Shemot: The Hand that Grew

“And she sent her maidservant.” The literal meaning can be that Pharaoh’s daughter, Bitya, sent her maidservant to lift the basket with Moshe from the Nile. The Pardes Yosef suggests that Bitya sent her maidservant away so that no one would witness her going against her father’s command to kill all the Jewish babies.

Rav Dov Ber of Parshischa, and the Siftei Tzadik (#14 in the name of the Chiddushei HaRim) read this verse according to the Talmud that Bitya reached for the basket and, when God saw what she wanted to do, made her hand grow so she could reach something that was far beyond her natural reach.

From this we can learn that a person should never give up on something holy just because it seems beyond his or her reach. Reach for this great achievement, and God will help you grow and extend yourself to the point when it is no longer beyond your grasp.