3OF Friday, June 8, 1984 '
THE' DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
INSIGHT
Parashat Behaalotekha
Brighton Hospital will salute the
Honorable Benjamin D. Burdick at its
Founder's Dinner on June 14, 7 p.m. in the
Westin Hotel Riverfront Ballroom
BY RUTH H. SOHN
Special to The Jewish News
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BLOOMFIELD HILLS EDUCATOR'S PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL
VOTE JUNE 11, 1984
Paid for by the Committee to Elect C. Thomas Wilson to the Bloomfield Hills Board of Education.
Parashat Behaalotekha
ends with a particularly
perplexing and suggestive
passage — Numbers 12.
Here, Miriam and Aaron
speak up against Moses,
and God responds by de-
fending Moses and afflict-
ing Miriam with leprosy.
What was Miriam's and
Aaron's real complaint?
How was God's response
appropriate? Why was only
Miriam punished?
The Torah tells us that
Miriam and Aaron spoke up
against Moses "on account
of the Cushite woman he
had married." How does this
explanation fit with
Miriam's and Aaron's ac-
tual words in the following
verse: "Has Adonai spoken
only through Moses? Has
God not spoken through us
as well?"
Traditional midrash
links the two verses by iden-
tifying the Cushite woman
as Moses' wife, Zipporah.
The midrash understands al
odot, "on account of as
meaning "on behalf of." In
this way verse one is under-
stood as saying that Miriam
and Aaron complained
against Moses on behalf of
Zipporah.
Miriam had noticed that
Zipporah was neglecting
her personal appearance.
Miriam questioned her and
Zipporah responded, "Your
brother does not notice!"
When Miriam heard this
she realized that Moses had
ceased having sexual rela-
tions with his wife, and she
shared this concern with
Aaron. Both agreed that
being a prophet did not ex-
cuse a person from marital
obligations. After all, they
received prophecy and were
ableto carry out their mari-
tal responsibilities as well.
This midrash connects
verses 1 and 2 in a convinc,
ing way, providing us with a
human portrait of Zippoi-ah,
and of Miriam advocating
on behalf of her sister-in-
law.
God's response, does not
refer explicitly to the
Cushite woman. God tells
Miriam and Aaron that
Moses cannot be judged' by
ordinary standards because
of his unique relationship
with God.
While making no state-
ment about marital respon-
sibility, God does respond to
the tone ofjealousy and sibl-
ing rivalry in Miriam's and
Aaron's complaint. God
calls the three siblings to
the Tent of Meeting and
then commands Miriam and
Aaron to come forward, ex-
Ruth H. Sohn is a rabbi
and the Associate Jewish
Chaplain at Columbia
University. She is a
member of the West Side
Minyan and of Havurah
Yedidut.
plaining Moses' unique re-
lationship with God. God
chides Miriam and Aaron
for speaking out against
Moses. God's presence over
the Tent of Meeting then
departs and Miriam is left
stricken with leprosy.
On one level, God's singl-
ing Miriam out for punish-
ment seems harsh and un-
just, even with the tradi-
tional explanation that she
was responsible for initiat-
ing the complaint against
Moses. On another level, in
the response to Miriam's
leprosy, we have a clue to
the reasons for God's action.
Upon seeing his sister
stricken with leprosy,
Aaron turns to Moses, beg-
ging him not to hole against
them the sins he and
Miriam had committed.
Admitting his own share of
Parashat
Behaalotekha:
Numbers
8:1-12:16.
Zechariah
2:14-4:7.
responsibility,
Aaron
pleads with Moses not to let
their sister perish. Moses
responds by turning to God
and asking that Miriam be
healed.
Thus, in response to God's
punishment of Miriam, the
tone ofjealousy shifts to im-
passioned apology and re-
conciliation. God then reve-
als that Miriam will not die,
but instead she should stay
outside the camp for seven
days.
Was Miriam the only one
punished?, Aaron clearly
suffered fear on behalf of his
sister and, presumably,
guilt for having escaped
God's wrath while his sister
was stricken. He may well
have been alarmed at the
thought that he had been
spared only temporarily
and that he too might be
afflicted with leprosy.
Aaron and Miriam were
both punished, albeit in
different and unequal ways.
Perhaps God punished
Miriam and Aaron differ-
ently to emphasize that not
only was Moses in a class by
himself but each of the three
siblings was a unique indi-
vidual with a distinct role
and destiny. Perhaps God
wanted to teach the three
siblings that not one of them
was self-sufficient or re-
placeable. They each had
abilities and limits and they
needed each other.
Through God's punish-
ment of Miriam, many les-
sons were learned. In re-
sponse to Miriam's afflic-
tion with leprosy, Miriam,
Aaron and Moses — three
leaders of Israel and three
siblings — turned to each
other and to God. Miriam
was shamed but at the same
time reminded of her own
important place as a leader
of Israel. An incident which
began with division and
jealousy ended with recon-
ciliation and affirmation on
several levels.
With Miriam reunited in
the community of Israel and
the three leaders reconciled,
the people could once more
move forward in their jour-
ney through the wilderness.
Copyright 1984, National
Hauurah Committee
Concert has showtunes,
opera, Yiddish melodies
Operatic arias from Car-
men, Barber of Seville, Mar-
riage of Figaro, Yiddish
selections such as Eli Eli
and Meyerke Mein Zun and
songs from Showboat and
Fiddler on the Roof will be
performed by opera star
Robert Merrill at the an-
nual Peter and Clara Weis-
berg Concert 8 p.m. Tues-
day at Cong. Shaarey
Zedek.
Merrill; a baritone, sang
with the Metropolitan
Opera for more than three
decades. He has many re-
cord albums to his credit
and has performed all over
the world.
Dr. and Mrs. Richard
Brown are chairmen of the
concert.
Tickets for the Weisberg
Concert are available to the
general public at no charge,
and will be mailed upon re-
ceipt of a written request
and a stamped, self-
addressed envelope. Patron
Robert Merrill
tickets will entitle bearer to
reserved seating and an af-
terglow following, the con-
cert, where they will meet
Merrill.
Requests for tickets and
orders for patron tickets
should be addressed to
Weisberg Concert, c/o Cong.
Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell
Road, Box 2056, Southfield
48037.