גְדַּל הַיֶּלֶד וַתְּ בִאֵהוּ לְבַת פַּרְ עֹה וַיְהִי לָהּ לְבֵן וגו' (ב, י)
And the boy grew and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became like her son.... (2:10)
The Tzadik’s Behavior Affects Klal Yisroel:
It is related (Sefer Irin Kadishin) that a maskil once asked the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a why he dressed so regally and lived such a royal lifestyle. He asked: Isn’t a tzadik supposed to be satisfied with little, so that others should learn from him to eschew luxuries?
The Rebbe answered, “The Torah tells us that Moshe Rabenu grew up in Pharaoh’s house. Why did Hashem cause the leader of the nation to be raised in a king’s castle? Wouldn’t it have been better for him to live in Goshen, together with the poor Jews?
“The answer is that if Moshe had been raised in poverty, he may have gotten used to living poorly, and he would have been willing to forgo Hashem’s promise to Avrohom Avinu (Bereishis 15:14) to provide the nation with great wealth. He would have agreed to allow the nation to be redeemed without any wealth. He would have been happy as long as they could leave with the clothing on their backs! Therefore, Hashem caused him to grow up in wealth, so that he would appreciate such things and ensure that Klal Yisroel received it as well.”
