A Wonderous Midrash
(mentioned in אוצר יד החיים and in יפה מהישועה with many differences)
In the early stages of the Jews’ exile in Egypt, there lived a righteous Jew and his wife who did not have children (remember all their friends were having 6 children at each pregnancy). The wife cried to her husband that he should pray to HaShem for a child. The Tzaddik prayed and his wife became pregnant. However, the wife noticed that during the pregnancy that her husband became increasingly despondent. He would not share the reason with her.
In the proper time, the woman gave birth to one boy and he was extremely beautiful, and the mother was very happy. But her husband continued to be depressed. So, his wife demanded that he explain the cause for his depression. Finally, the Tzaddik explained that he had been informed by ruach hakodesh that as part of his request for a son included that his son would kill his father. The wife responded that her husband was more beloved to her then even 10 sons and she would protect him. Therefore, the wife/mother took a basket, waterproofed it, and placed the child in the basket and then put it in the Nile.
HaShem caused a large fish to swallow the basket containing the child. Afterwards the local fishermen captured the large fish and sold it to the Paroh’s kitchen. The Paroh had a large feast for which they served the large fish. When, the cut it open in front of the Paroh, they found the basket containing the beautiful child. The Paroh and Queen had mercy on the child and raised the child in their palace as their own.
Eventually, the Paroh’s attitude towards the Jews changed. He decided that the education of the Jewish children stood in the way of their becoming part of the Egyptian culture. Therefore, he decreed that no one should teach Judaism to the Jewish children upon the penalty of death. Then, he placed his adopted son in charge of this “program”.
Meanwhile, the Tzaddik was a teacher and refused to stop teaching the Jewish children. The adopted son discovered that the Tzaddik was still teaching and in the midst of his rage, the son took his sword and chopped off the head of the Tzaddik.
The wife of the Tzaddik had grown younger and beautiful since the miracle of her giving birth. The adopted son saw her and now desired to marry her. The woman saw the man and recognized him as her son. She explained the entire story to him. As part of his grief at the gravity of the events, this young man did complete Teshuvah and returned to the Jewish people and became a leader in the Jewish nation. He became known as “Mr. Nun”, since nun in Aramaic was a word for fish. He married a righteous woman and gave birth to a son, whom he called Yehoshua.
