Musings on Behaalosecha

Following are some  of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge  from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our  interpretations  may derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

Overview:

Lighting the Menorah; dedicating the Levites; Second Passover; Clouds’ protective and travel roles; Silver Clarions; Inviting Hovav(Yisro) to stay; Invoking Hahem(“Vayeh B’nsoa Haaron…); Murmurings and rebellions; Sharing leadership; Yehoshua’s jealousy; Sibling maligning of Moshe and Moshe’s uniqueness.

There is more to  a complaint  than meets the eye.

In this parsha,  the Jews arrive in the Paran desert from the Sinai desert on their way to the land of Canaan. Three unrelated incidents describe legitimate complaints that, upon further analysis, turn out to have deeper, unrelated  roots.

“We Demand Meat” say the Jews…

…reminiscing how in Egypt “…they ate fish Chenam (for free)” and how tired they are of the  same old Manna (food gift from Hashem). Nechama Leibowitz  in her Studies cites the  Ramban’s  explanation  the Jews were given  small fish caught in the nets that had no value ;  a kind of “freebie” for the King’s workers. Ibn Ezra says fish were plentiful and cheap, not free. Either way, the Jews’ selective memory made them forget the price they paid for this “wonderful” fish and vegetable treat: slavery, suffering, persecution. The Sages explained the word Chenam  not as  “free of charge ” but “free from Hashem’s commandments”. The Jews’ discontent was really about their wish to avoid the yoke of civilization and self-discipline demanded of them now by Hashem and His Torah. They wanted to return to their Egyptian lifestyle of unrestricted behavior in all aspects  of their lives. The food issue was a pretext for something more fundamental.

Yehoshua Ben Nun exhorts Moshe to stop  Eldad and Medad from continuing their prophetic pronouncements after Hashem , in response to Moshe’s request for lightening his leadership burden, grants the gift of prophecy to 70 of the Elders including Eldad an Medad. Yehoshua seems to be trying to  protect Moshe, fearing that his honor and authority would now be reduced. But Moshe’s noble response suggests that it was jealousy that drove  Yehoshua not altruism “…Are you jealous for my sake? I wish all of Hashem’s people were Prophets and that Hashem would endow them with His Spirit.”

Miriam and Aaron speak out against their brother Moshe.

Their complaint was that Moshe engaged in inappropriate behavior by  taking a Cushite woman for a wife (Tzipora)  while they, who were also prophets of Hashem,  presumably always only did the correct  and appropriate thing.They  were defending the honor of Tzipora from whom apparently Moshe withdrew physically once he became a Prophet. (Others maintain that the Cushite woman was not Tzipora  but an Ethiopian woman he took for a second wife.) The Torah tells us “Vayeshma Hashem… Vayered Hashem” i.e., Hashem  “heard” -- understood  what was really going on -- and He descended. The term Vayered Hashem is used to mean an investigation into,  a delving  into, deep, underlying motives and their implications.

This was about sibling rivalry and  jealousy. For “blackening” Moshe’s name, Miriam (apparently the main culprit) was afflicted with the Whiteness of Tzaraas. The ever- noble Moshe described as “Anav M’od” (humble, unassuming), who uniquely is granted the ability to interact with Hashem “Pe El Pe”(face to face), responds to his maligners’ begging for intervention to Hashem simply and elegantly with just these  five words :”Kael Rfah Na LaH”—I beg of you  Hashem to heal her now.

The Torah records for us the  history of our people and our unique relationship with Hashem. By reading this we are given the opportunity to study human behavior and psychology as it existed (and still exist) and the ways that our  internal conflicts influence our behavior. Perhaps it is for us to take a mirror to ourselves and, now more cognizant of these inherent emotions, rechannel these energies towards living the Torah’s ethical and moral values.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz