By descending into the Egyptian exile, the Jewish people began the process of elevating and transforming the 70 nations of the world. Yocheved’s birth just before Jacob’s family entered Egypt brought their number to 70, thus enabling Jacob to begin the mission of refining the 70 nations.
The process of transforming the world is twofold: first, we must cure the world of its opposition to holiness, and then, we must transform it into holiness. The former is the “masculine,” assertive approach, whereas the latter is the “feminine,” nurturing approach.
Thus, the commandments entrusted to women – ensuring that the family is nourished in accordance with the Torah’s laws, ensuring the safety and spiritual warmth of the home (as exemplified by kindling the Sabbath candles), and sanctifying marital life – are all ways of transforming the mundane aspects of ordinary human life into expressions of holiness.1
Yocheved’s age when giving birth to Moses. Yocheved, Levi’s daughter, entered exile into Egypt with all the Hebrews. Moses was 80 at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. It seems, according to the Torah’s account of years and Chabad.org that the Hebrews were exiled for 230 years. If the same Yocheved was Moses’s mother and all these statements are correct was Yocheved over 150 years old when Moses was born? Thanks for helping provide a better understanding of Torah.
Good observation. However, the slavery lasted 210 years, not 230.
She was indeed very old. Here is a quote from Rashi (Exodus 2:1):
"And he had taken to wife a daughter of Levi — He had lived apart from her in consequence of Pharaoh’s decree that the children should, on their birth, be drowned. Now he took her back and entered into a second marriage with her, and she also physically became young again. For really she was then 130 years old — for she was born “between the walls” when they were about to enter Egypt (cf. Rashi on Genesis 46:15) and they (the Israelites) remained there 210 years, and when they left Egypt Moses was 80 years old; consequently when she became pregnant with him she was 130 years old — and yet Scripture calls her בת לוי a young daughter of Levi (Sota 12a; Bava Batra 119b)."