Our Gemara on Amud Beis tells us that the Hebrew word קִיחָה “Kicha” connotes acquisition to purchase, and not merely the acquisition of an ownerless object.

Be’er Mayyim Chaim (Shemos 2:3) notes that the same Hebrew word is used when Yocheved “took” a reed basket to hide the baby Moshe. His understanding is that she acquired it via payment, much as we have a custom to make sure to acquire a Lulav or Hadass via payment instead of merely acquiring it from public property. The concern is that it might still possibly be owned by somebody, and then it would be a mitzvah accomplished through a sin, namely the sin of theft.

Similarly, Yocheved wanted to ensure that the salvation of Moshe, who would eventually be the savior of the Jewish people, was a pure Mitzvah, without any possibility of the entanglement of the sin of theft. She therefore purchased the reed basket.

What I find remarkable about this interpretation is how it showcases the indomitable spirit of a person under severe persecution and oppression. This reminds me of people who baked matzah or lit Hanukkah candles in concentration camps. Obviously, most did not, and they certainly were exempt. I think we would be grossly underestimating their mindset to think that in their minds they were making a sacrifice. Quite the contrary, I believe they felt it was a privilege and an honor; maintaining their own sense of freedom and individual integrity in the midst of the most trying of circumstances.

Nathan Sharansky said, "They tried their best to find a place where I was isolated. But all the resources of a superpower cannot isolate the man who hears a voice of freedom, a voice I heard from the very chamber of my soul."

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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