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(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה יָאִ֖ירוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃ (ג) וַיַּ֤עַשׂ כֵּן֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה הֶעֱלָ֖ה נֵרֹתֶ֑יהָ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ (ד) וְזֶ֨ה מַעֲשֵׂ֤ה הַמְּנֹרָה֙ מִקְשָׁ֣ה זָהָ֔ב עַד־יְרֵכָ֥הּ עַד־פִּרְחָ֖הּ מִקְשָׁ֣ה הִ֑וא כַּמַּרְאֶ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶרְאָ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֵּ֥ן עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הַמְּנֹרָֽה׃ {פ}
(1) יהוה spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.” (3) Aaron did so; he mounted the lamps at the front of the lampstand, as יהוה had commanded Moses.— (4) Now this is how the lampstand was made: it was hammered work of gold, hammered from base to petal. According to the pattern that יהוה had shown Moses, so was the lampstand made.
Tanhuma Yashen Shemeni, cited in Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture, p. 324-325
Three things gave Moses difficulty: the fashioning of the menora, the laws of the new moon, and of insects. What was the problem in fashioning the menora? When Moses ascended the mountain, God showed him how to fashion the Mishkan. When He showed him the construction of the menora, Moses had difficulty. So God said, “Look, I am fashioning it in front of you!” What did God do? He showed him white fire, red fire, black fire, green fire, and of them fashioned the menora, with its cups and knobs, its blossoms and six branches, and said to him, “This is the work of menora.” (Num 8:4)—showing him with His finger. Nevertheless, Moses had difficulty with it. What did God do? He engraved it upon his hand and told him, “Descend and fashion it as I have engraved it upon your hand, as it is said, ‘Look and fashion them according to their patterns …’ ” (Exod 25:40)
Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture, p. 326
God’s solution is compelling: He engraves a model of the menora on Moses’ hand and tells him to copy it: “See it and make it!” The transcendent fires are, essentially, tattooed onto his hand. The image is haunting. If we try to tease out some of its implications, we may say, first, that Moses’ hands are now engraved with a vision. The connection between hand and eye is made taut; seeing and making become intimates, secretly linked. For it is not simply a drawing on Moses’ hand, though even that would focus attention on the hand as that part of the body that can be “consulted,” that is part of oneself and yet external to oneself. But the description of “engraving” is a tactile one: it is an invasive procedure, whose scars will leave Moses with a personal “manual,” in the true sense, of the Mishkan. Inscribed deep within his flesh, he will carry with him a version of the fiery model. In a modest, intimate place, on the palm of the hand, he will bear the mark of transcendence.
(9) You shall bring the Levites forward before the Tent of Meeting. Assemble the Israelite community leadership, (10) and bring the Levites forward before יהוה. Let the Israelites lay their hands upon the Levites, (11) and let Aaron designate the Levites before יהוה as an elevation offering from the Israelites, that they may perform the service of יהוה. (12) The Levites shall now lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls; one shall be offered to יהוה as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make expiation for the Levites. (13) You shall place the Levites in attendance upon Aaron and his sons, and designate them as an elevation offering to יהוה. (14) Thus you shall set the Levites apart from the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine.
Then he would place the two lots upon the two goats, the lot that arose in his right hand on the goat standing to his right side and the lot in his left hand on the goat to his left. And upon placing the lot for God upon the appropriate goat, he would say: For God, as a sin-offering. Rabbi Yishmael says: He need not say: As a sin-offering. Rather, it is sufficient to say: For God. And upon saying the name of God, the priests and the people respond after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.
Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 249
It was so easy if you were born into a Levite family—you knew your purpose from birth and you spent the first twenty-five years of your life learning how to fulfill this purpose and the next twenty-five years doing it. You spent the rest of your life mentoring and teaching the younger generation how to fulfill their purposes. Pretty easy for them; not as easy for us. Yet, how many of us spend time and pay attention to discovering and fulfilling our purpose? Too many of us run away from our purpose and our authentic script. I spent more than twenty years running away from my place in the world. I did not want to accept that I had a specific place and that fulfilling my purpose might not always be fun and exciting. A purpose is always rewarding, but not always fun, or exciting, or easy. The prophets provide an example for us; they didn’t want their jobs, but they were called and they answered the call.
