Living up to your Name

This week we are 1st introduced to probably the holiest person to have ever existed: Moshe (Moses).
As I was reading about Moshe’s early life in the Torah, I began to wonder about something. After Moshe was born, he was placed in a basket and sent down the river Nile by his mother,
to avoid certain death in the hands of the Egyptians. Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh, found the ‘Hebrew boy,’ and with compassion, took him in. She named him “Moshe,”
'For I drew him from the water.’
We are told that Moshe had other names given to him by his family, yet for the 770 times his name comes up in the Tanach, he is called “Moshe.”
How come this holy leader retained the name given by the daughter of an evil Egyptian man? The Kabbalah teaches us that one's name is connected to one's inner soul and purpose.
By taking a deeper look into the life of Moshe, perhaps we can uncover the meaning behind this name.

"It happened in those days that Moses grew up and went out to his brethren and saw their burdens…And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man." Moshe, the adopted grandson of the most powerful man in Egypt, is faced with a tough situation.
Ignore, and retain your royal status of luxury, or take action and endanger – not only your high position – but your life as well!
Moshe didn't think twice, but sided with the victim: "(He) struck the Egyptian down and hid him in the sand."

"…He went out the next day, and behold! Two Hebrew men were fighting.” Come on. This time, no one’s life is at stake. These men are choosing to fight. Yet again, Moshe immediately acts: "(And he) said to the wicked one, 'Why would you strike your fellow?'" This action would end up costing him dearly. These wicked men informed on Moshe’s prior killing, and: "Pharaoh heard about this matter and sought to kill Moses; so Moses fled from before Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. He sat at the well." But in Midian, Moshe still could not avoid challenging situations.
"The minister of Midian had seven daughters; they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's sheep. The shepherds came out and drove them away.”

Now logic would dictate (together with instincts of self-preservation), that avoiding altercations in one’s new city of residence is most prudent. Moshe chose, rather, to stand up & do what was right: "Moses got up and saved them, and watered their sheep." We can now understand the Torah’s emphasis on this special name Moshe, given by Pharaoh’s daughter. For by saving the Hebrew baby, she was taking a massive risk, going so far as to disobey the rule set up by her very own father! Yet she did not hesitate: "Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe by the river… She saw a basket among the reeds… She opened it and saw a boy crying. She took pity on him and said, 'This is one of the Hebrew boys,'…and he was a son to her." How fitting a name for Moshe, who would grow to do the same for others.

As we go through life, we encounter many situations and circumstances that require our action. People who need help. Let's try to stand up for what's right and true, emulating our ancestor Moshe. Let's take action!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

{Based on Sichos Kodesh 5740 vol. 1 pp. 784-788, and Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson of Chabad.org}