In this week’s Parsha we’re introduced to the birth of Moshe Rabeinu. The Passuk says:
וילך איש מבית לוי ויקח את בת לוי. ותהר האשה ותלד בן.
We know from חז”ל that the Passuk is alluding to Amram and Yocheved. Why does the Torah not specify Moshe’s parents by name?
In order to better understand this Passuk, we can take a look at the Davening of Shabbos Shachris in which we say;
ישמח משה במתנת חלקו כי עבד נאמן קראת לו, כליל תפארת בראשו נתתו לו
We allude to Moshe as an עבד נאמן, a loyal servant. Being a servant is the the opposite of being a king. He is completely subjugated while the king is the ultimate ruler. Why then does it say כליל תפארת בראשו נתתו לו That he wears a crown of glory on his head?
A king is indeed a ruler. However, all his power is only a reflection of the will of the people who annointed him. If they choose to depose him, then he no longer has any power. As such, kingship in and of itself is actually just a reflection of the people. The same can be applied to the servant of the king. He completely negates himself to the will of the king that he comes to reflect the king’s will in all that he does. As חז”ל say עבד מלך- מלך The king’s servant is also a king, as he reflects the will of the king through his conduct.
Hashem’s ultimate servant, was משה רבינו. He negated himself completely to the will of Hashem, and as such, in everything he did, he reflected Hashem’s will. That is why we say that he wore a crown of glory. By being completely subservient to Hashem, he reflected royalty himself- עבד מלך-מלך
And it’s because of his great humility that he was able to transmit the תורה. There was no self-interest involved that could have possibly tainted transmitting the Torah. Moshe reflected Hashems words exactly as they were told to him. And it was only Moshe who was the humblest of all men that could be the one to transmit the תורה.
We can now understand why the תורה leaves out Moshe’s parents’ names in detailing his birth. Even in his birth, there are no other parties-so to speak involved. His entire essence was one of ביטול to Hashem, so much so that even his parents’ names are irrelevant.
This indeed is the hallmark of all great leaders in Klal Yisrael. They are completely dedicated to their mission of serving Hashem and His people, without having personal interests involved.
We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point, told over by Rav Ahron Lopianski, who witnessed it. Rav Lopianski was once sitting with Rav Noach Weinberg, Rosh Yeshiva of Aish Hatorah, in the latter’s office, when a staff member entered. He was upset that one of Rav Weinbergs projects was “highjacked” by an individual, who claimed ownership over it, and proceeded to raise funds on his own for this project. ” How can someone have the gall to claim one of our projects as his own brainchild?” Rav Weinberg, however was not dismayed and replied:” He took over the project? That’s wonderful! Now we can use our resources for other important projects. Who cares that we won’t get credit for it. As long as it’s being done, and it’s helping Klal Yisrael.”
Such is the look of our leaders. There is only 1 important ideal: To serve Hashem and His people.
Weekly Parsha Shiur 