At that time, Moshe grew, and he went out to his brothers and saw their burdens. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brothers (Ex. 2:11). Abarbanel, [Exodus 2:11] writes – The third question: If Moshe Rabbeinu was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the palace, since she adopted him as her son, why does it say, “At that time, Moshe grew, and he went out to his brothers and saw their burdens?” How could Moshe have known that the wretched Jews were his brothers? And why did he leave the palace to associate with the Hebrews who were busy with their forced labor, when most people would distance themselves from the company of slaves, to avoid seeing their suffering? And all the more so Moshe, who was hardly one of them! Abarbanel explains that Moshe maintained a constant connection with his parents’ household and would go back and forth between the palace and their home. This indicates that there was a higher status of Hebrews, as indicated in the position that maintains that the Levites were not enslaved by the Egyptians [Shemos Rabbah 5:16: “Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levy said: The tribe of Levi was free of hard labor”. The midrash also explains that the Levites alone circumcised themselves and did not practice idolatry in Egypt]. “and he went out to his brothers” is a description of Moshe’s identification with the entire nation – the other enslaved tribes of Israel. Similarly, the Tzeror ha-Mor, Rabbi Avraham ben Yaakov Sava notes: “Moshe grew and he went out to his brothers – to commiserate with their misfortune. And this is the meaning of, “and he saw their forced labor”: he understood that this was a foreign thing: an Egyptian descendant of Ham, who were slaves, oppressing a Hebrew […] and in his greatness of heart and valor he turned this way and that and saw that no one was there – no Egyptian. And he struck the Egyptian and buried him in the sand – for he was not afraid that his brothers the Hebrews would inform such a thing.” The Malbim expounds: “Moshe grew and he went out to his brothers – this explains Moshe’s righteousness, and how from youth he possessed all the qualities that merited him this honor; although he was raised in the king’s palace and Israel were in the depths of despair, he did not conceal his face from them and went out to them recognizing that they are his brothers. This is the opposite of human nature, since most people who ascend to power distance themselves from their poor and desolate brothers.” Moshe’s greatness is not only in leaving the palace and his Egyptian brothers to go to his Hebrew brothers, as Ibn Ezra notes, but also leaving his high-ranking Hebrew brothers who were not enslaved and connecting with the lower-class Hebrew slaves. The Midrash [Shemos Rabbah, 1:27] asks; why does the verse states “Moshe grew”? does not everyone grow up: man, animal, beast, and bird? Rather, this tells you that he grew up [in a manner] unlike the whole world. The Midrash Tanchuma, [Vaera, 17] comments: “At that time, Moshe grew – Rabbi Yehuda says: why was there a need to mention that he grew; do not all boys grow? Rather, when he was five he looked like he was 11. And why is it stated “and the boy grew” – did Moshe grow twice? The former in stature, the latter in greatness. What was his greatness? That he went out to his brothers.” The Midrash [Koheles Rabbah 9:2] notes: “And Moshe grew and went out to his brothers. What is ‘And Moshe grew?’ his greatness was that he is the leader in and out.” Moshe begins to grow into his leadership position, and his growth also relates to his maturity and sensitivity to the suffering of his people. Perhaps the midrash’s emphasis on Moshe’s maturation process offers a partial answer to the question posed above. The Midrash [Shemos Rabbah, 1:27] explains the meaning of “And saw their burdens” – For he would look upon their burdens and cry and say, “I am shamed for you! If only I could die for you! For there is no more difficult labor than the labor of the mortar.” And he would give of his shoulders to assist each one of them. Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosse the Galilean said: If he saw a large burden on a small person and a small burden on a large person, or a man’s burden on a woman and a woman’s burden on a man, or an elderly man’s burden on a young man and a young man’s burden on an elderly man, he would leave aside his rank and go and right their burdens, and act as though he were assisting Pharaoh. The Holy One Blessed is He said: You put aside your business and went to see the sorrow of Israel, and acted toward them as brothers would act. I will leave aside Heaven and Earth and talk to you. Such is it written, “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see” The Holy One Blessed is He saw Moshe, who put aside his business to see their burdens. Therefore, “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush. The Midrash [Ibid 1:28] provides another interpretation: “he saw their burdens” – that they did not have rest. He went and said to Pharaoh, “One who has a slave, if he does not rest one day a week, he will die! These are your slaves, if you do not allow them to rest one day each week, they will die!” He said to them, “Go do for them as you say.” So, Moshe went and established the Shabbath day for them to rest. The Midrash Bereishis Rabbasi on Parashas Bereishis offers an expanded version: “How do we know that Shabbat preceded the Exodus from Egypt by twenty years? For it is written: And Moshe grew and went out to his brothers and saw their burdens (Ex. 2:11). What did he see? He saw a way to relieve their labor and allow them to rest, and he informed them of the laws of Shabbath so that they may rest. How so? He went to Pharaoh and told him: I see that your work will become obsolete. The king said: how so? He said: for their work has no limits. And furthermore, when a boy is treated like a youth and the youth as an old man, their work is not beneficial. And one who has no limit to work, does he not die? He said: yes. Moshe said: these are your slaves! If you do not offer them some relief from work they will die. Pharaoh said: I have already put you in charge of my work, go do as you see fit. Moshe went to his people and figured out from the six days of creation which day was Shabbat, and established Shabbath. He told the oppressors: it is the king’s command that there should be one day of rest from work each week. They may work for six days, and rest on Shabbath. And how do we know that Shabbat was given in Egypt? As it is written, “for God has given you the Shabbat” (Ex. 16:29) – not ‘will give,’ but rather has already given you Shabbat in Egypt.” In Shemos Rabbah [5:18], when Moshe stands before Pharaoh and asks him to let his people go, Pharaoh cancels the day of rest: “this shows that they had scrolls to enjoy from one Shabbath to the next, and in them they would read that God will redeem them, since they had time to rest on Shabbath. Therefore, Pharaoh said, the work shall be harder for these people, and they will perform it and not believe in lies – they should not enjoy the hope or relief of Shabbath.” A true Shabbath is one experienced in a state of freedom. The Midrash [Ibid 1:28] continues; “And he saw an Egyptian man” – What did he see? […] Our rabbis say there were taskmasters among the Egyptians and officers from the Israelites, one taskmaster appointed over ten officers; one officer appointed over ten Israelites. And the taskmasters would go to the houses of the officers at daybreak to make them go call the workers. Once an Egyptian taskmaster went to an Israelite officer and he set his eye on his wife who was beautiful without blemish. He called the man and brought him out of his house, then the Egyptian returned and had relations with his wife who thought that he was her husband and became pregnant from him. Her husband returned and found the Egyptian leaving his house. He asked her, did he touch you? She said yes, but I thought he was you. When the taskmaster saw that he suspected him he returned him to hard labor and struck him and sought to kill him. Moshe saw through Ruah Hakodesh what he did in the house, and recognized what would be done in the field, and hence concluded he deserves death, as it is written: “One who strikes a man shall die” (Lev. 24:21). And moreover, he had relations with the wife of Datan for which he deserved death, as it says: The adulterer and adulteress shall surely die (Lev 20:10), and that is why it is written: “And he turned this way and that” – he saw what he did to him at home and what he did to him in the field. In conclusion, the above Midrashim remind us that Moshe’s identification with the nation’s suffering began long before the encounter with the Burning Bush, when he was still in Pharaoh’s palace, dressed as an Egyptian and surrounded by aristocracy. This description of Moshe is reminiscent of Yosef. It was not the Burning Bush that created his identification with the Hebrew cause, but rather the reverse: he went to Midian because of his identification, which caused him to kill the Egyptian, and escape from Egypt to Midian, become a shepherd, and end up at the Burning Bush.

By Rabbi Shimon Fridmann – Din Torah Of North Miami Beach

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