Who are the "Ish mi'Beis Levi" and the "Bas Levi" mentioned here?
Rashi, Ramban #1 and Targum Yonasan: It was Amram (the son of Kehas), who took back Yocheved (his aunt), after divorcing her on account of Pharaoh's decree. 1
Rashbam and Ramban #2: It refers to Amram and Yocheved, though the marriage took place many years earlier. 2
Sotah 12a: He made a big Simchah (in the knowledge that this was the opening stage of the Ge'ulah), placing Yocheved on a sedan-chair (Targum Yonasan), while Aharon and Miriam danced in front of her. Ramban - And even though Aharon was only three, Hashem imbued him with Simchah, or Miriam taught him. Moshav Zekenim - Even though the Egyptians would hear, he remarried her with great publicity, so that also others would follow suit and remarry.
Ramban: Before Pharaoh's current decree, as did the birth of Aharon and Miriam, which the Torah does not mention because nothing of importance took place when they were born.
Isn't it strange that the Pasuk does not tell us their names?
Ramban: Because then it would have had to mention their Yichus (the names of their fathers and grandfathers), and the Torah is currently interested in brevity, until it has recorded the birth of the savior (Moshe). 1
Maharal #1 (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 16, p. 76): Moshe was not merely one individual (Perat) among the nation as a whole (Klal); but rather a man distinct and apart (Nivdal) from the rest. He should not be attributed to individuals.
Maharal #2 (ibid.): The concepts of Perat and Klal relate to Chomer. Moshe would separate (be Nivdal) from Chomer; 2 his birth was not due to individual / material factors.
Maharal #3 (ibid. p. 77): Generally, the existence of a new baby depends on his father and mother. Moshe, however, had been designated for the Redemption, ever since Creation. 3
Ramban: It does however, fill in all the details, as well as those of the other (older) tribes in Parshas Va'eira (Shemos 6:14-25).
Refer to 2:10:1.4:1.
Compare to Gur Aryeh to 1:15.
Why is it significant that the husband was from "the House of Levi"?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 16, p. 77): The Redeemer could only emerge from the sanctity of the Tribe of Levi - just as that tribe was not subjugated by slavery. 1
Maharal: Subjugation is relevant only to Chomer (- and Bnei Levi as a whole were on a level higher than that). This also explains why when Bnei Yisrael went free, it was the materialistic Egyptians who capitulated before Yisrael! (By definition, Tzurah rules over Chomer, directing it to actualization. Also refer to 5:4:3:6, and 1:1:2.9:1*.
Where did Amram go?
Rashi and Ramban #1: He followed the advice of his six-year old daughter Miriam, 1 who told him that his decree was worse than Pharaoh's! Pharaoh had decreed only on the boys; whereas, by divorcing his wife, he was now decreeing also on the girls. 2
Ramban #2: He 'went' and contravened the decree of Pharaoh, and took a wife in order to have children. 3
Rashi (to Shemos 15:20): Who also prophesied that a son would be born to him who would save Yisrael.
Oznayim la'Torah: Moreover, Amram being the Gadol ha'Dor and head of the Sanhedrin, when he divorced his wife, all the people followed suit, and the threat of extinction loomed over Yisrael. When he took Yocheved back, then once again, the people followed suite and took back their wives as well.
Ramban: The word "va'Yelech" is commonly used to denote that someone has done something new. See Ramban, who refers to Bereishis 35:37 and Bereishis 37:27, and to a number of other locations.
Why does the Torah write "va'Yikach Es Bas Levi," and not "va'Yachzir"?
Oznayim la'Torah: Because he made a large and pompous wedding in order to publicize it. 1
What caused Amram to change his mind and take Yocheved back?
Rashi and Ramban: Miriam convinced him to change his mind. 1
How old was Yocheved when Amram remarried her?
Rashi: Yocheved was 130 years old - seeing as she was born as the family entered Egypt, 1 Bnei Yisrael were 210 years in Egypt, and Moshe was 80 when they left.
Rashi: "She was born when they descended to Egypt, (as they entered) between the walls." Maharal - Surely this was not by chance; what does it teach us? Refer to 1:5:1.02:2.
Seeing as Yocheved was 130 years old when Amram took her back, why does the Pasuk call her "Bas Levi" (which implies that she was a young girl)?
Rashi: Because after Amram remarried her, a miracle occurred and she regained her youth. 1
Rashbam: Because she was Levi's daughter.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "... And he took the daughter of Levi - He had separated from her, due to Pharaoh's decree... and he now took her back." How do we know this? Perhaps he was now marrying her for the first time?
