Having already informed us (in 2:10) that Moshe grew up, why does the Torah repeat it here?
Rashi: The first one refers to stature; the second, to greatness - because Pharaoh appointed him manager over his household. 1
Ramban: The first one refers to the weaning, where he no longer needed to feed from his mother; 2 whereas the second one refers to his growing up in wisdom. 3
The commentaries explain that Hashem engineered it so that Moshe should learn all about royalty - prior to his becoming king of Yisrael.
Rashi: Who then brought him back to Bisyah.
Rashi and Ramban, it seems, are arguing over the interpretation of the word "li'Gedulah" used by the Midrash - whether it means in terms of greatness or of maturity. See also Oznayim la'Torah to 2:10.
What does the Torah mean when it writes that Moshe 'went out to his brothers'?
Rashi, Ramban and Seforno: (In addition to feeling an urge to see his brethren for the first time - Ramban), Moshe made a point of going to see his brothers' suffering firsthand and to feel with them. 1
Oznayim la'Torah (citing the Midrash Rabah): To bend a shoulder in assistance to whoever needed it - to the point of Mesiras Nefesh when he became sentenced to death by the king who had brought him up like a son. 2
"He saw their suffering" - The Midrash cites two explanations, whether Moshe actually assisted each one with his burden, or if he would arrange an appropriate burden based on each person's ability. Why two opinions?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 18, p. 83): The second opinion holds that royalty may not physically assist others. Rather, Moshe would assist them by arranging the workloads (to prevent extra suffering).
"He saw their suffering" - The Midrash comments, because Moshe ignored his own concerns to see to easing the suffering of Yisrael, he merited that Hashem would set aside all of the upper and lower creations, speaking only to him. Why was this the appropriate reward?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 18, p. 84): Moshe's concern showed that he was a person of the Klal (the whole community), 1 not merely an individual. Hashem rebuffed the heavens and earth (which are individual entities 2 ) in favor of Moshe, who was the completion of Yisrael. 3
Also see 2:11:2.04:1.
Maharal (ibid.): Pirkei Avos 6:10 lists the "five Kinyanim" of Hashem in the world. Whereas heaven and earth each comprise merely part of one Kinyan, Yisrael is a complete whole. Also see Maharal (Derech Chayim to Avos 6:10).
Through his self-sacrifice on their behalf. By extension, since the world was created for Yisrael, Moshe was the completion of all of Creation. (EK)
How did Moshe know that the suffering slaves were his brothers?
Oznayim la'Torah: Because Bisyah had told him - a further proof that she converted, bringing up Moshe in the spirit of Yisrael and informing him as to who he was.
Why the added word "me'Echav" at the end of the Pasuk?
Seforno: It wasn't just because one man was striking another that Moshe took such drastic action, but because it was his fellow Jew who was being maltreated.
Why does the Torah insert the word "va'Yar" twice?
Oznayim la'Torah: Had Yisrael been made to work under normal conditions, and had the Egyptian taskmaster then beaten the Jewish slave for being lax in his work, Moshe would have merely rebuked him, 1 like he did with Dasan and Aviram on the following day. It was only when Moshe saw 'their hard labor' -- the intolerable work-load 2 that was placed upon Yisrael -- that he decided to kill the taskmaster.
Compare to Gur Aryeh; refer to 2:11:4.2:1 and 2:11:4.3:1.
A work-load that was impossible to bear.
Bearing in mind that all of Yisrael were being cruelly subjugated, what caused Moshe to act so forcefully in this case?
Rashi: The man being beaten was the husband of Shelomis bas Divri, upon whom the Egyptian taskmaster had set his eyes. One night, he pulled him out of bed and threw him out of the house. The Egyptian then returned and spent the night with his unsuspecting wife. When, in the morning, the Egyptian saw that the husband realized what he had done, he proceeded to beat him mercilessly all day.
Oznayim la'Torah: Refer to 2:11:3.1:1.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "He saw their suffering - He set his eyes and heart to be pained about them." How do Chazal derive this?
Gur Aryeh: Moshe was already a mature young man; did he just now observe Bnei Yisrael at work for the first time? [Rather, the verse means he investigated how he could commiserate with and ease their burden].
