#Beha’alotecha

[israelseen1]

Steve Kramer - Jews - the Eternal People?

Steve Kramer – Jews – the Eternal People? Beha’alotecha, a recent parsha (Torah selection), prominently mentions the Menorah, with its seven gold branches on a large lamp stand. The Menorah is the most prominent symbol of Judaism and Israel; it is featured on Israel’s emblem. The original Menorah in the Second Temple in Jerusalem was carried off by the Roman general Titus after the sack of…

[eretzyisrael]

Loneliness and Faith

Beha’alotecha 5780

"At times of loneliness, I have found great solace in these passages..."

Click here to read 'Loneliness and Faith?' by Rabbi Sacks on this week's parsha of Beha'alotecha.

I have long been intrigued by one passage in this week’s parsha. After a lengthy stay in the Sinai desert, the people are about to begin the second part of their journey. They are no longer travelling from but travelling to. They are no longer escaping from Egypt; they are journeying toward the Promised Land. The Torah inserts a long preface to this story: it takes the first ten chapters of Bamidbar. The people are counted. They are gathered, tribe by tribe, around the Tabernacle, in the order in which they are going to march. Preparations are made to purify the camp. Silver trumpets are made to assemble the people and to give them the signal to move on. Then finally the journey begins. What follows is a momentous anti-climax. First there is an unspecified complaint (Num. 11:1-3). Then we read: “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Num. 11:4-6).

Read More: Here

Rabbi Sacks

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Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l - From Pain to Humility BEHA’ALOTECHA • 5775, 5782

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l – From Pain to Humility BEHA’ALOTECHA • 5775, 5782

David Brooks, in his bestselling book, The Road to Character,[1] draws a sharp distinction between what he calls the résumé virtues – the achievements and skills that bring success – and the eulogy virtues, the ones that are spoken of at funerals: the virtues and strengths that make you the kind of person you are when you are not wearing masks or playing roles, the inner person that friends and…

[ahopefuldoubt]

Parashat Beha’alotecha and The Prince of Egypt

This week’s parasha (Torah portion) is Beha’alotecha, at the end of which Miriam and Aaron speak out against Moses, Gd strikes Miriam with leprosy, and Aaron pleads with Moses to intercede.  Since finally opening up about it here, I’ve been itching to organize notes surrounding the connections I see between this episode in the Torah (including some of the commentary/midrash on it) and the well scene in The Prince of Egypt.  I'm not sure if I want to say there are one-to-one correlations; rather, I feel as though PoE drew inspiration from it, giving it a nod but tweaking it to a small/great degree (kind of like how Miriam’s well makes an appearance, in not-quite the same fashion as it does in the midrash...  though she is also shown giving Tzipporah life-sustaining water for her journey back to Midian, a gesture which echoes the magical well’s role in the desert).

Anyway, Parashat Beha’alotecha and well scene connections:

I believe this is the first time in the Torah that all three siblings are physically together and interacting.  Previously it’s only been [mentions of] Miriam and Moses, or Aaron and Moses, or Miriam and Aaron.  The well scene in The Prince of Egypt marks the siblings’ first reunion—and in the film of course we also have the prologue in which the three of them are together.

According to the rabbis, the reason that Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses is because Tzipporah told Miriam that Moses has taken it upon himself to stop being intimate with her; he’s too absorbed in his role as a prophet.  Expressing concern for and solidarity with Tzipporah (and their people’s future), Miriam takes her case to Aaron and the two go to confront Moses, maintaining that, despite being prophets too, they haven’t been neglecting their partners [Sifrei Bamidbar, 99].  I don’t write about Miriam and Tzipporah’s relationship in The Prince of Egypt very often, but I do love their on-screen bond; in addition to being a great example of love and friendship between women, I feel like it’s a nod to their relationship in the midrash.  Also, Tzipporah is in the beginning of the well scene, interacting with Miriam (and Aaron).  And perhaps it’s possible to argue a kind of inversion here: In the film Moses is pursuing her, whereas in the midrash for this Torah portion he’s said to have withdrawn from her.  What further connection this seems to hold is that, in both the parasha/exegesis and in the film, Miriam, Aaron, Moses, and Tzipporah are present, with Tzipporah being a catalyst.