(טז) כִּי֩ נְתֻנִ֨ים נְתֻנִ֥ים הֵ֙מָּה֙ לִ֔י מִתּ֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל תַּ֩חַת֩ פִּטְרַ֨ת כׇּל־רֶ֜חֶם בְּכ֥וֹר כֹּל֙ מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לָקַ֥חְתִּי אֹתָ֖ם לִֽי׃ (יז) כִּ֣י לִ֤י כׇל־בְּכוֹר֙ בִּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בָּאָדָ֖ם וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה בְּי֗וֹם הַכֹּתִ֤י כׇל־בְּכוֹר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם הִקְדַּ֥שְׁתִּי אֹתָ֖ם לִֽי׃ (יח) וָאֶקַּ֖ח אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֑ם תַּ֥חַת כׇּל־בְּכ֖וֹר בִּבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
(16) For they are formally assigned to Me from among the Israelites: I have taken them for Myself in place of all the first issue of the womb, of all the male first-born of the Israelites. (17) For every male first-born among the Israelites, human as well as beast, is Mine; I consecrated them to Myself at the time that I smote every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt. (18) Now I take the Levites instead of every male first-born of the Israelites;
(ט) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (י) דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ אִ֣ישׁ כִּי־יִהְיֶֽה־טָמֵ֣א ׀ לָנֶ֡פֶשׁ אוֹ֩ בְדֶ֨רֶךְ רְחֹקָ֜הׄ לָכֶ֗ם א֚וֹ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְעָ֥שָׂה פֶ֖סַח לַיהֹוָֽה׃ (יא) בַּחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֜י בְּאַרְבָּעָ֨ה עָשָׂ֥ר י֛וֹם בֵּ֥ין הָעַרְבַּ֖יִם יַעֲשׂ֣וּ אֹת֑וֹ עַל־מַצּ֥וֹת וּמְרֹרִ֖ים יֹאכְלֻֽהוּ׃ (יב) לֹֽא־יַשְׁאִ֤ירוּ מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙ עַד־בֹּ֔קֶר וְעֶ֖צֶם לֹ֣א יִשְׁבְּרוּ־ב֑וֹ כְּכׇל־חֻקַּ֥ת הַפֶּ֖סַח יַעֲשׂ֥וּ אֹתֽוֹ׃ (יג) וְהָאִישׁ֩ אֲשֶׁר־ה֨וּא טָה֜וֹר וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ לֹא־הָיָ֗ה וְחָדַל֙ לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת הַפֶּ֔סַח וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מֵֽעַמֶּ֑יהָ כִּ֣י ׀ קׇרְבַּ֣ן יְהֹוָ֗ה לֹ֤א הִקְרִיב֙ בְּמֹ֣עֲד֔וֹ חֶטְא֥וֹ יִשָּׂ֖א הָאִ֥ישׁ הַהֽוּא׃
(1) יהוה spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, on the first new moon of the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying: (2) Let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time: (3) you shall offer it on the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, at its set time; you shall offer it in accordance with all its rules and rites. (4) Moses instructed the Israelites to offer the passover sacrifice; (5) and they offered the passover sacrifice in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai. Just as יהוה had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did. (6) But there were some householders who were impure by reason of a corpse and could not offer the passover sacrifice on that day. Appearing that same day before Moses and Aaron, (7) those householders said to them, “Impure though we are by reason of a corpse, why must we be debarred from presenting יהוה’s offering at its set time with the rest of the Israelites?” (8) Moses said to them, “Stand by, and let me hear what instructions יהוה gives about you.” (9) And יהוה spoke to Moses, saying: (10) Speak to the Israelite people, saying: When any party—whether you or your posterity—who is defiled by a corpse or is on a long journey would offer a passover sacrifice to יהוה, (11) they shall offer it in the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, (12) and they shall not leave any of it over until morning. They shall not break a bone of it. They shall offer it in strict accord with the law of the passover sacrifice. (13) But if any party who is pure and not on a journey refrains from offering the passover sacrifice, that person shall be cut off from kin, for יהוה’s offering was not presented at its set time; that party shall bear the guilt.
Abarbanel, cited in Michael Carasik, Numbers: The Commentators' Bible, p. 61
2. let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time Remember they are still at Sinai, close to Midian and other settled areas, where it was possible to get lambs, leavened bread, and bitter herbs; but once they set out they were in the wilderness and could not bring this offering again until they reached the settled areas of Canaan.