Rashi writes: "'Va'Yigdal Moshe' - ... in stature (Gedulah)." How did this lead Moshe to "go out to his brethren"?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 18, p. 83): Moshe was "clothed with Gedulah;" he had a great Nefesh. That is why he was disturbed by the Bnei Yisrael's suffering. 1 Others in his position might have been aloof to it.
Thus, the 'Gedulah' was not in the physical sense, but in his spirit. (EK)
Rashi writes: "[Moshe] set his eyes and heart to be pained about them." Why was the revelation of Moshe as the redeemer, set in motion by this event?
Maharal (Tif'eres Yisrael Ch. 11, p. 37): Torah is Yosher (uprightness); this was Moshe's trait as well. 1 In the ensuing events, Moshe will carry out justice upon the Mitzri, rebuke an aggressor, and rescue Yisro's daughters.
Maharal (ibid.): The third element in a set of three represents straightness, for the center veers neither right or left. Hence, the traits of Chesed and Din are conceptualized as right and left (respectively); for these traits can also be mis-used. Yosher is in the middle; it has no such extreme. Maharal adds a reference to Chazal, that the Torah is called "three-fold" just as Moshe was a third-born (Shabbos 88a).
Rashi writes: "[Moshe] set his eyes and heart to be pained about them." Moshe commiserated with the burden of Yisrael; he was 'Nosei b'Ol Im Chaveiro.' What is the greatness of this Midah, and what does one earn in return?
Maharal (Derech Chayim to Avos 6:7, p. 300): Nosei b'Ol Im Chaveiro is one of the ways to acquire Torah. A person who is Nosei b'Ol is termed 'Tov;' in that he does not separate himself from others. He merits the Torah, which was given through Moshe (both of which are referred to as Tov - Menachos 53b). 1
Compare to Maharal in Tif'eres Yisrael (refer to 2:11:2.02:1). This is how Moshe merited to bring down the Torah; so too does anyone who develops this trait acquire Torah. Also see 2:11:2.06:1.
Rashi writes: "'An Egyptian man' - A taskmaster, appointed over the Israelite overseers...." How is this derived?
Gur Aryeh: The verse wrote that Moshe "saw their suffering." This implies that the beating was not random violence, but rather part of the regular work 'arrangements' that the Egyptians placed upon them.
Rashi writes: "Striking an Ivri man' - [i.e.] whipping and tyrannizing him." Why does Rashi add this?
Gur Aryeh: Had the Egyptian been merely hitting him lightly, Moshe would not have risked his life to intervene. (After all, this victim was no worse off than any other Ivri under the oppressive labor.) Rather, Moshe saw that the Mitzri was beating the Ivri with unusual cruelty.
Rashi writes: "'Striking an Ivri man' - ... It was the husband of Shelomis Bas Divri. The Egyptian had set his eyes upon her...." Why interpret this way?
Gur Aryeh #1: Why was the Egyptian beating this man so cruelly? If it was because he was lax in his work, (Moshe would not have intervened, as) it was his own doing! Rather, the Egyptian was singling him out for punishment, because of his wife. The Torah implies that no other Jewish woman was ever with a Mitzri. 1
"[Only] he was the son of an Egyptian man, among the Children of Israel" (Vayikra 24:10).
Rashi writes: "... It was the husband of Shelomis Bas Divri." Chazal teach us that the Egyptians ruled over our bodies, but not over our wives (except for this one). How did the Bnei Yisrael maintain such amazing purity in Egypt?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 4, p. 28): Hashem had not specified (at the Bris Bein ha'Besarim) where the exile would take place. At the end, it would be specifically in Mitzrayim - who are diametric opposites to Bnei Yisrael's sanctity and chastity. Also refer to 1:1:2.8:1, and the notes there.
Rashi writes: "... [The Egyptian] returned and entered the house, and lay with his wife; she thought it was her husband." Yet Rashi (to Vayikra 24:11) writes that among all the women, she alone was "a Zonah." Was this Shelomis an unwitting victim, or an adulteress?
Gur Aryeh (to Vayikra 24:11): Despite that her relations with the Mitzri was by mistake, any woman who was with a Nochri has the Halachic term of Zonah. 1 (Also note the continuation of Rashi in Vayikra (ibid.) - Although her act was unwitting, Shelomis acted in a manner that brought it about - CS).
Mizrachi (loc. cit.): If so, the Pasuk in Vayikra comes to tell us that all the other women among Bnei Yisrael were never with an Egyptian at all - even by mistake or by force.