Torah commentaries will point out that Miriam and Aaron are challenging Moses’ authority and leadership; they’ll note issues such as sibling rivalry, lashon hara (“evil tongue,” gossip).  The well scene can’t cite sibling rivalry, lashon hara, etc.; still, there’s a challenge to Moses’ authority/royal status.  In the Torah, Miriam and Aaron understandably—particularly in light of the above context/midrash concerning Tzipporah—check Moses’ power, and in the film, Miriam—who’s more clearly the chief “conspirator”—understandably and story-necessarily undermines Moses’ status.

Miriam is undeservedly threatened with physical punishment for speaking out.  She is actually stricken by Gd in the Torah.  In the well scene, she is threatened by Moses.  (Also in both, it is only she who is physically endangered.)

Her punishment prompts Aaron to plead with Moses to heal Miriam: “Please, my lord, do not hold a grudge against us for acting foolishly and sinning.  Let Miriam not be like a stillborn child, who comes from the womb with half its flesh rotted away” [source, italics added].  Some of the elements seem similar to Aaron’s dialogue in the well scene: begging his younger brother (addressing Moses’ higher/honored status: “Please. Uh, Your Highness...”) to spare Miriam, the use of we/first-person plural.  The reference to Miriam’s being “ill” in PoE Aaron’s dialogue could be an allusion to Miriam’s leprosy in the biblical text; I feel that both of his speeches are pleas not only to Moses’ compassion/mercy but also his ability/power to counteract the damage to Miriam (in the Torah: compassion for their sister whom Moses already knows and also loves; and in the film: compassion/mercy for Aaron’s beloved sister who is merely a slave to Moses).

I’ve seen it posited that Aaron’s punishment, while not physical or direct, is seeing his sister in pain and suffering alone for their action.  His crying out for her is a natural, automatic response to seeing a loved one in distress, an admission of his own part in speaking out (do not punish her alone!), and an appeal to move Moses.  (The well scene plays out differently, but in the Torah, Moses does speak at this moment, and his prayer to Gd to heal Miriam is poignant in its bareness.)

I’ve often wondered if and how this episode’s characterizations of Aaron and of Miriam guided/strengthened the film’s characterizations of them, and even Moses: Aaron’s protectiveness and perhaps his (actual and/or sense of) helplessness or guilt, his not wanting to see his sister suffer; Miriam’s staunchness, her advocacy and standing with her people, who wait for her while she’s healing, and her brothers’ regard for her.  I think I just might argue that Miriam, with the River Lullaby, becomes the healer in the well scene, the one who utters a prayer (the movie amplifies her voice).

Three years this has been on my mind and I can finally write about it!  I tried to include some relevant commentary and midrash without being too wordy and/or inaccessible, but I’m worried that I interpreted something wrong, am forgetting something,....

Last edited: 7/5/19

2020 note: I should have made this clarification much sooner, but I want to clarify that Miriam is stricken with a skin affliction called tzara’at.  Leprosy is the most common translation or interpretation, but they are not the same.

[breslovwomansays]

Tomorrow on ZOOM: "Antisemitism. The Erev Rav. The Wandering Jews!" The Radiant Torah with Rebbe Nachman, Parshat Beha'alotecha this Tuesday 5/25 at 12:30 PM

Tomorrow on ZOOM: “Antisemitism. The Erev Rav. The Wandering Jews!” The Radiant Torah with Rebbe Nachman, Parshat Beha’alotecha this Tuesday 5/25 at 12:30 PM

TEXT ME NOW 917-348-1573 (with your full name & email) and receive your exclusive ZOOM link before class begins. This ZOOM link will be used for the duration of this course. This class is for women only.