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 820
6-12 God acknowledges their sincerity and grants them a 'second Pesah' one month later. To the sincere individual, life often does offer second chances for spiritual fulfillment that may have been missed when the opportunities first presented themselves.
(15) On the day that the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, the Tent of the Pact; and in the evening it rested over the Tabernacle in the likeness of fire until morning. (16) It was always so: the cloud covered it, appearing as fire by night. (17) And whenever the cloud lifted from the Tent, the Israelites would set out accordingly; and at the spot where the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. (18) At a command of יהוה the Israelites broke camp, and at a command of יהוה they made camp: they remained encamped as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. (19) When the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle many days, the Israelites observed יהוה’s mandate and did not journey on. (20) At such times as the cloud rested over the Tabernacle for but a few days, they remained encamped at a command of יהוה, and broke camp at a command of יהוה. (21) And at such times as the cloud stayed from evening until morning, they broke camp as soon as the cloud lifted in the morning. Day or night, whenever the cloud lifted, they would break camp. (22) Whether it was two days or a month or a year—however long the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle—the Israelites remained encamped and did not set out; only when it lifted did they break camp.
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 822
18. It must be assumed that when the cloud lifted, it proceeded to the head of the column, and that the tabernacle was reassembled beneath it wherever it stopped. The Israelites' march to the Promised Land was conducted at the direction of God, not my mortals.
(כט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֗ה לְ֠חֹבָ֠ב בֶּן־רְעוּאֵ֣ל הַמִּדְיָנִי֮ חֹתֵ֣ן מֹשֶׁה֒ נֹסְעִ֣ים ׀ אֲנַ֗חְנוּ אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה אֹת֖וֹ אֶתֵּ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם לְכָ֤ה אִתָּ֙נוּ֙ וְהֵטַ֣בְנוּ לָ֔ךְ כִּֽי־יְהֹוָ֥ה דִּבֶּר־ט֖וֹב עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ל) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו לֹ֣א אֵלֵ֑ךְ כִּ֧י אִם־אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י אֵלֵֽךְ׃ (לא) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אַל־נָ֖א תַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֹתָ֑נוּ כִּ֣י ׀ עַל־כֵּ֣ן יָדַ֗עְתָּ חֲנֹתֵ֙נוּ֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר וְהָיִ֥יתָ לָּ֖נוּ לְעֵינָֽיִם׃ (לב) וְהָיָ֖ה כִּי־תֵלֵ֣ךְ עִמָּ֑נוּ וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ הַטּ֣וֹב הַה֗וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֵיטִ֧יב יְהֹוָ֛ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְהֵטַ֥בְנוּ לָֽךְ׃ (לג) וַיִּסְעוּ֙ מֵהַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה דֶּ֖רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַאֲר֨וֹן בְּרִית־יְהֹוָ֜ה נֹסֵ֣עַ לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם דֶּ֚רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים לָת֥וּר לָהֶ֖ם מְנוּחָֽה׃
(29) Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which יהוה has said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will be generous with you; for יהוה has promised to be generous to Israel.” (30) “I will not go,” he replied to him, “but will return to my native land.” (31) He said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness and can be our guide. (32) So if you come with us, we will extend to you the same bounty that יהוה grants us.” (33) They marched from the mountain of יהוה a distance of three days. The Ark of the Covenant of יהוה traveled in front of them on that three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them;
(א) וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע יִתְר֨וֹ כֹהֵ֤ן מִדְיָן֙ חֹתֵ֣ן מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֵת֩ כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ לְמֹשֶׁ֔ה וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַמּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־הוֹצִ֧יא יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ (ב) וַיִּקַּ֗ח יִתְרוֹ֙ חֹתֵ֣ן מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶת־צִפֹּרָ֖ה אֵ֣שֶׁת מֹשֶׁ֑ה אַחַ֖ר שִׁלּוּחֶֽיהָ׃ (ג) וְאֵ֖ת שְׁנֵ֣י בָנֶ֑יהָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר שֵׁ֤ם הָֽאֶחָד֙ גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֔ם כִּ֣י אָמַ֔ר גֵּ֣ר הָיִ֔יתִי בְּאֶ֖רֶץ נׇכְרִיָּֽה׃ (ד) וְשֵׁ֥ם הָאֶחָ֖ד אֱלִיעֶ֑זֶר כִּֽי־אֱלֹהֵ֤י אָבִי֙ בְּעֶזְרִ֔י וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִי מֵחֶ֥רֶב פַּרְעֹֽה׃ (ה) וַיָּבֹ֞א יִתְר֨וֹ חֹתֵ֥ן מֹשֶׁ֛ה וּבָנָ֥יו וְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֗ר אֲשֶׁר־ה֛וּא חֹנֶ֥ה שָׁ֖ם הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃
(1) Jethro priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, God’s people, how יהוה had brought Israel out from Egypt. (2) So Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after she had been sent home, (3) and her two sons—of whom one was named Gershom, that is to say, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”; (4) and the other was named Eliezer, meaning, “The God of my father’s [house] was my help, delivering me from the sword of Pharaoh.” (5) Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought Moses’ sons and wife to him in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
Ibn Ezra, cited in Michael Carasik, Numbers: The Commentators' Torah, p. 69
Our tradition says that Jethro had seven names, but of course the Torah has seven faces.
