In the words of the Ramban on this verse:
It is known that all women love their children, whether beautiful or not, and all would hide them to the best of their ability. There is no need for proof of the claim that he was good. Rather, this goodness was something new that she saw in him, and she thought a miracle would occur, and he would be saved.
Let us delve into seven interpretations of what Moses’ special “goodness” might be and explain how they correspond to one of the seven attributes of the heart, from loving-kindness to kingdom.
LOVING-KINDNESS (CHESED): “THE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH LIGHT”
Rashi quotes the words of the sages: “’That he was good’—when he was born, the entire house was filled with light.” This teaching arises from a connection between the “good” mentioned regarding Moses and the first “good” mentioned in the first day of Creation: “God saw the light, that it was good.”
The Kli Yakar strengthens this connection by highlighting the second part of the verse about Moses: “She saw him, that he was good, and she hid him for three months.” This echoes the teaching of the sages that the words, “God saw the light, that it was good” means that the light was “good to be sequestered for the righteous in the future,” i.e., God hid the light, just as Yocheved hid Moses.
We connect this interpretation with loving-kindness, the first attribute of the heart, because the first day of Creation, referred to as “one day,” corresponds to the attribute of loving-kindness. Furthermore, like the light created on the first day, which is meant to fill Creation with goodness, so the birth of Moses came to illuminate the world with the light of Torah. Illuminating reality with light is the essence of the sefirah of loving-kindness.
MIGHT (GEVURAH): VITALITY AND ENDURANCE
Most commentators (starting with Targum Yonatan) explain that the special quality revealed by “she saw that he was good” pertains to the fact that Moses was born after an incomplete seven months of pregnancy (i.e., six months and one day from conception). Because of this, Yocheved was able to hide him for three months without the Egyptians suspecting she had already given birth.
Still, there was a concern that he might be a premature infant whose organs were not fully developed. Yocheved, therefore, examined him to ensure that his body was complete, his hair and nails fully formed (signs of a fully developed newborn), and she saw that “he was good”—fully developed, healthy, whole, and viable.
The Ha’amek Davar adds that, naturally, a child born to an elderly woman is usually weak. The wonder here was that Moses—born to his mother at the age of 130, after her youth was renewed when Amram remarried her—was robust and healthy. This interpretation, emphasizing Moses’ strength and vigor, corresponds to the sefirah of might.
Let us add that Emek HaMelech states that the phrase, “that he was good” serves as a rectification for the verse, “The woman saw that the tree was good for consumption,” describing Eve before she ate from the Tree of Knowledge, since both use the same idiom “that ... was good.” The power of Yocheved to rectify Eve’s behavior is further emphasized when we note that Eve was 130 years old when she gave birth to Seth—the foundation of humanity after the death of Abel—and so too was Yocheved 130 years old when she gave birth to Moses.
Seth, who was born “instead of Abel,” is the spiritual root of Moses, whose name is an acronym for his reincarnations: “Moses Seth Abel.” The Arizal goes further and states that Moses' goodness is attributed to his being a soul from the root of Abel, entirely untainted by any admixture of Cain’s lineage. Furthermore, Yocheved’s rejuvenation at the age of 130 resulted from the soul of Eve being impregnated within her when she reached the same age.
From this we may derive a general principle regarding the concept of the “impregnation of souls” (ibur) in Kabbalah: when a soul is impregnated within a person, not only does the individual identify with the new soul, but they also experience physical and spiritual rejuvenation, as if born anew.
BEAUTY (TIFERET): BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE
Many commentators interpret the adjective “good” in the context of a newborn to mean beautiful—good in form and appearance. Another example in the Torah where "good" describes physical appearance is found with Rebeccah, who is described as “very good to look upon.”
Beauty, naturally, is associated with the sefirah of beauty, which embodies harmony, balance, and splendor.
VICTORY (NETZACH): WORTHY OF PROPHECY
Though we typically refer to all six sefirot from loving-kindness to foundation (and sometimes even include kingdom) as the emotional attributes, strictly speaking the emotional attributes are only the first three—loving-kindness, might, and beauty. With regard to them, Moses’ goodness was interpreted as some quality inherent to Moses himself—his radiance, strength, and beauty. However, regarding victory and acknowledgment, the goodness takes on a more utilitarian meaning: not just being “good” but being “good for.”
One interpretation that appears in the Midrash, is that Yocheved intuitively perceived that her newborn son was “worthy of prophecy.” Moses is not merely a prophet; he is the father and teacher of all prophets. His prophecy is especially clear (he uses the idiom “this is what God said”), and he is the Giver of the Torah.
This special quality is emphasized in the saying,
Let the good come and receive the good from the Good to benefit the good.
“Let the good come” refers to Moses, as it is written, “She saw that he was good.” “And receive the good” refers to the Torah, as it is written, “For I have given you a good teaching.” “From the Good” refers to the Holy Blessed One, as it is written, “God is good to all.” “To benefit the good” refers to the people of Israel, as it is written, “God will benefit the good.”
