(י) וילך איש מבית לוי ויקח את בת לוי נ"ל בס"ד מלוי אותיות לוי כזה למ"ד וא"ו יו"ד עולה מספר אין וידוע דכל אות במילואה נקראת בית ועמרם זכה ליקח מדת הענוה שהוא אין הרמוזה בבית לוי ר"ל באותיות לוי במילואם שנקראים בתים ובזה זכה ליקח את בת לוי שתוליד לו את מרע"ה שהיו עניו מכל האדם ותפס מדת אין בקצה אחרון או יובן ויקח את בת לוי כי אות המלוי נקרא בת או בן לאות הפשוט כנודע וידוע מ"ש רבינו האר"י ז"ל כשלקח עמרם את יוכבד אשתו בפעם הזאת נתעברה בה נשמת חוה ולכן עשה לקוחין מחדש וחזרה לנערותה וז"ס ותהר האשה בה"א הידיעה היא האשה הראשונה שהיתה בעולם ע"ש והנה חוה יוכבד מספרם ס"א כמנין אותיות המלוי של לוי ולז"א ויקח את בת לוי רמז לחוה ויוכבד שנרמזו במלוי שהוא נקרא בת להפשוט:
(10) And a man of Levi went, and took a daughter of Levi - it appears to me, with the help of heaven, that the letters in Levi, written in full as Lamed Vav Yud sums up Ayin [the are letters spelled out in full, and then the letters in the spelling out are added up, not including the letters themselves, so if לוי is למ"ד וא"ו יו"ד, we add up:
/ מ"ד – 44/
/ א"ו – 7 /
/ו"ד – 10
for a total of 61 = אין ], and it is known that every letter in their full form is called House (Bayit), and Amram merited to take the characteristic of humility, which is Ayin, which is hinted at in "house of Levi", that is, in the letters of Levi, in their full form, they are called Houses, and this is how he merited to take a daughter from Levi that gave birth to Moshe, our teacher, peace be upon him whose humility surpassed any living person, and he seized the characteristic of Ayin to its fullest. Or you can understand "he took a daughter of Levi" because the letter in its full form is called daughter or son of the simple letter, as it is known, and we know what the Ari of blessed memory wrote, that when Amram took his wife this time, the soul of Chava mixed itself in her, and that is why this was like a new marriage, and her youth returned to her, and this is the secret of "and the woman conceived", that is to say the idea is that the first woman, which was in the world, see there, and also note that Chava plus Yocheved sum up 61 like the full form of Levi. And this is why it says "and he took a daughter of Levi", this is a hint to "Chava Yocheved" which is hinted by the full form, which is called "daughter" in the simple reading.
~ The Ben Ish Chai also transforms Yocheved. What does he do? How does he get there? What do you think is his basic question regarding Yocheved and Amram?
~ Miriam goes through a transformation in the reading of the Kedushat Levi. What does she become? How does the Kedushat Levi re-read the verse to show us how to connect to God?
~ What is the basic value that this midrash wants to teach?
~ How does this midrash explain the story?
~ What happened to the daughter of Pharaoh at the end?
~ The midrash found in the Talmud is very rich in adding new details. What is the reason for the bathing bythe daughter of Pharaoh? What does she become?
~ How does the question of the angel come about?
~ What are values taught by this midrash?
§ Incidental to the exposition of the word Yehudi as one who repudiates idolatry, the Gemara relates that when Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi introduced his exposition of the book of Chronicles, he addressed the book of Chronicles and said as follows: All of your words are one, and we know how to expound them. This introduction made reference to the fact that the book of Chronicles cannot always be interpreted literally but requires exposition, as the same individual might be called by various different names, as in the following verse: “And his wife HaYehudiyya bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took” (I Chronicles 4:18). Why is she, who we are told at the end of the verse was Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, referred to as Yehudiyya? Because she repudiated idol worship, as it is written: “And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself in the river” (Exodus 2:5), and Rabbi Yoḥanan said: She went down to wash and purify herself from the idols of her father’s house. The Gemara understands that all the names referred to in the verse as children of Pharaoh’s daughter refer to Moses, as it will soon explain. The Gemara asks: Pharaoh’s daughter bore Moses? But didn’t she merely raise him? Rather, it is telling you that with regard to anyone who raises an orphan boy or girl in his house, the verse ascribes him credit as if he gave birth to him. The Gemara explains how all the names in fact are referring to Moses: “Jered”; this is Moses, and why was he called Jered? Because manna came down [yarad] for the Jewish people in his days. He was also called “Gedor” because he fenced in [gadar] the breaches of the Jewish people. He was called “Heber” because he connected [ḥibber] the Jewish people to their Father in Heaven. He was called “Soco” because he was for the Jewish people like a shelter [sukka] and shield. He was called “Jekuthiel” because the Jewish people trusted in God [kivu laEl] in his days. Lastly, he was called “Zanoah” because he caused the iniquities of the Jewish people to be disregarded [hizniaḥ]. The Gemara notes that the words “father of” appear three times in that same verse: “And his wife HaYehudiyah bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.” This teaches that Moses was a father to all of the Jewish people in three respects: A father in Torah, a father in wisdom, and a father in prophecy. The aforementioned verse stated: “And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.” The Gemara asks: Was Bithiah’s husband’s name Mered? Wasn’t his name Caleb? Rather, the verse alludes to the reason that Caleb married Bithiah. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Let Caleb, who rebelled [marad] against the advice of the spies, come and marry the daughter of Pharaoh, who rebelled against the idols of her father’s home.
~ What is the reason for the daughter of Pharaoh to be called Bityah?
~ Who does she marry? Why does it make sense in the rabbis' minds to marry her to him?
~ What are values that this midrash wants to teach us?