Take Moses, for example. We know him as the liberator, the lawgiver, the one who spoke to God face to face. But what about Moses the baby? What was his story?
According to Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, that baby had quite the fan club (and a whole lot of names!). For the first two years of his life, after being rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh's daughter, Moses actually stayed with his birth parents. Can you imagine the reunion?
His father, Amram, called him Heber, which means "reunited," because it was through this child that he and Jochebed were brought back together. Jochebed herself called him Jekuthiel, meaning "my hope is in God," because, as she said, God had given him back to her.
His sister, Miriam, knew him as Jered, a reference to her "descent" to the riverbank to watch over him. And Aaron, his brother, called him Abi Zanoah, because his father, who had initially "cast off" his mother, took her back on account of the child. Even his grandfather, Kohath, had a name for him: Abi Gedor, seeing him as the one who "built up" the breach in Israel, preventing the Egyptians from drowning more Hebrew baby boys.
His nurse called him Abi Soco, because he was hidden in a “tent” for three months, escaping the pursuit of the Egyptians. And the people of Israel called him Shemaiah ben Nethanel, because they believed that through him, God would "hear" their sighs and deliver them. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, they also believed that through him, God would "give" them the Torah.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? One little baby, so many names, each reflecting a different hope, a different perspective, a different miracle. Ginzberg tells us that even as a baby, people knew Moses was destined for great things. It was said that at just four months old, he began to prophesy, foretelling that he would receive the Torah from a "flaming torch."
Of course, we can't forget the name given to him by Pharaoh's daughter: Moses. As the story goes, she named him this because she "drew" him out of the water, and also because he would one day "draw" the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Zohar even adds that this was the only name God used for him.
And what about Pharaoh's daughter, this Egyptian princess who defied her own father to save a Hebrew child? She was given the name Bithiah, meaning "daughter of God." The Talmud (Megillah 13a) tells us she later married Caleb, and just as she stood against her father's wickedness, Caleb stood against the counsel of the other spies who doubted God's promise to give them the land of Canaan. For her piety, she was even granted entry into Paradise alive. Wow.
To ensure Moses received the treatment befitting a prince, Bithiah even pretended to be pregnant for some time before bringing him into the palace. She showered him with affection, and his extraordinary beauty meant she never wanted him out of her sight. People were captivated by him!
Ginzberg paints a vivid picture: Moses's understanding was far beyond his years, and even at three years old, he was remarkably tall and handsome. People would stop in the street just to gaze at him. Pharaoh's daughter, seeing his exceptional qualities, adopted him as her own, telling her father that he was "divine in form and of an excellent mind" and proposing him as heir to the kingdom. And Pharaoh, surprisingly, took the infant and hugged him close.
What does this all tell us? Perhaps that even in the most unlikely of circumstances, goodness can flourish. Perhaps that even before someone becomes a legend, they are shaped by the love, hopes, and dreams of those around them. And perhaps, most importantly, that even a baby in a basket can change the world.