[he-harim]

things ive leyned in a shul

Chukkat -- Shemot/Numbers 20:14-29 My bat mitzvah portion, Reform shul with triennial readings July 2011 / 5772 (?)

Eikev -- shishi, shvi’i, maftir (?) --  Masorti summer camp, also triennial August 2017 / 5777

Re’eh -- shishi, maftir (?) --  Ohel Mo’ed (Masorti/trad egal minyan), nontriennial August 2017 / 5777

Nitzavim -- revii, chamishi -- Devarim/Deuteronomy 30:1-14 Ohel Mo’ed  September 2017 / 5777

Vayetzei -- sheini -- Genesis 29:1-17 Ohel Mo’ed November 2017 / 5778

Mikeitz -- shlishi -- Genesis 41:39-52 Ohel Mo’ed December 2017 / 5778

Vayigash -- sheini -- Genesis 44.31-45.7 Kol Nefesh Masorti, my local shul December 2017 / 5778

Acharon shel Pesach (Re’eh shishi) -- rishon -- Deuteronomy 15:1-18 Ohel Mo’ed April 2018 / Nissan 5778 (also at Shavuot, also at Sukkot in Oxford, also at Pesach in Oxford 19)

Shemini -- rishon -- Vayikra 9:1-15 Kol Nefesh April 2018 / Nissan 5778

Maftir Shavuot -- Numbers/Bamidbar 28:26-31 Ohel Moed May 2018 / Sivan 5778

Beha’alotecha -- shlishi -- Numbers/Bamidbar 9:1-14 Ohel Mo’ed June 2018 / Sivan 5778

Balak -- 1/3 of weekday rishon, 22:8-13 Conservative Yeshiva weekday services June 2018 / Tammuz 5778

Pinchas -- 1/3 of weekday rishon, Numbers/Bamidbar 25:16-26:4 CY July 2018 / Tammuz 5778

Vaetchanan -- extremely trimmed for camp, the aseret hadibrot -- Deuteronomy 5:6-18 Noam camp July 2018 / Av 5778

Ki Teitzei  -- shlishi -- Devarim/Deuteronomy   Ohel Moed August 2018 

Ki Tavo -- rishon -- Devarim/Deuteronomy  Ohel Moed August 2018

Shmini Atzeret -- ??? -- Devarim/Deuteronomy 15:1-18 Oxford Egalitarian 8 Atzeret services (as in #8) October 2018 / Tishrei 5779

Rosh Chodesh -- sheini, shlishi -- Bamidbar/Numbers 3-5, 6-10 Noam WoW Solidarity Rosh Chodesh minyan January 2019

Mishpatim -- rishon -- Shemot/Exodus 21:1-19 Ohel Mo’ed February 2019

Vayikra -- shlishi, chamishi OhMo, March 2019

Zachor -- Deuteronomy 25:17-19 OhMo, March 2019 (same date as above

Beshalach – sheini (7th day Pesach shlishi) – Exodus 14:19-14 OJC (Oxford)

Re’eh – 8th day Pesach Shabbat shishi – Deut 16:9-12

OJC April 2019

Balak ‒ rishon (Mon+Thurs full leyning) ‒ Num 22:2-12 Yeshivat Hadar July 2019

[jewishobserver-blog]

Beha'alotecha: The Power of Hashem

Beha’alotecha: The Power of Hashem

As a caregiver, one of the most annoying things to hear is the sound of a child whining. Dr. Jessica Michaelson suggests that one of the reasons kids whine is to express, “I can’t act big anymore, please take care of me like I was a baby!”

