And his wife היהודיה —the Yehudiyah, bore ירד — Yered, אבי גדר — the father of Gedor, and חבר — Chever, אבי שוכו — the father of Socho, and יקותיאל — Yekusiel, אבי זנוח —the father of Zanoach. And these are the sons of בתיה — Bisyah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom מרד — Mered married. (דבה"י א ד)
This cryptic verse, the Talmud reveals, is referring to the daughter of Pharoah, who saved Moshe, and conferred six different names upon him. (מגילה יא)
She is called the Yehudiyah — the Jewess, as her bathing in the river was intended as an act of 'cleansing herself from גילולי בית אביה — 'the idols of her father's household' — converting to Judaism. (מגילה יג)
She is also called בתיה — Bisyah, a contraction of בת י-ה — deserving of the appellation — daughter of G-d. Just as she bravely chose to raise a child not of her own, yet she treated him as her own son, similarly G-d referred to one not of His own nation, lovingly calling her, 'His' daughter. (ויקר"ר א ג)
Throughout the entire Chumash of Bereishis, the term used to describe a Jew is עברי — Ivri, with the Targum translating it in its Aramaic form — עבראה.
From Chumash Shemos and on, the term Ivri is often used but the Targum now begins to translate it as יהודאי — Yehudi.
Ironically, chronologically the first person referred to within the Written Torah as a Yehudiyah, is none other than Bisya, the daughter of Pharaoh, who raised Moshe.
The Zohar asserts that every Jew has a ניצוץ — spark of Moshe within them.
We are safe in assuming that this child, who was raised and considered as Bisya's own son, was invested from his youth with supernal qualities that resulted from the nurturing he received all those formative years under the tutelage of the first 'Yehudiyah'.
Was it merely her courageous act of saving a Jewish child — a despised entity in the home of her father Pharoah — clearly risking her relationship and possibly her life, that made this woman so worthy?
Was her rejection of idolatry, in a world inundated in the culture of dark forces that competed for power, that merited her being labeled the 'daughter of G-d'?
She names her foster child, ירד — Yered, intimating his ability to bringing the Torah 'down' from Heaven, promoting the Divine Presence to dwell and thrive בתחתונים — in this lower world. (כפי גירסת הגר"א)
She adds the name, חבר — Chever, bonding the Children of Israel to their Father in Heaven. This was reflected in his succeeding in the construction of the משכן — the Tabernacle, a place where we maintain and sense an intimate relationship and closeness to G-d.
Finally, she confers perhaps the most vital title upon Moshe, יקותיאל — a contraction of his talent to spur them to— קיוו ישראל לאביהם שבשמים patiently maintain hope that Our Father in Heaven will indeed redeem us.
The other three names גדור — to fence up, שוכו — to shelter, and זנוח — to abandon, refer to Moshe heroically warding off the effects of their sins of the Golden Calf, the Complainers, and the Spies. He breached the fence that threatened to undo their commitment to accept the Torah from Heaven. Moshe's intense prayers sheltered them from the fire that erupted seeking to consume them when they fled like children after school, complaining about their fate. He fortified the nation to abandon the sense of hopelessness the spies poisoned them with, restoring their hope and patience that they would indeed one day arrive at the Promised Land. (גר"א דברי הימים)
In describing Bisya's forsaking the idolatrous ways of her home, it refers to the idols as גילולים — a derogatory word meaning excrement, liking idols to waste. The Midrash directs us to a verse in Yeshayah, that speaks of G-d cleansing us from the צואת בת ציון — the waste of the daughter of Zion.
The Maharal teaches that waste — that which after the processes of digesting is complete, filtering out what is beneficial for our health and growth, leaving behind valueless waste — is symbolic of idolatry which has no purposeful connection to reality.
It wasn’t merely Bisya's defiance of idol worship that is being emphasized, but rather her rejection of a world devoid of purpose, personal growth, and connection to the reality of a loving G-d, who directs us towards greatness.
She instilled in her young charge a striving to elevate our physical being to spiritual greatness — the very essence of what it means to be a Jew, a Yehudiyah.
She pined for a relationship with the Creator, who is not simply commanding fealty, but drawing us to closeness — becoming a 'daughter of G-d'.
She calls her 'son' משה — Moshe, one who will draw, rather than simply commemorating his being משוי — drawn from the water, because she knows that it is never just about being fortunate in being saved, but much more about being privileged to be part of the greater mission to promote the Honor of Heaven in every aspect of our lives, for in that lays our greatest hopes to bring the world to redemption.
May we each kindle that spark of Moshe within each one of us, that was ignited by Bisyah, and turn it into a flame of inspiration, that defy the wastefulness of this world and its pursuits, creating a dwelling for the Divine Presence within our hearts, and intensifying our hope for the day when G-d's glory will fill the world with its brilliance, speedily in our days. (Based on Essay of Rav Yosef Zev HaLevi Lipowitz in Nachlas Yosef)
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