Gur Aryeh: We learn elsewhere that Moshe's siblings Aharon and Miriam were both older than he; 1 they must have already been born.
Aharon was three years older than Moshe (7:7); and Miriam was old enough to stand by the riverbank to watch over him (Shemos 2:4; and see Rashi to Bamidbar 12:15). We also know that all three had the same mother; see Rashi to Bamidbar 12:12. (CS)
Rashi writes: "'He went' - [I.e.,] he followed his daughter's advice." The Gemara (Sotah 12b-13a) adds that Miriam prophesied that her mother would give birth to a son who would ultimately redeem Yisrael. Why was Miriam the one to give this prophecy, and not Aharon?
Maharal #1 (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 16, p. 75): Moshe and Aharon served together 1 as the redeemers of Yisrael; and a prophet does not prophecy regarding himself. The message had to come through someone else - Miriam.
Maharal #2 (ibid.): Aharon was not yet even three years old! He was not yet at the age of recognizing his Creator. 2
Maharal (Netzach Yisrael Ch. 54): Still, Moshe and Aharon each had his own task. Miriam, for her part, represented the yearning for the Redemption on the part of Bnei Yisrael.
Maharal apparently refers to the Gemara (Nedarim 32a), that Avraham Avinu recognized Hashem at the age of three. But note the expression of the Rambam (Hil. Avodah Zarah 1:3) - "When this (spiritual) giant was weaned, he began to ponder, while he was yet small... does this world constantly revolve, without any driver?" Based on this, Avraham may have indeed begun his search at the beginning of his third year - the same age as Aharon was when Moshe was conceived. (EK)
Rashi writes: "... He re-married her, and made for her a second 'taking' -[i.e. a wedding]." Why did he do so? What is the source for this in the Pasuk?
Gur Aryeh: He married her with festivity 1 in order to publicize his actions; then the rest of Bnei Yisrael would follow his lead and take back their own wives as well. The Pasuk does not say 'va'Yachzir' - 'he returned her;' but rather "va'Yikach" - '[he acted as if] he took her as a wife [now for the first time]' (Sotah 12a).
Sotah 12a: He seated her in a bridal chair, and Aharon and Miriam were dancing before her. The angels said, "The mother of the children is joyous" (Tehilim 113:9).
Rashi writes: "[We know this because] when she conceived, she was 130 years old - and the Torah calls her 'a daughter'!" How does this show that she returned to her youth?
Gur Aryeh: The Torah does not tell us her name (at this point); 1 like a Na'arah that is known simply as a member of her father's household. 2
Also refer to 1:15:1.2:1.
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 16, p. 76): Had she not returned to her youth, it would have been more fitting to write, '... he took a wife, who was the daughter of Levi.'
Rashi writes: "... When she conceived, she was 130 years old." If so, why doesn't the Torah record this great miracle explicitly, as it does regarding Sarah?
Gur Aryeh #1: In Egypt, all of the women among Bnei Yisrael would reproduce in ways over and above the laws of nature (see 1:7). Yocheved was not unique in this regard.
Gur Aryeh #2; Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 16, p. 76): The purpose of the Torah is not to publicize events that are newsworthy, but only to teach us that content which is important in its own right. The Torah is the plan for the world; Hashem created the world through the Torah. 1 The Torah deals at length with the world's roots and foundations - and specifically the Avos, who are the source of the world's fundamental nation. 2 Although the Torah reveals the miracles and events in the lives of the Avos, it may conceal miracles that occurred to their descendants (just as essential precepts in the Torah might be merely alluded to by hint). 3
Maharal (Nesivos Olam, beg. Nesiv ha'Torah): The Torah is not merely the guidebook for man, instructing him what is forbidden or permitted. Rather, it is the blueprint for the world as a whole.
Gur Aryeh: See Rashi to Bereishis 24:42; also see Gur Aryeh to the opening of Vayishlach, Bereishis 32:4:1.2:2.
Gur Aryeh (to Bereishis 32:4): In this regard, the level of the Avos and the Shevatim was greater than that of Moshe.
Rashi writes: "... He made for her a second [wedding]; and she too reverted to her youth, and turned into a Na'arah." What does this teach us on a deeper level?
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 16, p. 75): Moshe's holy Neshamah was drawn from the loftiest level, 'Chidush ha'Olam,' from where the world is renewed. Thus, his mother Yocheved returned to her youth; and Amram likewise made her a wedding as one would for a Na'arah.
