Mother of Levi
This young widow from the Sharon plain was married to a Roman veteran, Cornelius, a blacksmith in a farrier’s workshop. Her child, Levi, who has just turned twelve, is about to have a difficult life because he is a "bastard".
"A young widow passes by with her little group of children… What a pitiful sight! The youngest is completely naked, covered by the worn veil of his mother… the bigger ones have on only what is necessary to be decent. Only the oldest son, a lean tall boy, is wearing a suit worthy of that name, but he is bare-footed. [...] - Levi has become of age… And I had to take him to the Temple… because his father is dead [...]"[1]
Johanna of Chuza takes them all in for work in her rose garden in Bether.
"Do you realize what that means? She will be taking me and my children. So I will be working. It is a pleasure to work when one is protected and safe. And my Levi will not break his back working in the fields. The lady who is taking us on will employ him in the rose-gardens… It will be a pastime, I say! Ah! May the Eternal Father grant glory and welfare to His Messiah!"[2]
Her name
The mother is anonymous.
Levi means "attachment". Historical reference: 3rd son of Jacob and Leah. He is the ancestor of the Levites, the priestly caste.