A thought on Parshas Shmos

"...va'tir'aehu es ha'yeled v'hinei naar bocheh..." "...and she saw the child and behold, the youth was crying..." (2:6) Pharaoh's daughter found a cradle floating in the river and upon having it opened, our verse seems to say that she saw inside a yeled, a male child. The verse then switches to the term naar, which usually refers to a youth, or an older male child. This is not actually a redundancy but rather an inconsistency. A child is not a youth. The first term seems to refer to the infant boy whereas the second implies a much older boy. Rashi, of course, cites a now well-known midrash that both words refer to baby Moshe. He was a child, but his voice was like that of an older youth. Why that was the case is not explained by Rashi, and is the subject of various interpretations. The Panae'ach Raza offers a different midrashic view. We know that Miriam, the older sister of little Moshe, was standing nearby, watching over her baby brother as he lay in the cradle amidst the river's reeds. The Torah spells this out clearly. Pharaoh's daughter somehow deduces that the little one is a Jew, then she actually speaks to Miriam about taking care of the baby. However, there is one sibling missing. Miriam and Moshe had an older brother, Aharon. Where was Aharon during this tense time? The Panae'ach Raza notes that the gematria - the numeric value - of naar bocheh - the youth was crying, equals that of the three words "v'da Aharon haKohen" - "and this was Aharon the Kohen." The Torah is hinting to us, he writes, that while Miriam hovered nearby to watch over the baby, Aharon was crying over his baby brother, fearing for his fate and the risks he faced alone in the river. And - it was those tears, the crying of Aharon, which indicated to Pharaoh's daughter that this little child must be a Jew, for his obviously Jewish brother Aharon was weeping over him. Those tears are what triggered in her not only a correct identification of the baby's Jewish race, but also her compassion to comfort the crying youth by rescuing his brother. ************** "...Shlach na b'yad Tishlach..." "...please send in the hand of the one you will send..." (4:13) Moshe resists the mission which HaShem has assigned him, pleading that HaShem select a different agent, a different messenger, to go rescue the Jews from Egypt. This seems a bit difficult, given that Moshe trusts in HaShem and has been Divinely chosen by Him. The Panae'ach Raza offers an idea from Sefer HaChefetz (I did a little research to discover what this was and who wrote it; the popular scholarly assumption - there is some dispute - is that this was written by the tenth century Rabbeinu Chananel ben Chushiel). This source notes that our verse follows Moshe's earlier reluctance, owing to his having impaired speech. Our verse is not Moshe's new objection, but rather his suggestion to HaShem. Moshe Rabbenu was saying "I will go but don't expect me to communicate verbally. Give me the words in writing, and I will carry them to Egypt and appoint someone else to say them on my and on Your behalf." The words "send in the hand of the one you will send" thus means, "I am the one whom You are sending, so send along with me the script You want said, which I will carry by hand." Two novel views from our perceptive master Rabbeinu Yitzchak ben Yehuda haLevi, the Panae'ach Raza. Good Shabbos.