The seventh of Adar is the birthday and yortzeit (day of death) of Moshe Rabeinu. Moshe Rabeinu was born during a very difficult time for the Jewish people, when our ancestors were slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, learned from his court astrologers that a child was to be born, a boy, who would in the future free the Jews from Egyptian slavery. To prevent this, the cruel Pharaoh ordered that all newborn Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile.
The Jews were distraught and seemed to be in a desperate situation. It was clear to everyone that Pharaoh was seeking the destruction of the Jewish people. Moshe’s father, Amram, the leader of the Jews of that generation, separated from his wife Yocheved because he believed that their children would be doomed to die anyway. Following his example, all Jewish men did the same – they separated from their wives.
But Pharaoh’s plans were not to be realized. G-d revealed Himself to Moshe’s sister, Miriam, and she learned that her mother was destined to bear a son who would save Israel. Miriam was able to convince her father that his decision was even more cruel than Pharaoh’s decree and would have even more devastating consequences. Pharaoh had sentenced only boys to death, and Amram’s decision made it impossible for not only boys but also girls to be born. Amram then returned to his wife Yocheved, and all the other Jews also returned to their wives.
Soon Moshe was born. For three months the mother managed to hide the baby from the Egyptians. Finally, it became impossible to hide the child, so Yocheved had to put the boy in a basket and carry him to the Nile River. As soon as Moshe was there, the Egyptian astrologers, based on the position of the stars, decided that the child, who was to free the Jews, was thrown into the Nile, and therefore must have died, for the Nile is known to be swarming with crocodiles. Pharaoh then rescinded his cruel decree.
However, Moshe was rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter, raised in the palace as a prince, but, rebelling against the brutal oppression of the Jews by the Egyptians, was forced to flee Egypt. Many miraculous events happened to Moshe Rabeinu before he could truly fulfill his mission. Moshe became the greatest of prophets and the savior of the people of Israel. He was predestined to perform great miracles in Egypt, to part the Yam Suf (Red Sea), to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai and to do much, much more. Moshe Rabeinu lived a full 120 years and died on his birthday, the 7th of Adar. The Torah says: “And he was buried in the valley … and no one knows the place of his burial” (Dvarim, 34). G-d Himself was in charge of his burial.
It is interesting that the gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew words “Moshe Rabeinu” is 613, which corresponds to the number of commandments of the Torah received by Moshe from G-d on Mount Sinai.
