Levi's grandson, Amram, the son of Kehat, married Yocheved, and she bore him three children.

Their first child was a girl by the name of Miriam, who was later to become a great prophetess of the Jewish people.

The second child was Aaron, the highest priest of G‑d, famous for his extraordinary love of peace. Next to his brother Moses, he was the greatest leader of our nation in his time.

It was Amram's youngest son Moses who was destined to lead the children of Israel from Egypt and to receive for them the Holy Torah on Mount Sinai.

The day approached when, according to the Egyptian astrologers, the liberator of the children of Israel was to be born. Since they did not know whether he would be of Jewish or Egyptian descent, all male children born that day were to be thrown into the water by order of King Pharaoh.

On this day, the seventh of Adar, Yocheved, Amram's wife, gave birth to her third child, a boy. Right from the first moment of his birth, it became apparent that he was an extraordinary child, for the house was filled with a radiant light. His parents tried everything possible to prevent his falling into the hands of Pharaoh's men, who were continuously searching for newborn Jewish children.

After three months, Yocheved saw that she would not be able to conceal her child any longer. She therefore made a small, water-proof basket in which she put the child and set him down among the papyrus reeds growing on the brink of the Nile. While Yocheved tearfully returned home, her daughter Miriam remained nearby to watch the baby.

The day was hot, and King Pharaoh's daughter, Batya, came out to the river, accompanied by her maids, to take a bath in the cool waters of the Nile. Suddenly, she heard the wailing of a small child. Presently she found the basket, and in it, an infant boy.

Intrigued by the child's beauty, Batya tried to figure out a way to enable her to keep him for herself and save him from death, for she understood that this boy was one of the children born to a Jewish family, and therefore condemned to death.

The child refused to be nursed by any of the Egyptian maids-in-waiting, and continued to weep. At this moment, Miriam came over to the princess and offered to procure for the child a Jewish nurse, who would keep it as long as the princess thought necessary. Batya was glad of this solution. Miriam rushed home and brought her mother, whom she introduced as an experienced nurse.

For two years the baby was left in his mother's care. Meanwhile, Batya told Pharaoh about the boy she had found and adopted. Her father did not object, although the foundling was of Jewish descent, for his astrologers had told him that the one who, according to the constellation of the stars, had been predestined to become the liberator of the Jews and to threaten the life of King Pharaoh had already been placed at the mercy of the water.

Moreover, they said, it was the fate of this boy to die because of water. Thus, they felt sure that the danger had already been averted. Moses was taken to the royal court, where be grew up as the princely adopted son of King Pharaoh's daughter.

Once it happened that Moses was playing on King Pharaoh's lap. He saw the shining crown, studded with jewels, and reached for it and took it off.

Pharaoh, who was superstitious like all his fellow-Egyptians, and who in addition was always afraid of losing his throne, asked his astrologers and counselors the meaning of this action of the infant.

Most of them interpreted it to mean that Moses was a threat to Pharaoh's crown and suggested that the child be put to death before he could do any harm. One of the king's counselors, however, suggested that they should first test the boy and see whether his action was prompted by intelligence, or he was merely grasping for sparkling things as any other child would.

Pharaoh agreed to this, and two bowls were set before young Moses. One contained gold and jewels, and the other held glowing firecoals. Moses reached out for the gold, but an angel directed his hand to the coals.

Moses snatched a glowing coal and put it to his lips.

He burned his tongue, but his life was saved. After that fateful test, Moses suffered from a slight speech defect. He could not become an orator, but his words were to carry weight with all, for it was G‑d's words that were spoken through his lips.

A conspiracy and upheaval in the government of Cush forced Moses to flee again, and he went to Midian. The priest of Midian, Jethro, had once been one of King Pharaoh's foremost advisors, but because of his friendly attitude towards the Hebrews, he had to leave Pharaoh's court.

Jethro then settled in Midian, and became the highest priest of the land. A man of great intelligence, Jethro soon realized the silliness of idol-worship, and gave up his priesthood. The people of Midian began to hate their erstwhile priest and persecuted him.

Often it happened that Jethro's daughters were driven away from the communal well when they came to water the flocks of their father, and had to wait to the very last, until the other shepherds were gone.

On the day Moses arrived in Midian, he saw the rough shepherds chase the daughters of Jethro away from the well. Moses stood up for the girls, and helped them water their sheep. On that day they returned to Jethro rather early, and he was astonished to see them back so soon. His daughters told him about the unexpected help. Jethro immediately invited Moses to his house, and not long thereafter, he gave him his oldest daughter Zipporah for a wife.

Zipporah bore Moses two children. The first one he called Gershom ("a stranger there") in commemoration of the fact that he was a stranger and exile in the land of Midian, and the second he called Eliezer, "G‑d is my helper," in gratitude for G‑d's protection.