She took pity on him, and said, “This is a Hebrew boy!”.…Her sister said to Paroh’s daughter, “Shall I go and summon a wet nurse from the Hebrew women?”[2]
The irony is breathtaking. Paroh the Paranoid had been warned. A Jewish child would one day lead his people to freedom. He took the prognostication very, very seriously. He had adopted the position that all Jewish boys should be murdered, lest he be the one who would grow up to be that leader. How could it come to pass that, not only would he make an exception for baby Moshe, but would raise him in the royal court as an adopted son?
Perhaps we don’t give Bisya enough credit. It seems to me that not only did she display compassion to a crying baby, but she had even greater plans for thwarting the murderous designs of her father.
Ramban teaches that Paroh first instructed the midwives, rather than the entire populace, to dispose of Jewish babies, because he wanted to hide his intentions. He did not want to be seen as a homicidal maniac, so he hid behind a façade of legality. Infanticide remained a crime; Jews could appeal to him for justice for the deaths of their children. They were respectfully received. “Bring witnesses to your charge, and we will see to it that justice is done.” Alas, that legal requirement could not be met.
So the murders continued. In time, the good citizens of Mitzrayim got the message. Jewish blood was cheap. The crown would not intervene on behalf of Jewish parents. It wanted the Jews dead, and would not interfere if the Egyptians helped the process along. The murders became widespread, until they became the standard practice. All without Paroh having to change the law, or broadcast his intentions. His was a death decree that was never openly declared.
Bisya was more of a tzadekes than she gets credit for. Ramban does give her some of that credit. He writes that she requested of her father that he annul his decree. I believe that she acted with cunning, and not directly. When she rescued Moshe, she saw an opportunity to not only save him, but to spare all other Jewish babies.
She called for a Jewish wet nurse, and showed up in the palace with a new child. Paroh, not wanting to make his designs a matter of public record, had little choice but to accede to his daughter’s request. Moreover, this aligned perfectly with his position. He demonstrated that he harbored no ill will to Jewish infants. To the contrary. He brought one into the court, and paid for his nurse!
The Egyptians, however, were taken aback by this. Had Paroh changed his mind about the Jews? Was he now protecting them? Better to be safe than sorry. The murders petered out, until they stopped entirely. Bisya thus succeeded in ending the decree that had plunged Jewish babies into the Nile.
Bisya names her foundling “Moshe,” because “I drew him out from the water.”[3] Was this the most important thing that she could say about him – important enough that it determined what he would forever be called? Well, yes! Bisya saw it as the greatest achievement of her life. By a princess drawing him out of the river, and successfully bringing a Jewish baby into the royal family, she saved not only one life, but innumerable others. It reversed the evil edict, and gave the gift of life to a generation of Jews.
Well done. Something to be proud of, indeed.
- Adapted from Divrei Shaul, by Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson, the Shoel U-Meshiv ↑
- Shemos 2:6-7 ↑
- Shemos 2:10 ↑