2020/5780

Nearing the last 100 feet of the Jerusalem Marathon, reality hits: you are not going to take first place. The guy who you were going with neck and neck the whole time has pulled away and crossed the finish line. But, when you cross the finish line second, the announcer screams out that you also came in first place. This seems very strange! If someone crossed the finish line before you did, how on earth can you still be considered first? 

                The same question is found when exploring the beginning of Parashat Yitro. When describing Moshe’s sons, the Torah states, “... Asheir Sheim Ha’Echad Gereshom, Ki Amar, Geir Hayiti Be’Eretz Nochriah. VeShem Ha’Echad Eliezer, Ki Elokei Avi Be’Ezri VaYazileini MeCherev Paraoh,” “... of whom one was named Gershom, that is to say, ‘I have been a stranger in a foreign land’. And the other was named Eliezer, meaning, ‘The God of my father was my help, and He delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.’ ” (Exodus 18:3-4).

                This formulation is intriguing! How can Moshe have two sons that are both considered Ha’Echad, the first? Additionally, when the Torah recounts the sons of Yoseif, they are described as Sheim Ha’Echad and Sheim HaSheini, the first and the second! How can this pasuk be explained?

                The Ibn Ezra explains that it is the Minhag of the Torah to sometimes say HaSheini and other times say Ha’Echad. The Ibn Ezra quotes Sefer Shemuel which states “VeSheim Ha’Echad Botzeitz VeSheim Ha’Echad Seneh,” “the one called Bozez and the other Seneh.“ (Shemuel I 14:4), while explaining the two rocky passages that Yonatan had to encounter. This prime example of the Ibn Ezra does not seem satisfying, as the Ibn Ezra seems to think that this was placed randomly, without a pattern. Additionally, in the example he quoted, it is not even explaining people, rather ‘rocky crags’. We are therefore left to find other explanations.

                The Chizkuni gives two separate answers to this question. The Chizkuni explains the reasons for Ha’Echad twice by Moshe Rabbeinu’s children is because the incident of which Eliezer, the second son, was named after, occurred before the incident that Gereshom, the first son, was named after. The Seforno explains that Moshe did not feel comfortable naming his first child Eliezer, because he wanted to make sure he was completely safe from all possible harm that he faced from killing the Mitzri. This did not occur until after the birth of Gereshom. Therefore, he named his first son after an incident that occurred second. 

                The Chizkuni proposed another approach stating that Eliezer was actually given a Brit Milah before Gereshom, and to Hashem, he was considered the ‘first son’. This approach is highly debatable as no other Mefarshim agree with this, and the Chizkuni seems to reject this approach in his commentary to Perek Daled. 

Through rejecting this approach, we are left with only the first explanation of the Chizkuni as a plausible answer. Maybe the Torah is not just doing it based on the order of incidents, but rather to teach us a vital lesson. No matter whether we come in first, in second, or in third, we are all equal, the order does not matter. We are each born with our own qualities, personalities, characteristics, and it would be unfair to mark one person better than another. As the Gemara (Sanhedrin 74) states: “Who is to say that your blood is redder than his, that your life is worth more than the one he wants you to kill? Perhaps that man’s blood is redder.” This logical reasoning is the basis for the Halachah that one may not save his own life by killing another, proving that we are unable to determine which person is better. This is what the Torah is teaching us when writing Sheim Ha’Echad and Sheim Ha’Echad. No one is better than another, but we are all unique in our own special ways. 

But, this approach raises a question regarding the naming of Yoseif’s children. However, this can be easily refuted. When Ya’akov gave Yoseif’s children a Berachah, he places his right hand on the head of the younger child, Ephraim, and his left hand on the head of the older child, Menashe. So, in order to balance this out, Menashe is named as Echad and Ephraim as Sheini. One person is not better than another, everyone is unique in their own special way.