Thursday, February 1, 2024

The Names Moshe Gave, The number 10

The first son of Moshe is named Gershom  כִּ֣י אָמַ֔ר גֵּ֣ר הָיִ֔יתִי בְּאֶ֖רֶץ נׇכְרִיָּֽה and the second son Eliezer כי אלקי אָבִי֙ בְּעֶזְרִ֔י וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִי מֵחֶ֥רֶב פַּרְעֹֽה.  It would seem more apropos for the names to have been in reverse for first Moshe was saved from Pharaoh only after that did he live in a foreign land?  The Or Hachayim gives two answers.  The first one is that what is happening to a person currently is what comes to mind first and hence Moshe gave a name reflecting that experience first and then looked in the past for inspiration for a second name.  The second answer he gives is that the גר הייתי is not referring to his time in Midyan but the very coming down into this world which is a foreign place to the holy soul of the tzaddik and that did come first.  The Nitziv (Shemos 2:22) says since he wasn't totally out of danger yet for Pharaoh can still hunt him down, so Moshe didn't name a son after being saved until he was assured that it was safe to go back.  This approach is said here in the Riva as well.

שֵׁ֤ם הָֽאֶחָד֙ גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֔ם כִּ֣י אָמַ֔ר גֵּ֣ר הָיִ֔יתִי בְּאֶ֖רֶץ נׇכְרִיָּֽה

וְשֵׁ֥ם הָאֶחָ֖ד אֱלִיעֶ֑זֶר  כי אלקי אָבִי֙ בְּעֶזְרִ֔י וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִי מֵחֶ֥רֶב פַּרְעֹֽה

Why in the first possuk does it say כי אמר and in the second possuk it does not?  The Riva explains  לפי שמשה כתב ספרו והיה אומר כל שעה אלהי אבי בעזרי. ואלו כתוב אמר משה אמ' לפי שעה. בשם ר' יחיאל.  The fact that he was saved from Pharaoh he declared one time as the reason for naming his son Gershom but אלקי אָבִי֙ בְּעֶזְרִ֔י wasn't said one time, it was something that Moshe constantly repeated.  

The Mishnayot in Avot Ch. 5 list off a whole list of things that are the number 10, why is there a blatant omission of the the 10 commandments?  The Rebbe explains (Likutay Sichos volume 30 Berashis) that the Mishna lists off all the things that are groups of 10 because 10 shows its importance.  But why is it that the 10 represents an important unit?  Because the Torah which predates the world has 10 commandments, hence the number 10 in the world is a reflection of that perfection.  So, the Mishna is listing the things which are attached to the number 10 to reflect their importance but the fact that their are 10 commandments doesn't reflect their importance, it is the cause of why the number 10 is important.

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