Parsha Shemot- January 8, 2021 -Batya Hazan's Dvar Torah on the occasion of her bat-mitvah

Kehilat Shalom warmly and joyfully congratulated Batya Hazan on the occasion of her bat-mitzvah on Thursday, January 7, 2021. Mazal Tov to Batya, her parents Nissim and Gillian, her sisters Shayna and Naomi, her granny Dorian Kahlberg, her grandfather (in South Africa) Mark Hazan, and to the entire extended family.

​"The parasha we are reading today is Shemot. It is about a baby boy placed in the Nile river to be safe, because Pharaoh wanted all the Jewish baby boys to be dead. Pharaoh was afraid that the Hebrews would become too many and too strong that they could take over the kingdom. At the end of the river, Pharaoh's daughter sees the baby boy and raises him as her own, with a little help from his birth mother Yocheved and his sister Miriam. When Moshe the baby boy grows up, he sees a man getting whipped almost to death by Pharaoh’s servants. Moshe kills Pharaoh’s servant and runs far away to a place called Midyan. There, Moshe rescues Jethro’s daughters and Jethro repays Moshe by hiring him to become a shepherd to his sheep, and Moses marries one of his Jethro’s daughters, Tzipporah. One day when Moshe is rallying up the sheep, he sees a burning bush with God speaking out of it. God tells Moshe to go back to Egypt and say to Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” Pharaoh refuses and made it harder for the Jews.
"When Moshe's parents put him in a basket they didn’t know whether he would cross the Nile river safely. Moshe's parents didn’t have a choice whether or not to raise him or put him in the Nile because he was otherwise going to be killed. Miriam followed the baby beside the Nile to see what would happen.
"When Pharaoh's daughter saw the baby, she knew that Moshe was a Hebrew. The problem was that Pharaoh was her father and he didn’t like Hebrew babies. If Pharaoh saw the baby, what would he do? Pharaoh’s daughter, however, was kind and brave. She decided to keep Moshe not caring what Pharaoh might do. Then Miriam cleverly came up to Pharaoh’s daughter and asked if she would like a Hebrew nurse maid to take care of the baby. Pharaoh’s daughter agreed and gave Yocheved some money for taking care of Moshe. That way, she made it possible not only for the Hebrew baby boy to survive, but also grow up with his Mom and family.
"The name that we call Pharaoh’s daughter is Batya. We know her name is Batya from the tanach ( תנ”ך ) from Chapter One of divrei hiyamem (also known as Chronicles) in the verse where it says, 'These were the sons of Bityah daughter of Pharaoh, who Mered married.' Mered was another name for Caleb, who was a Jewish spy and a hero and a leader of the Jews. The midrash says that when the Jews left Egypt, Batya left her father’s castle and came along with them, and lived her life as a Jewish woman with high respect. Thanks to Batya for saving Moshe, the Jewish people are still here today.
"The name Batya means 'daughter of God'. The Midrash tells us she got this name because G-d said to Batya, 'Moses was not your son, yet you called him your son. You too, are not my daughter, but I shall call you My daughter.'
"Batya taught us that taking risks sometimes can be helpful and save people, places or things that others love and respect. Batya was brave; she took a huge step to save a baby who was a Hebrew that her own father hated. But she knew that this baby had a whole life ahead of him. Thanks to Batya -- I am here today celebrating my bat mitzvah.