This interpretation corresponds to the sefirah of victory considered the source of prophecy, as noted in the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT (HOD): WORTHY OF REDEMPTION
Another utilitarian interpretation of “good” is that Yocheved saw Moses as fitting and destined to be the Redeemer of Israel—“the savior of the Jewish people.” Miriam, Moses’ sister, prophesied that “My mother is destined to give birth to a son who will save Israel.”
Even Pharaoh's astrologers, from their impure perspective, recognized that the day of Moses’ birth was auspicious for the emergence of Israel’s redeemer (and this was likely widely known). When Moses was born, his mother saw that he was indeed the child worthy of this mission.
An example of a redeemer being referred to as “good” can be found in the Book of Ruth, where the relative who could potentially marry Ruth and redeem her is referred to as “Tov,” “If Tov will redeem you, let him redeem.” A redeemer in this context is one who marries a widow, especially after her husband's passing, thereby “redeeming” her. Similarly, the Redeemer of Israel is one who elevates the Congregation of Israel (the root of all its souls). In fact, the Zohar refers to Moses as “the husband of the princess,” a synonym for the Congregation of Israel.
How is all this related to the sefirah of acknowledgment? In Sefer Yetzirah, we find one of the most interesting and early psychological topics: the transpositions, which correspond in order to the 7 sefirot from loving-kindness to kingdom:
The transpose of wisdom is folly; the transpose of wealth is poverty; the transpose of seed is desolation; the transpose of life is death; the transpose of autonomy is slavery; the transpose of peace is war; the transpose of grace is ugliness.
The fifth is thus, “the transpose of autonomy is slavery,” when people are not autonomous (internally as well as externally), they fall into a state of slavery. The sefirah of acknowledgment is sometimes regarded as the power of charisma, which in many ways is a measure of an individual or a group’s autonomy and self-worth. When autonomy is lost, individuals and societies fall into a state of slavery and dependence. It was Moses’ efforts as Redeemer that restored the sefirah of acknowledgment for the people as a group and as individuals.
FOUNDATION (YESOD): BORN CIRCUMCISED
The sages interpret “she saw that he was good” to mean that Moses was born circumcised. One who is whole and perfected in the sanctity of the covenant (brit), corresponding to the rectification of the sefirah of foundation, is considered a righteous individual—a tzaddik—and it is said of the tzaddik, “Say of the righteous, that he is good.”
Someone born circumcised is inherently pure and good in all aspects of their soul. They possess no negative desires—neither for food nor for immorality—and all their traits and inclinations are naturally good, as it is written, “The cravings of the righteous are only good.”
KINGDOM (MALCHUT): A GOOD NAME
Some interpret the verse “she saw that he was good” to mean that Moses' original name was either Tov or Tuvia, following two opinions in the sages. All this was before he was called Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter.
Names, whose essence is to reflect a person’s relationship with their surroundings, corresponds to the sefirah of kingdom, as demonstrated for instance in the second silent verse of the Shema, “Blessed be the Name of His kingdom, forever and ever.”
REVEALING ALL THE GOOD IN EVERY JEW
The seven interpretations collectively form a complete representation of Moses’ virtuous qualities. Summarizing each interpretation into a single word, we can say that they are: light, existence-viability, beauty, prophet, redeemer, circumcised, name. The sum of all seven is 987 (a love, or Fibonacci number), the product of God’s Name, Ekyeh, the Name revealed to Moses in parashat Shemot, and “that it is good.” Since 987 divides by 7, the average value of each word is 141, or mitzvah.
These seven qualities of goodness are characteristic both of Moses, the first redeemer of Israel, and subsequently in the “extension of Moses into every generation.” Moses also appears as a spark within every Jew, and thus it is the task of every one of us to perfect and reveal all these interpretations of goodness.
Let us quickly review how each interpretation can manifest itself in us and our lives:
- Filling the house with light reflects the revelation of the Jewish soul.
- Being vigorous and full of life is expressed in our readiness to perform our life’s mission. Vitality means that we should not put off pursuing our life’s mission until we reach some imaginary perfection such as learning the entire Talmud or fully refining our character. Life simply does not wait.
- The beauty of every Jew lies in their unique charisma and special qualities.
- Every Jew is fit for prophecy, whose goal is to bring the word of God, the Torah, to the world through every means of expression.
- Every Jew is worthy of being a redeemer, helping others rise out of the mud they may be stuck in.
- Every Jew is born circumcised, meaning they are capable of being free of negative desires.
The name of every Jew is good, as every Jew deserves to be crowned with the “crown of a good name” (keter shem tov) and be known as “a good Jew.” Though this idiom was used in the past in Yiddish (a guter Yid) to refer to a tzaddik, it being “a good Jew” means that we should all strive to take a leadership role in guiding our family and friends and not wait for others to take responsibility.
