It’s a question that’s echoed through millennia, and Jewish tradition offers some truly remarkable answers.
We all know the story: a baby, hidden in a basket, floating down the river. But have you ever stopped to think about what might have motivated Pharaoh's daughter to defy her own father, the most powerful man in Egypt, and rescue that child?
Her name, according to some traditions, was Bitiah. The "daughter of God." Beautiful, isn't it? But there's more to it than just a pretty name.
According to Howard Schwartz in Tree of Souls, Bitiah wasn't just taking a casual stroll by the Nile. She knew, through divine inspiration, that she was destined to raise the redeemer of Israel. Think about that for a moment. She wasn't simply acting on a whim or a moment of pity. This was destiny calling. That's why she was there, morning and evening, beside the river. Waiting. Anticipating. Open to the possibility of a miracle.
It paints such a different picture, doesn't it? Of a woman on a mission. A woman chosen.
You see, so often in the Exodus story, we focus on Moses, on Pharaoh, on the plagues, on the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the unsung heroes? The women who risked everything, like Bitiah, to ensure the survival of the Jewish people?
It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, there are always those who choose compassion, who choose justice, who choose to listen to that small, still voice within that whispers of something greater. And sometimes, just sometimes, that choice changes the course of history.