Kimhit was a woman whose modesty was so complete that, according to the Talmud (Yoma 47a), even the beams of her house never saw her hair uncovered. The sages said this was the reason for her extraordinary blessing: she bore seven sons, and every single one of them served as High Priest.
The story goes that on one occasion, her son Yishmael was serving as High Priest on Yom Kippur — the holiest day of the year, when only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. But something happened. Some say spittle from a passerby landed on his garments, rendering him ritually impure. He could not continue the service.
In any other family, this would have been a crisis. But Kimhit's second son stepped in and completed the Yom Kippur service in his brother's place. He too was qualified to serve as High Priest. And so, the sages marveled, on that day Kimhit saw two of her sons serve as High Priest.
The other sages' mothers heard about Kimhit's merit and came to learn from her. "What did you do to deserve such sons?" they asked. She answered: "In all my days, the walls of my house never saw my hair." They replied: "Many women have been equally modest, yet none received such a reward."
The Talmud leaves the question unresolved. Perhaps it was not only Kimhit's modesty but her sincerity — the fact that her modesty was practiced even when no one was watching, even before the walls of an empty room. That kind of private righteousness, the sages suggested, is what moves heaven.