How Moshe became a man

It was the great sage Hillel who said (Avot 2:5), “In a place where there are no men, try to be a man.” The sentiment of the phrase doesn’t lend itself to be reformulated to gender-neutral terminology, so I apologize in advance to those who find it offensive.

Nonetheless, I think an understated message from this phrase can help us understand the first real episode in the life of Moshe, when he controls his own destiny.

Rashi notes that in the verse when he is returned to the daughter of Pharaoh, and in the verse that follows (2:10-11), he is described as growing twice. First, “The boy grew,” then “Moshe grew.” Rashi quotes Rabbi Yehuda who explained that the first “growth stage” was to achieve his physical stature in height, while the second “growth stage” was for greatness, because Pharaoh had appointed him over his house.

A closer look at the text may help us understand in what way Moshe truly comes of age in his first venture outside the palace.

Moshe grew and went out to his brothers to see their labors. He saw an Egyptian man hitting a Hebrew man from his brethren. He looked here and there and saw there was no man. So he struck the Egyptian and hid him in sand.

He went out on the second day and behold two men were squabbling and he said to the wicked one, “Why do you strike your neighbor?”

And he (the wicked one) said, “Who made you the Man, the officer and judge over us? Will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (2:11-14)

The Egyptian (in 2:12) is no longer a “man” and the Hebrew (according to those who say it was the same person Moshe had saved the day before) is now wicked – also not a man. (Or HaChaim points to the fact that they (in 2:13) are not even called “from his brothers” as the victim in 2:11 had been called).

The Alshich rightly notes this phenomenon as he expresses Moshe’s confusion: just as the Egyptian is not a man and may be worthy to lose his life, the Hebrew is not a man and will tattle. Moshe takes the risk and kills the Egyptian, and of course the other non-man does the unmanly deed of informing on Moshe.