We need not ask how Rashi knew that מכה means only beating rather than smiting and killing. For the answer is [clear]: Rashi explains later that Moshe killed the Egyptian only after seeing that there was no good man destined to descend from him. Otherwise Moshe would not have killed him. Whereas if מכה means kill, why did Moshe need to see this? Even if the Egyptian would have good descendants he would deserve death for murdering a Hebrew, as Scripture states (Shemos 21:23), “A soul for a soul.” Thus, מכה must mean beating and terrorizing but not killing. That is why Moshe needed to see if there would be any good descendant—otherwise he would not kill him since he was not liable for death by Torah law. You might then ask: how was Moshe allowed to kill him, [if he was not liable for death by Torah law]? The answer is that B’nei Noach are liable for death for violating any Noachite law. And they are commanded against beating, just as Jews are. Nevertheless, were he destined to have a good descendant, Moshe would have judged the Egyptian by Torah law rather than by Noachite law.

מכה איש עברי SMITING A HEBREW MAN — beating and flogging him. The latter was the husband of Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri (see Leviticus 24:11), and the Egyptian taskmaster had set his fancy upon her. During the night he compelled him (her husband) to rise and made him leave the house. He, however, returned, entered the house and forced his attentions upon the woman, she believing it was her husband. The man returned and became aware of what had happened, and when the Egyptian perceived that he was aware of it he beat him and flogged him the whole day long (Exodus Rabbah 1:28).

He (the victim) was the husband of Shlomis, daughter of Divri. [Rashi knows this] because of what is written later in Parshas Emor: “Shlomis daughter of Divri” (Vayikra 24:11). There Rashi explained: “It is praiseworthy to the Jews that Shlomis is specified, as this means only she had illicit relations.” And if this woman was not Shlomis, then there would be two Jewish women who had illicit relations.

He (the Egyptian) was attracted to her . . . and came upon his wife. . . [Rashi knows this] because otherwise Moshe would not have killed him. The Egyptian would not deserve death for only beating the Hebrew. Therefore, he must have come upon his wife and definitely deserved death since adultery is forbidden by the seven Noachite laws, as it is written (Bereishis 2:24): “And he shall cleave to his wife” [and not to another’s wife; see Yerushalmi, Kiddushin 1:1]. This also answers the question posed above (How was Moshe allowed to kill him?).