“…of whom the name of the one was Gershom (for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:) and the name of the other was Eliezer (for the G-d of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh) (Shemos 18:3-4)

Jews who live in the Diaspora are faced with finding solutions to prevent assimilation. In Egypt, the Jews were known for not changing their names, their language, or their clothing. These culture trappings that identified them as Jews kept them in a cultural bubble. That is easier to do when you are a mini-nation within a nation. But a single individual alone would not be able to use these methods and interact with the gentiles, as they would just consider him odd.

When Moshe Rabbeinu found himself in Midian, he needed to keep himself separate. Yet, being a son-in-law of Yisro, who was a prominent person in Midian, he had to devise a plan to keep strong.

There is a question asked by many commentators as to why the first of Moshe’s sons was called Gershom and the second called Eliezer. Gershom refers to the fact that Moshe was in a strange land, and Eliezer refers to the gratitude to Hashem that Moshe had for saving him from the sword of Pharaoh. Being that those names were depicting real events, seemingly his first child should have been called Eliezer and the next one Gershom, in chronological order. Why did Moshe Rabbeinu switch the order of the names around?

There are those who answer with the aforementioned principle: His first obligation was to make a statement and say that Moshe and his family were only going to be there temporarily, and they were not planning to “melt in” to the Midianite society. After that groundwork was clear, he could move forward and thank Hashem for that which transpired previously.

However, I would like to offer another explanation, drawing on many sayings of Chazal. The Gemora in Gittin (57b) tells us that Jewish lads who were slated for illicit purposes chose to rather die than live a life of sin. Chizkiyahu Hamelech felt that if his children would not go in the ways of Hashem it would be better to not bring them into the world. Each of these stories, and many similar stories, needs to be studied on its own. But the underlying thought is that the purpose of life is to serve Hashem, and to live life without having that kind of purpose may not be worthwhile.

Therefore, I would like to offer the following thought: Moshe Rabbeinu was not willing to thank Hashem until he was secure that his children would be able to remain Torah-true Jews. Therefore, he first made the mission statement, and afterwards he was able to thank Hashem that his children would go in the proper path.

In Parshas Bo in the segment that deals with the wicked son (Shemos 12:26-27), the Torah states that the Jews bowed in gratitude, with one of the reasons being that they heard they were going to have children in the future! There are those who ask, “Why would it be that they are thankful to have wicked children?” The classic answer given is, “At least the wicked son cares enough to ask!” and that is a start, which one should be thankful for. Similarly, whenever we see Jewish people around us who are upset with us due to our religious observance, we should be thankful that they at least have a conscience, and their antagonistic tone is really belying their soul’s wish to connect with Hashem. Those who are totally apathetic may be more removed than those who act wickedly.

I believe that this idea is part of the aspect of Klal Yisrael that came with the covenant Hashem made with us at Har Sinai. After that point, a Jew always has a spark that turns into a flame and brings him back to Hashem. A few years ago, my chavrusa was at a separate beach on Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul. When the secular lifeguard got on the speaker to announce that beach time was over, he said wished everyone success in Yeshiva and reminded everyone, “please don’t forget to daven for us lifeguards as well!”

A life without service of Hashem is not a life, and every Jew intuitively understands that.