One of the greatest joys of studying the weekly parsha is discovering surprising, unexpected gems of connections. These fascinating points of reference encourage us to delve deeper, to look past what might seem like just a recording of history, and to use that deeper meaning to transform how we live our lives. Many of the insights we can learn from the Torah, particularly the parshiot that deal with Moshe Rabbeinu, are lessons about leaderership.
While Moshe is recognized as being the greatest leader of the Jewish people, it is interesting to find, in this week’s parasha, a subtle but informative connection between him and the other great Israelite leader who preceded him in Egypt, Yosef. An initial comparison of these two larger-than-life figures seems to point out more contrasts than commonalities. Yosef was placed by God into a position to be given status and power by Pharoah, whereas Moshe was divinely instructed to take Pharoah down. Yosef was raised by Yaakov and only came to live like an Egyptian when he was mature enough to cling to his essence; his Egyptianness was a constant charade. Moshe, on the other hand, was raised as an Egyptian and only came to understand his heritage when he was already an adult. Yosef guided the Egyptian people into serfdom to Pharoah, while Moshe led the Israelites out of slavery.
There is, however, one strange connection between them, and it is a word - תצפנו. The word translates to hidden. Yosef is given the name צפנת פּענח (Tzafnas Panaiach), which is generally understood to mean “Revealer of the Hidden,” by Pharoah upon his ascension to viceroy. Oddly, however, the term תצפנהו is also used to describe how Yocheved hid her baby, Moshe, for three months after he was born. According to the Midrash, she was able to hide him because he was several months premature, and so she pretended to still be pregnant until she would actually have been due. In the next verse, Shemos 2:3, הצפינו is also used to express that Yocheved could no longer hide him, which is interesting because the word here hinges on imminent revelation. Other than these three verses - really these two circumstances - this term, according to the concordance, does not appear to be used elsewhere in the Chumash.
So what lessons can hiddenness verging on revelation provide to us today? One interesting lesson that can be derived here is the importance of knowing when to reveal that which is hidden. It appears from the text that Moshe became aware of his heritage and then became aware of the suffering of his brethren. That he was still living in the palace implies that he had not shared his knowledge of his background. He knew who he was, but he kept that information hidden until he came to Pharoah to lead his people to freedom.
Similarly, Yosef allowed himself to be hidden by Pharaoh. He accepted the new name and the rich Egyptian clothing, and he maintained the charade of being part of this nation by speaking their tongue. At first, at least, everyone knew that Yosef was a foreigner, a Hebrew, but the longer he served as Pharaoh’s viceroy, the easier it was for the people to forget. Indeed, perhaps this could even be one way of understanding how it could be that the New King of Egypt did not know Yosef, he knew צפנת פּענח (Tzafnas Panaiach) but did not connect him to Yosef the Hebrew. No one identified Yosef to his brothers because they all saw him as part of their nation and not as a Hebrew. Here too, with his brothers, is an example of Yosef holding back that which is hidden (his identity), no matter how hard it was for him to do so, until the necessary moment of revelation.
In our modern era of social media, many people suffer from the habit of oversharing. It is an easy thing to do when a lauded “artform” is the properly worded tweet to keep up with friends, to impress colleagues, or to attract supporters. Perhaps it is best to remember that, oftentimes, less is more – keep somethings hidden for yourself.
The way that Yosef and Moshe both remained hidden in plain site and made their personal revelations at the moment of greatest impact is not necessarily a lesson for the everyman. Most of us are not in a position to either hide our identities or to make a monumental impact with some grand revelation. And yet, how the important parts of Yosef and Moshe had to be hidden can still be a message of spiritual inspiration.
Yosef and Moshe both appeared, for long periods of their lives, to be absolute members of the society in which they lived. But underneath any such appearance was their own constant awareness of who they truly were. Even while in Egypt, Yosef raised his sons with the same values with which he had been raised, so much so that they were accept equal among their uncles. Moshe, once he knew who he was, could not help himself but to go out and really see his brethren, to feel their suffering.
Their core, no matter what their appearance, remained strong. And those things for which they will be most honored and remembered, those moments that were the most important to them and to history, were accomplished when Yosef and Moshe, respectively, were no longer hidden. This is the message for the everyman. A person can imitate the lifestyle of the culture around them, if necessary, but we must never forget who we truly are. We must never allow ourselves to be subsumed by the foreign society in which we live.
There is one more interesting connection between Moshe, Yosef, and hiddenness and revelation. It is a lesson to echo in our hearts, always. Moshe had the distinct honor of revealing the place where Yosef's bones had been hidden. He brought those bones forth so that Yosef could be buried in the Promise Land, because the man who had been so honored and so empowered by the Egyptian Pharoah wanted nothing more for his eternal future than to be where he truly belonged. But perhaps that is a post for parshas Beshalach.
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