[Avodah] Moshe Rabeinu and his family

[Eliyahu Grossman]

Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2011 22:07:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Harvey Benton <harvw613 at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Avodah] Moshe Rabeinu and his family

> After he was an infant, how did Moshe Rabeinu know who his family was? 
> We know his sister watched our for him, and was picked up by Bat Pharoa,
but did Bat Pharoa know that the one who nursed Moshe was his Mother? 
> Did she relay this information and/or keep Moshe in touch with his family
after Moshe grew up in the KIing's Palace?  
> Or did Moshe find out some other way who his family was? 
> and if so, how???
> thanks much, hb

All of these are good questions (which are better than pat answers), and you
will discover that there are MANY answers, some that contradict, and some
that go off into interesting directions. But the fact of the matter is that
the Torah is silent on the matter, so we are left with Aggadic expressions
and Biblical exegesis by authors who had mussar to teach (as one
possibility). For example, those who have a problem with Bat Paroah being a
[high] priestess of Avodah Zara (her duties as the daughter of a "god"), say
that she was by the water because she was "converting". Another says
(instead of converting) that she had a disease and was purifying (so what
about her job?). One could come up with more, easily. One Midrash that wants
her to be connected in a Jewish way, has her arms extend past the norm like
"elasti-girl" (if one starts an act, He will cause miracles? One
interpretation), and another has her being very Egyptian and selfish,
calling him "I pulled" (moshe) with the because she saw the babe as
something that she deserved, and she caused by her actions alone. And you
have those that have a problem with Moshe not being raised "Jewish", so you
have stories of him being raised by his parents (some problems there,
considering they needed to get rid of the babe, and there are multiple
Midrashim why), and others that have him raised as an infant in the palace,
with grandpa Paroah delighting in him. Was he born and raised for his job as
leader, or did he grow into it? The midrashim vary, based on point of view
and mussar.

As one who loves and delves into Midrashim, I believe that it is important
to ALWAYS introduce a midrash by declaring it to be one. Rather than saying
"Her name was Batyah", one should say "There is a Midrash [site source if
you recall] that gives her name as Batyah." (For extra credit, give your
interpretation as to why.) Too often we drop this, and listeners may come to
accept that what was declared was in the text, when it is not. And sometimes
when the distinction is missed, conclusions are made, and when you conclude,
you don't think about it anymore, which, in my opinion, is contrary to the
purpose of Midrash.

Eliyahu Grossman
Efrat, Israel