A Sage taught: Amram- the future father in law of Moses- was
the greatest man of his generation. When
he saw that the wicked Pharaoh had decreed, “Every son that is born you shall
cast into the river,” he said, “We labor in vain.” And so he divorced his wife. All the Israelites followed suit. Whereupon his daughter said, “Father, your
decree is more severe than Pharaoh’s which applied only to male children. The implementation of your decree has severe
implications for both males and females….
Furthermore, in the case of the wicked Pharaoh there is at least some
doubt as too whether his genocidal decree will be fulfilled or not, whereas
your divorce action most certainly will bring about an end to our people. Talmud
Sotah, 12a
It is not always possible to do everything we want. If, for example, a house were burining how could you hope to remove everything from the home? You would just take what is most important. So it is with our lives; we cannot do everything but we can do what is most important.
Comments