At the begining of parashat Shemot, Par'o ordered to the midwives to kill male newborns of Benei Yisrael: Exodus 1, 17:
וַתִּירֶ֤אןָ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹת֙ אֶת-הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְלֹ֣א עָשׂ֔וּ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ן מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם וַתְּחַיֶּ֖יןָ אֶת-הַיְלָדִֽים:
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.
The midwives got a huge reward, the greatest possible, that their children would be the kings, leviim and kohanim. Exodus 1, 21 and Rashi:
וַיְהִ֕י כִּֽי-יָֽרְא֥וּ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֖ת אֶת-הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ לָהֶ֖ם בָּתִּֽים:
And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.
ויעש להם בתים. בתי כהונה ולויה ומלכות שקרויין בתים, ויבן את בית ה' ואת בית המלך, כהונה ולויה מיוכבד, ומלכות ממרים, כדאיתא במסכת סוטה :
What exactly did they do to deserve this. They didnt kill the children, most likely pharaoh threatened them with death, but even so one has to be moser nefesh (Yehareg Veal Yaavor, Sanhedrin 74a: " one must rather be slain than commit murder ", see Rambam in English) not to kill others and here we are talking about many thousands not just one man.
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