The daughter of Pharoah, elsewhere known by her name בִּתיה — Bisya, plays a pivotal role in the story of Moshe. Not only does she save him from the waters of the Nile, but she also confers upon him the name he is forever noted by, despite possessing many other names. She converts and goes on to raise Moshe as her own son, and is rewarded by G-d in turn by being called by G-d as בַּת י-ה — Daughter of G-d.
According to the Arizal, Basya was the reincarnation of Chava, the 'Mother of All Living', meriting to enter Gan Eden alive.
Was it merely her devotion to raising Moshe that warranted such great note and reward? Certainly, risking her life as well in defying her father Pharoah's edict to kill the newborns, amplified her merit. Clearly, she must have instilled in Moshe an exceptional character trait that produced the giant of spirit that Moshe became. The Talmud describes the divine light that emanated from Moshe as the זיו דבר בתיה — the radiance of the son of Basya, emphasizing his being just the 'son' of Basya, omitting his own name.
Did Basya simply have a moment of inspiration that catapulted her to such greatness, or was there a backstory that led her to this exceptional stature?
The late Ozherover Rebbe, in his Sefer Be'er Moshe, makes a stunning observation.
The Torah reports how the daughter of Pharoah went down to bathe על היאור — literally over the water, but figuratively 'by the water'. Her maidens, however, are depicted as walking על יד האור — alongside the water, at its edge.
A similar contrast appears in the episode of Yosef and the interpretation of Pharoah's dream, where the Torah describes Pharoah dreaming that he was standing על היאור — over the river, observing the two sets of cows emerging from the water.
Yet, when retelling the dream to Yosef, Pharoah depicts himself as standingעל שפת היאור — upon the bank of the river.
The Rebbe adds that since the Midrash states that Yosef was aware of the actual dream, he was able to catch the discrepancy in the reporting of it. When he challenged Pharoah on the inaccuracy, it became evident to Pharoah that indeed Yosef was an authentic interpreter of dreams and thus relied on him so readily.
But why did Pharoah misrepresent the dream?
Rav Gilad Messing, in his Sefer, Nashim B'Tanach, suggests that being that the Nile was deified by the Egyptian people, the image of him standing over the river and its implication of man lording over the mighty Nile was sacrilegious in his mind. He therefore sought to rather present himself more obediently upon its bank.
The message G-d intended to send to Pharoah was that he is merely an agent of G-d, not the Nile, and in that reality can overcome the 'mythical' force of nature.
Although the message was lost on this Pharaoh, it filtered down to this young daughter of the Pharoah dynasty, as she stood fearlessly and defiantly, על היאור — over the water, embracing the truth that in the hands of the Almighty we are impervious to the mighty Nile. It was at this moment we are taught that Basya converted to the Jewish faith.
Water is a powerful force. A man alone against the waves of the sea. Its force can sweep away trees and houses.
The Maharal famously teaches that the fundamental nature of water lies in the fact that it is formless. Water has no independent form of its own; it adopts the shape of its container, it is pure chomer – matter, without any tzurah – form. The ocean is completely formless, and unlike dry land, it has no pathways or landmarks. This attribute of water reflects its essence. Water represents the initial stage in every creative process. Before something becomes expressed and takes on form, it exists in a formless, amorphous state. Through the creative process, physical form emerges from this intangible, formless root. (גבורות השם יט)
Man too, can live a formless existence, simply going with the flow, succumbing to its forces, never attempting to create a clear identity and purpose.
This remarkable woman by naming her 'son' Moshe and its identification with her 'drawing him out of the water', embedded within him the mission to never 'go with the flow', but to defy its formless strength in defining ourselves in the ultimate 'tzurah', the Tzelem Elokim, giving direction and purpose to every act we engage in.
The Midrash quoting a verse in Divrei HaYamim, that reveals that Basya was married to מרד — Mered, who we are told is none other than Calev who defied the influence of the Spies. He was thus called מרד — rebel, the one who resisted the cowardly spies who sought the path of least resistance, unwilling to formulate an inner confidence in the allegiance to G-d that makes us invulnerable to the waves of the sea. The Midrash continues that with that identity, he merited in wedding Basya, who also rebelled against the tide of her father's amorphous decrees.
Moshe follows in his illustrious mother's footsteps never going with the flow, pursuing a life of ceaseless substance and form, never being influenced by the formless attitudes of popular opinion around him.
May we draw ourselves away from the tsunami of temptation and find meaning and happiness in living lives of form and substance.
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