In Parshat Beha’alotecha, Bnei Yisrael were acting like babies. The pasuk states, “Vayhi Ha’Am KeMitonenim Ra Be’Oznei Hashem,” “Bnei Yisrael were…

[coffeeshoprabbi]

Double Vision: Beha'alotecha

Double Vision: Beha’alotecha

Image: Eyeglasses, a blurred page. (By Free-Photos /Pixabay)

Parashat Beha’alotecha(Numbers 8:1-12:16) is a study in pairs, a study in contrasts. God guides the people as a cloud by day, and as fire by night, yet within those two manifestations are another set of pairs. A cloud may guide, but it also obscures; fire may guide, but as the portion shows, it may also kill and terrorize. There are…

[israelseen]

Jonathan Sacks - Camp and Congregation - Beha'alotecha 5779

Jonathan Sacks – Camp and Congregation – Beha’alotecha 5779

Jonathan Sacks – Camp and Congregation – Beha’alotecha 5779

The parsha of Beha’alotecha speaks about the silver trumpets – clarions – Moses was commanded to make:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Make two trumpets of silver; make them of hammered work. They shall serve you to summon the congregation [edah] and cause the camps [machanot] to journey.” (Num. 10:1–2)

This apparently simple passage…

[shtickler]

Aleph Beta’s Guide to Parshas Beha’alotecha: Where It All Went Wrong: https://t.co/MGPCXdmOVW #jews #jewishlife #jewish

— SHTICKLER (@shtickler) June 8, 2017

[israelseen1]

Jonathan Sacks z"l: Two Types of Leadership BEHA'ALOTECHA

Jonathan Sacks z”l: Two Types of Leadership BEHA’ALOTECHA In this week’s parsha, Moses has a breakdown. It is the lowest emotional ebb of his entire career as a leader. Listen to his words to God: “Why have You treated Your servant so badly? Why have I found so little favour in Your sight that You lay all the burden of this people upon me? Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who gave…

[israelseen1]

Jonathan Sacks z"l - From Despair to Hope BEHA'ALOTECHA

Jonathan Sacks z”l – From Despair to Hope BEHA’ALOTECHA There have been times when one passage in this week’s parsha was, for me, little less than lifesaving. No leadership position is easy. Leading Jews is harder still. And spiritual leadership can be hardest of them all. Leaders have a public face that is usually calm, upbeat, optimistic, and relaxed. But behind the façade we can all experience…

[thejewishlink]

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l - Power or Influence? (Beha’alotecha 5781)

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l – Power or Influence? (Beha’alotecha 5781)

There is a lovely moment in this week’s parsha that shows Moses at the height of his generosity as a leader. It comes after one of his deepest moments of despair. The people, as is their wont, have been complaining, this time about the food. They are tired of the manna. They want meat instead. Moses, appalled that they have not yet learned to accept the hardships of freedom, prays to die. “If…

[israelseen1]

Jonathan Sacks z"l - Power or Influence? Beha’alotecha 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Power or Influence? Beha’alotecha 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Power or Influence? Beha’alotecha 5781 Rabbi Sacks zt’’l had prepared a full year of Covenant & Conversation for 5781, based on his book Lessons in Leadership. The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust will continue to distribute these weekly essays, so that people all around the world can keep on learning and finding inspiration in his Torah. There is a lovely moment in this week’s…

[thejewishlink]

Elli Schwarcz -Shelach Lecha - For The Right Reasons

Elli Schwarcz -Shelach Lecha – For The Right Reasons

Kosher Speech In memory of Rav Mosheh Twersky zt”l

The placement of this week’s portion after Beha’alotecha provides a lesson for us. Last week’s portion concluded with Miriam contracting tzara’at for having spoken Lashon Harah about Moshe. In this week’s reading, ten spies came to B’nei Israel with a negative report about Eretz Can’aan. By speaking badly of the land, casting Moshe in a…

[thejewishlink]

Elli Schwarcz - Beha'alotecha - Lamps Towards the Middle

Elli Schwarcz – Beha’alotecha – Lamps Towards the Middle

The Talmud teaches us that the righteous will enjoy a special celebration in the World to Come:

God will make a [dancing] circle for the righteous, and He will ‘sit’… and each one of them will point with his finger and say, “This is God- we have yearned for Him!”

-Gemara Ta’anit

Commentaries explain that the details of this description contain great wisdom. Not only will this be a moment of…