What if the very people meant to lead us to freedom are born into the darkest of times? Times so bleak, even love itself seems impossible. That's the story of Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses, whose lives were a testament to faith, courage, and the enduring power of hope.
The story begins with Pharaoh's horrific decree: Hebrew baby boys were to be cast into the Nile. In response, Amram, a respected leader – the president of the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court), no less – made a painful decision. Seeing no other way to protect the children, he divorced his wife, Jochebed. This was meant as an example, and all the men of Israel followed suit, separating from their wives.
Now, Amram wasn't just any man. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, he was held in high regard. He was a Levite, and the tribe of Levi remained faithful to God even in the face of Egyptian oppression, while other tribes, sadly, wavered and even abandoned the covenant of Abraham.
But here’s a question: Why would God allow such suffering? Well, some traditions tell us that the Hebrews themselves brought this hardship upon themselves through their impiety. It's a harsh lesson, isn't it? They had angered God, so much so that the Egyptians’ love for them turned into hatred, and they resolved to destroy them. Pharaoh, initially grateful for Joseph's wise rule, resisted, but eventually, the Egyptians deposed him until he agreed to their malicious plans.
Amram was an exceptional man, distinguished even among the pious Levites. The text says he was one of only four individuals so righteous – so completely without sin – that death would have had no power over them, if mortality hadn’t been decreed for all humanity after Adam and Eve's transgression. The others were Benjamin, Jesse (David's father), and Chileab (David's son). What an incredible standard to live up to!
The text goes on to say that Amram’s piety even helped bring the Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה), the Divine Presence, closer to humanity. Originally, the Shekhinah dwelt among people, but after Adam's sin, it withdrew, step by step, to the seven heavens, pushed further away by each successive generation's sins: Cain, the generation of Enoch, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, the Egyptians in Abraham's time, and finally, the people of Sodom. Six righteous men – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kohath, and Amram – drew the Shekhinah back down, one heaven at a time. And then, through the seventh, Moses, it returned to dwell among us once more. The Midrash Rabbah tells a similar story of the Shekhinah leaving and returning.
And it wasn’t just his piety; Amram was also incredibly wise. The Egyptians initially enslaved the Hebrews through trickery, offering them a shekel for each brick they made, tempting them to work harder. But later, they forced them to work without pay, demanding the same output. Except for Amram. He hadn't fallen for their initial ploy, being content with just one shekel and one brick per day. So, that's all they could demand from him later. Clever. Now, let's talk about Jochebed (יוֹכֶבֶד). Amram’s wife was also his aunt, born on the very same day as him. Her name means "Divine Splendor," and she was said to radiate celestial light. A fitting name, don't you think? She was the daughter of Levi, a woman of incredible courage, one of the midwives who risked her life to save the Hebrew babies. According to the text, Pharaoh even sent his guards after her and her daughter, Miriam, but God made them invisible!
Their first child was a daughter, named Miriam (מִרְיָם), meaning "Bitterness," because her birth coincided with the start of the Egyptians' cruelty. Their second child was a boy, Aaron (אַהֲרֹן), whose name means "Woe unto this pregnancy!" a reference to Pharaoh's decree to kill all male Hebrew children, which was announced during Jochebed’s pregnancy with him.
So, what can we take away from this story? Amram and Jochebed faced unimaginable circumstances. They lived in a world of oppression, fear, and seemingly impossible choices. Yet, they held onto their faith, their integrity, and their love for one another. They made difficult decisions, yes, but their actions ultimately paved the way for the birth of Moses, the one who would lead their people to freedom. Their story reminds us that even in the darkest of times, hope can be born. And sometimes, the greatest leaders are forged in the fires of adversity.
