(2006/5767)

In Parshat Shemot, Yocheved sent her youngest son down the Nile River in a tar-covered basket to prevent the Egyptians from capturing and drowning him, hoping to save the young child’s life. Luckily, Paroh’s daughter spotted the floating basket, drew it from the water, and found a young baby inside. She proceeded to take the boy in. The Torah states, “And she called his name Moshe, and she said, ‘Because I drew him from the water.’” (Shemot 2:10).  The Seforno interprets the reference to being drawn from the water as foreshadowing Moshe’s future ability to draw others out of trouble and danger. Logically, Moshe should have been named “Mashui,” implying one who is himself drawn out, but, rather, he was called “Moshe,” implying one who draws forth others, proving Seforno’s point. Moshe played the role of rescuer during his entire lengthy tenure as the leader of Bnei Yisrael. On the other hand Moshe was indeed rescued once, but that one kind deed of Bat Paroh came at an extremely critical juncture in his life.  Rav Chaim Elazary elaborates that being saved at the onset of his life left an indelible impression on Moshe.  By being saved so early on, Moshe was guided towards his eventual mission in life, one of rescuing and liberating others. 

This idea applies to everyone.  Everyone experiences times of need and is sometimes saved from the clutches of doom and despair. We are rescued as a direct result of Hashem’s overwhelming kindness towards us. It is our duty to contemplate His great mercy in preserving us.  We must come to the realization that we are not saved simply to continue our “business as usual.” Rather, we all must make every effort to emulate Hashem’s benevolence by helping others in their times of need.