Sedra of Week: Shemot
Rebbetzin of Shenley United Jewish Community, Tanya Garber, looks ahead to this week's portion of the Torah
“She (Pharaoh’s daughter) called his name Moshe, as she said: for I drew him from water” (Shemot 2:10)
The Midrash for this week’s sedra, Shemot, tells us that Moses had many names.
His father called him Chaver (friend); his mother named him Yekutiel (hope in God); his sister Miriam called him Yered (to go down) as she went down to the Nile to watch him; and his grandfather called him Avigdor (the father of boundaries) because Moses would be the one to facilitate the giving of the law to the Jewish people.
Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
In the Torah, however, he is referred to only as Moses (meaning “drawn from the water”), the name given to him by Pharaoh’s daughter.
One might wonder why it is that the names given by his immediate family, who all had prophecy, were superseded by the name given by Pharaoh’s daughter?
Pharaoh’s daughter knew about her father’s decree and, by saving the child’s life, she was putting herself at great risk.
It is perhaps because of this that the name Moses stuck.
The power of putting oneself out for others was a character trait that Pharaoh’s daughter demonstrated and it was this specific attribute that would become the defining feature of Moses’ leadership of the Jewish people.
- Tanya Garber is rebbetzin of Shenley United Jewish Community
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
-
By Brigit Grant
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)