W

hen we teach of Moses, we 
generally teach of a great 
leader: the man who led the 
Israelites from slavery to freedom and 
then guided them in the wilderness for 
40 years. 
What we talk about less 
frequently is how challenging 
Moses often found his lead-
ership role. How the Israelites 
constantly complained to him 
about everything. We also do 
not talk all that much about 
Moses as a brother. And yet, 
in this week’
s Torah portion 
we see Moses as a troubled, 
burdened leader and as a des-
perate brother concerned for 
his sister’
s well-being. 
This is a very full Torah 
portion, filled with laws and 
rituals, challenges and conse-
quences. It is in the final section of this 
portion that we see the family drama: 
Miriam and Aaron seemingly question-
ing Moses’
 leadership. They say, “Has 
Adonai only spoken through Moses? 
Surely God has also spoken through us? 
(Numbers 12:2).
” They challenge Moses’
 
behaving as if God only speaks to him 
and no one else, and noting they also 
are privileged to hear God’
s words. 
Theirs is not a civic or religious 
rebellion but a claim to be as legitimate 
prophets as Moses. They suggest they 
are as qualified to lead the Israelites as 
he. Perhaps they are wondering about 
their own places within the community 
and looking for reassurance they are 
still people of prominence among the 
Israelites. Rather than receiving this 
acknowledgment, however, they are 
rebuked and given a detailed explana-
tion of just why Moses is so extraordi-
nary and how God’
s relationship with 
him is so exceptional. 
God explains that Moses speaks 
with God peh el peh (Numbers 12:8). 
This mouth to mouth, or face to face, 
encounter that Moses has with God 
is unlike that of any other prophet. 
Furious with them, God departs, and 
Miriam is left suffering from leprosy. 
Aaron appeals to Moses, and Moses 

prays to God to heal Miriam. God 
insists that Miriam endure her punish-
ment for seven days. 
What exactly happened that caused 
Miriam to suffer this punishment? Why 
was she the only one to face such a 
consequence? 
We are sometimes led to believe, 
through Midrash and commen-
tary, that though God may have 
been most angry with Miriam and 
Aaron for daring to compare them-
selves with Moses, ultimately, she 
was punished for her first offense, 
criticizing Moses’
 wife. Some sug-
gest that while both Aaron and 
Miriam complain about Moses’
 
prophetic status, only Miriam 
criticizes Moses’
 wife, thus her 
punishment is a result of this criti-
cism. Some explanations associate 
her leprosy with her slander and 
understand this text as a warning for 
us against lashon hara: We should learn 
from Miriam’
s mistakes and not speak 
ill of those around us.
Others explain that Miriam’
s punish-
ment indicates that she was the instiga-
tor in this challenge while Aaron was 
merely the bystander. 
We learn more about Miriam from 
this section than we do anywhere else in 
the Torah. Not only was she a woman 
who dared to challenge authority, she 
spoke up, demanding recognition for 
the gifts of leadership she brought to 
the community. She was a beloved sis-
ter, whose brothers worried about her 
welfare and prayed to God for her to 
be healed. And she was a critical part 
of the Israelite community. Even in the 
face of God’
s anger and punishment, the 
Israelites do not abandon her, refusing 
to march on until Miriam was healed 
and readmitted to camp. 
There is so much to learn from this 
story, often thought to be a simple les-
son about the dangers of gossip, and 
about the woman, the prophetess, who 
led the people of Israel in song and 
dance. ■

Rabbi Arianna Gordon is the director of education 
and lifelong learning at Temple Israel in West 

Bloomfield.
28 June 20 • 2019
jn

Rabbi Ariana 
Gordon

Moses Had A Sister

Parshat 

Bachaaloteha: 

Numbers

8:1-12:16; 

Zechariah

2:14-4:7.

spirit

torah portion

Perform a Mitzvah and

Volunteer for Meals on Wheels

Our new location of meal preparation will be at Epic Kosher Catering Kitchen, housed at
the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. We are in need of the following
volunteers. 

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9:00am-9:15am in Oak Park/Southfield areas

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 starting at 8:00am, bringing meals from West Bloomfield to 
Jewish Senior Life Prentis Apartments in Oak Park, where drivers will pick up the 
meals and deliver to participants in the Oak Park/Southfield area

Pick a day that you are available.

Call 248.967.0967 to volunteer!

Kosher Meals on Wheels is sponsored by National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan in cooperation 
with Jewish Family Service. Funding is provided by Area Agency on Aging 1-B through the Office of 
Services to the Aging, and funding through the federal Older Americans Act in compliance with Title 
V of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with support from Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, DeRoy 
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