The story of Moses' birth is a powerful testament to that kind of bravery, laced with faith and a touch of the miraculous.
It all begins with a decree from Pharaoh, ordering the death of all newborn Hebrew boys. A truly horrific situation. Amram, a prominent Israelite, decides to separate from his wife, Jochebed, thinking it's better to prevent births than to have his sons murdered. This decision, though understandable, causes a ripple effect throughout the community. Everyone follows suit, and hope seems to dwindle.
But it's Amram’s daughter, Miriam, who steps up with a profound and insightful argument. “Father," she says, "your decree is worse than Pharaoh's!" According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, she points out that Pharaoh only targets the boys, while Amram's decree prevents all future life, girls included. It's a powerful and persuasive critique, highlighting the long-term consequences of despair.
Amram, recognizing the wisdom in her words, brings the matter before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. They agree that he was the one who initiated the separation, so he should be the one to reverse it. And so, in a public display of renewed hope, Amram remarries Jochebed under a wedding canopy. Aaron and Miriam dance, and according to tradition, the angels themselves proclaim, "Let the mother of children be joyful!"
This remarriage isn't just a personal decision; it’s a spark that ignites a wave of hope throughout the Israelite community. Others follow Amram's example, returning to their wives and rekindling the possibility of a future. The text even suggests that Jochebed, despite her age, is rejuvenated, her youth returning as a sign of divine favor.
But pregnancy brings new anxieties. Amram turns to God in prayer, begging for deliverance from the suffering of his people. And in a dream, God reassures him. He promises that the child Jochebed carries will be the very one who will deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian oppression. This child, the dream reveals, will be hidden from those who seek to destroy him, and his memory will be celebrated for generations, even among strangers. Furthermore, his brother will establish a priestly lineage.
Miriam, too, has a prophetic dream. She sees a man in fine linen who tells her that the child born to her parents will be cast into the water, but through him, the waters will become dry, and he will lead Israel to salvation. These dreams, layered one upon another, build an atmosphere of anticipation and divine purpose.
Jochebed's pregnancy is unlike any other. She feels no pain, and at the moment of birth, the house is filled with a radiant light, brighter than the sun and moon. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, pious women were not included in the curse pronounced upon Eve, decreeing sorrow in conception and in childbearing. Even more remarkably, the infant, not yet a day old, begins to walk and speak, refusing his mother's milk as if he were already an adult.
Jochebed conceives Moses six months after conception instead of nine. For three months, they manage to hide the baby, despite the constant watch of Egyptian bailiffs. Imagine the fear, the tension, the constant vigilance! But eventually, Amram, fearing discovery and death for both himself and his son, makes the agonizing decision to place the child's fate in God's hands. He trusts that Divine Providence will protect the boy and fulfill the promise he received in his dream.
And so, the stage is set for one of the most iconic moments in Jewish history: the placing of baby Moses in a basket and setting him adrift on the Nile. But that, as they say, is a story for another time.
What strikes me most about this part of the Moses narrative is the interplay of human action and divine intervention. Amram and Jochebed make difficult choices, driven by fear and hope. Miriam speaks truth to power. And God responds, not by magically solving everything, but by offering guidance, reassurance, and a promise of a brighter future. It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, faith, courage, and a willingness to act can pave the way for miracles.
When Amram separated from his wife on account of the edict published against the male children of the Hebrews, and his example was followed by all the Israelites, his daughter Miriam said to him: "Father, thy decree is worse than Pharaoh's decree. The Egyptians aim to destroy only the male children, but thou includest the girls as well. Pharaoh deprives his victims of life in this world, but thou preventest children from being born, and thus thou deprivest them of the future life, too. He resolves destruction, but who knows whether the intention of the wicked can persist? Thou art a righteous man, and the enactments of the righteous are executed by God, hence thy decree will be upheld." Amram recognized the justice of her plea, and he repaired to the Sanhedrin, and put the matter before this body. The members of the court spoke, and said: "It was thou that didst separate husbands and wives, and from thee should go forth the permission for re-marriage." Amram then made the proposition that each of the members of the Sanhedrin return to his wife, and wed her clandestinely, but his colleagues repudiated the plan, saying, "And who will make it known unto the whole of Israel? " Accordingly, Amram stood publicly under the wedding canopy with his divorced wife Jochebed, while Aaron and Miriam danced about it, and the angels proclaimed, "Let the mother of children be joyful!" His re-marriage was solemnized with great ceremony, to the end that the men that bad followed his example in divorcing their wives might imitate him now in taking them again unto themselves. And so it happened. Old as Jochebed was, she regained her youth. Her skin became soft, the wrinkles in her face disappeared, the warm tints of maiden beauty returned, and in a short time she became pregnant. Amram was very uneasy about his wife's being with child; he knew not what to do. He turned to God in prayer, and entreated Him to have compassion upon those who had in no wise transgressed the laws of His worship, and afford them deliverance from the misery they endured, while He rendered abortive the hope of their enemies, who yearned for the destruction of their nation. God had mercy on him, and He stood by him in his sleep, and exhorted him not to despair of His future favors. He said further, that He did not forget their piety, and He would always reward them for it, as He had granted His favor in other days unto their forefathers. "Know, therefore," the Lord continued to speak, "that I shall provide for you all together what is for your good, and for thee in particular that which shall make thee celebrated; for the child out of dread of whose nativity the Egyptians have doomed the Israelite children to destruction, shall be this child of thine, and be shall remain concealed from those who watch to destroy him, and when he has been bred up, in a miraculous way, he shall deliver the Hebrew nation from the distress they are under by reason of the Egyptians. His memory shall be celebrated while the world lasts, and not only among the Hebrews, but among strangers also. And all this shall be the effect of My favor toward thee and thy posterity. Also his brother shall be such that he shall obtain My priesthood for himself, and for his posterity after him, unto the end of the world." After he had been informed of these things by the vision, Amram awoke, and told all unto his wife Jochebed. His daughter Miriam likewise had a prophetic dream, and she related it unto her parents, saying: "In this night I saw a man clothed in fine linen. 'Tell thy father and thy mother,' he said, 'that he who shall be born unto them, shall be cast into the waters, and through him the waters shall become dry, and wonders and miracles shall be performed through him, and he shall save My people Israel, and be their leader forever.' " During her pregnancy, Jochebed observed that the child in her womb was destined for great things. All the time she suffered no pain, and also she suffered none in giving birth to her son, for pious women are not included in the curse pronounced upon Eve, decreeing sorrow in conception and in childbearing. At the moment of the child's appearance, the whole house was filled with radiance equal to the splendor of the sun and the moon. A still greater miracle followed. The infant was not yet a day old when he began to walk and speak with his parents, and as though he were an adult, he refused to drink milk from his mother's breast. Jochebed gave birth to the child six months after conception. The Egyptian bailiffs, who kept strict watch over all pregnant women in order to be on the spot in time to carry off their new-born boys, had not expected her delivery for three months more. These three months the parents succeeded in keeping the babe concealed, though every Israelitish house was guarded by two Egyptian women, one stationed within and one without. At the end of this time they determined to expose the child, for Amram was afraid that both he and his son would be devoted to death if the secret leaked out, and he thought it better to entrust the child's fate to Divine Providence. He was convinced that God would protect the boy, and fulfil His word in truth.
