Levi לוי
Yaakov's third son, ancestor of the priestly and Levite tribe
Levi was born in Charan, Leah's third son. With Shimon he avenges their sister Dina on the men of Shechem, and on his deathbed Yaakov condemns that fury: «I will divide them in Yaakov and scatter them in Israel.» The condemnation turned into a vocation: the tribe of Levi received no continuous territory and was spread through the land — not as punishment but as teachers and servants of the sanctuary.
Tradition holds that in Egypt the tribe of Levi was never enslaved; it kept its freedom and with it the genealogical records and the tradition. From this tribe come Amram, Moshe, Aharon and Miriam.
The turning point is the golden calf: only the Levites answer Moshe's call, «whoever is for the Lord, to me», and from that day the service passes from the firstborn to them.
The Torah records that Levi lived 137 years. By Seder Olam's count he died around 2332 — the last of the twelve brothers, and only then did the harsh servitude begin.