When Pharaoh's proclamation was issued, decreeing that the men children of the Hebrews were to be cast into the river, Amram, who was the president of the Sanhedrin, decided that in the circumstances it was best for husbands to live altogether separate from their wives. He set the example. He divorced his wife, and all the men of Israel did likewise, for he occupied a place of great consideration among his people, one reason being that he belonged to the tribe of Levi, the tribe that was faithful to its God even in the land of Egypt, though the other tribes wavered in their allegiance, and attempted to ally themselves with the Egyptians, going so far as to give up Abraham's sign of the covenant. To chastise the Hebrews for their impiety, God turned the love of the Egyptians for them into hatred, so that they resolved upon their destruction. Mindful of all that he and his people owed to Joseph's wise rule, Pharaoh refused at first to entertain the malicious plans proposed by the Egyptians against the Hebrews. He spoke to his people, "You fools, we are indebted to these Hebrews for whatever we enjoy, and you desire now to rise up against them?" But the Egyptians could not be turned aside from their purpose of ruining Israel. They deposed their king, and incarcerated him for three months, until he declared himself ready to execute with determination what they had resolved upon, and he sought to bring about the ruin of the children of Israel by every conceivable means. Such was the retribution they had drawn down upon themselves by their own acts. As for Amram, not only did he belong to the tribe of Levi, distinguished for its piety, but by reason of his extraordinary piety he was prominent even among the pious of the tribe. He was one of the four who were immaculate, untainted by sin, over whom death would have had no power, had mortality not been decreed against every single human being on account of the fall of the first man and woman. The other three that led the same sinless life were Benjamin, Jesse the father of David, and Chileab the son of David. If the Shekinah was drawn close again to the dwelling-place of mortals, it was due to Amram's piety. Originally the real residence of the Shekinah was among men, but when Adam committed his sin, she withdrew to heaven, at first to the lowest of the seven heavens. Thence she was banished by Cain's crime, and she retired to the second heaven. The sins of the generation of Enoch removed her still farther off from men, she took up her abode in the third heaven; then, successively, in the fourth, on account of the malefactors in the generation of the deluge; in the fifth, during the building of the tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues; in the sixth, by reason of the wicked Egyptians at the time of Abraham; and, finally, in the seventh, in consequence of the abominations of the inhabitants of Sodom. Six righteous men, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kohath, and Amram, drew the Shekinah back, one by one, from the seventh to the first heaven, and through the seventh righteous man, Moses, she was made to descend to the earth and abide among men as aforetime. Amram's sagacity kept pace with his piety and his learning. The Egyptians succeeded in enslaving the Hebrews by seductive promises. At first they gave them a shekel for every brick they made, tempting them to superhuman efforts by the prospect of earning much money. Later, when the Egyptians forced them to work without wages, they insisted upon having as many bricks as the Hebrews had made when their labor was paid for, but they could demand only a single brick daily from Amram, for he had been the only one whom they had not led astray by their artifice. He had been satisfied with a single shekel daily, and had therefore made only a single brick daily, which they had to accept afterward as the measure of his day's work. As his life partner, Amram chose his aunt Jochebed, who was born the same day with him. She was the daughter of Levi, and she owed her name, "Divine Splendor," to the celestial light that radiated from her countenance. She was worthy of being her husband's helpmeet, for she was one of the midwives that had imperilled their own lives to rescue the little Hebrew babes. Indeed, if God had not allowed a miracle to happen, she and her daughter Miriam would have been killed by Pharaoh for having resisted his orders and saved the Hebrew children alive. When the king sent his hangmen for the two women, God caused them to become invisible, and the bailiffs bad to return without accomplishing their errand. The first child of the union between Amram and Jochebed, his wife, who was one hundred and twenty-six years old at the time of her marriage, was a girl, and the mother called her Miriam, "Bitterness," for it was at the time of her birth that the Egyptians began to envenom the life of the Hebrews. The second child was a boy, called Aaron, which means, "Woe unto this pregnancy!" because Pharaoh's instructions to the midwives, to kill the male children of the Hebrews, was proclaimed during the months before Aaron's birth.