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 825
29. The Israelites have a cloud to lead them by day and a pillar of fire to illumine their path by night. Why does Moses plead with his non-Israelite relative to be their guide? Because one may never assume that a miracle will occur. God sends miracles when God chooses to, not necessarily when we request or require them.
(4) The riffraff in their midst felt a gluttonous craving; and then the Israelites wept and said, “If only we had meat to eat! (5) We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. (6) Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all! Nothing but this manna to look to!” (7) Now the manna was like coriander seed, and in color it was like bdellium. (8) The people would go about and gather it, grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, boil it in a pot, and make it into cakes. It tasted like rich cream.
Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 250
Then we are told that the riffraff get gluttonous feelings and the Israelites weep (Numbers 11:4). What is the relationship between riffraff—that is, negativity—becoming gluttonous and the Israelites weeping? I understand this as a meaningful teaching, even though it may seem strange. When our inner negativity gets gluttonous, hungry, and greedy, the other parts of us weep in false fear and dread. Why? Because the riffraff inside of us has coalesced and become so strong that it gets the rest of us to buy the lies of being not enough, a victim, hopeless.
George Robinson, Essential Torah, pp. 458-459
The Israelites have been encamped at Sinai for a year. Although conditions are undoubtedly less than ideal, they have become settled, accustomed to their surroundings. Now they are being told to pull up their tents and start moving again, with the added burden of sacred objects and mitzvot, neither of which they had to deal with before. Whatever uncertainties they may have felt in the past now rise to the surface in the form of complaining. They have not yet shed the slave mentality of Egypt; they are not yet ready for the responsibilities that come with freedom. As Richard Elliott Friedman observes, the first time we are told of the people’s grumbling, at the outset of chapter 11, no reason is given; it’s just generalized peevishness. Consider the incident of kivrot ha’ta’avah, the “craving” for meat. As the S’fat Emet points out, their desire is described in the text as “hitavu ta’avah,” literally, or “they craved a craving.” Like cranky children on a too-long car trip, they are looking for an excuse to burst out in a tantrum. And Moshe’s reaction, to complain to God that his burden is too much to bear, is that of a frustrated, stressed-out parent. From here on, the Israelites and their leaders become one huge dysfunctional family, split into factions, riven by constant grumbling and suffering from leadership that is alternately too stern and too lax, stretched to its emotional limit. The eleven-day journey becomes a thirty-nine-year forced march in circles and the Sinai Peninsula is transformed from an easy route to Paradise to a Kafkaesque labyrinth of bad feelings and bad faith.
Rambam on Numbers 11:6, 1
(1) BUT NOW OUR SOUL IS DRIED AWAY. This means that because of their many desires their temperaments had become heated and then dried up, as Onkelos translates it [“but now our soul is lusting”].
Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Bamidbar, p. 95, 101-102
The generation that went through these experiences stands revealed in our sidra, as unable to cope with these supra-human conditions, as it were, characterised by true freedom, released from outward, and inner servitude, feeding on the 'corn of heaven' and the 'bread of the mighty' (Psalms 78), interpreted by Rashi to imply angel's food coming directly from the Almighty's bountiful hand. Instead we are confronted by yearnings and nostalgia for a humdrum, small-time existence, a life of serfdom subject to their habits, passions and desires...When they said 'hinam' they meant 'free of mizvot.' Not food or drink, fish or cucumbers, whether given away or cheap, fresh or stale really concerned them, but that freedom from the irksome demands of civilization and standards of self-discipline which they had enjoyed in Egypt. The Talmud observes that 'a slave enjoys his license'...when the Israelites went forth from slavery to freedom, another bondage was imposed on them, more difficult and majestic in its awesomeness - the yoke of Torah and mizvot imposed on them at Sinai...this yoke of freedom appeared to those accustomed to slavery, as burdensome and irksome.
Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 145
The spiritual challenge of Beha'alotekha is to hear the murmurings and rebellions of our ancestors and recognize them as our own places of enslavement calling for freedom and healing. When I witness my ancestors' compaints, I must listen to my own bitter whining. Listening deeply with compassion, I hear the fear inside my voice and I remember when that fear was born. Then I know that my spiritual work will be to heal the wounds that gave birth to that fear and to work at cultivating trust. When I witness my ancestors' lust for meat and for the food of Egypt, I turn to investigate my own cravings. When I discover a hunger that seems never to be satisfied; a thirst that is never quenched; a hole inside me that can never be filled; then my spiritual work consists of investigating that craving by entering into that 'hole' and experiencing the emptiness within. This will lead me to Truth.
Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Numbers: The Wilderness Years, location 2017, Kindle edition
In the book of Numbers, however, the task was quite different. The Israelites had completed the first part of their journey. They had left Egypt, reached Sinai, and made a covenant with God. Now they were on their way to the Promised Land. What Moses now had to do was to help the people transform themselves from liberated slaves to people willing to undertake the responsibilities of freedom. Instead of providing technical leadership, he had to provide adaptive leadership. He had to get the people to change, to face challenges, to develop courage and stamina, to be able to cope with the privations of the wilderness, to learn to do things for themselves while trusting in God, instead of relying on God to do things for them.
(17) I will come down and speak with you there, and I will draw upon the spirit that is on you and put it upon them; they shall share the burden of the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone.
(כג) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הֲיַ֥ד יְהֹוָ֖ה תִּקְצָ֑ר עַתָּ֥ה תִרְאֶ֛ה הֲיִקְרְךָ֥ דְבָרִ֖י אִם־לֹֽא׃
Abarbanel, cited in Michael Carasik, Numbers: The Commentators' Torah, p. 80
22 Could enough flocks and herds be slaughtered to suffice them? They are so engrossed in eating that no amount could possibly be enough for them.
Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch, cited in Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Bamidbar, p. 128
We are shown that there is no monopoly of spiritual leadership. The spiritual powers granted by God are not the privilege of any particular office or status. The lowliest of the nation shares with the highest the opportunity of being granted Divine inspiration.
Rabbi David Kasher, ParshaNut, p. 282-283
Gog and Ma-gog. Eldad and Me-dad. In both cases, the second name takes the last syllable of the first, and adds a mem sound to the beginning. That particular sound is significant because the letter mem, as a prefix in Hebrew, means “from.” So ‘Magog’ means ‘From Gog,’ and ‘Medad’ is ‘From Dad.’ Of course, in the first formulation of Gog and Magog, this was literally true: the person Gog came from the place Magog. But once they have come to represent two warring factions, the names indicate that one side has come from the other, and so both are, in some essential way, the same. The prophetic message of Eldad and Medad, then – hinted to us by their names – is that the ultimate battle, the war to end all wars, will be played out by two opposing violent forces that are actually drawn from the same source. What appear to be mortal enemies are, in fact, simply two sides of one larger phenomenon of destruction.
(31) A wind from יהוה started up, swept quail from the sea and strewed them over the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on that side, all around the camp, and some two cubits deep on the ground. (32) The people set to gathering quail all that day and night and all the next day—even the one who gathered least had ten ḥomers*—and they spread them out all around the camp. (33) The meat was still between their teeth, not yet chewed, when the anger of יהוה blazed forth against the people and יהוה struck the people with a very severe plague.
* one homer is 58 gallons
(א) וַתְּדַבֵּ֨ר מִרְיָ֤ם וְאַהֲרֹן֙ בְּמֹשֶׁ֔ה עַל־אֹד֛וֹת הָאִשָּׁ֥ה הַכֻּשִׁ֖ית אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָקָ֑ח כִּֽי־אִשָּׁ֥ה כֻשִׁ֖ית לָקָֽח׃ (ב) וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ הֲרַ֤ק אַךְ־בְּמֹשֶׁה֙ דִּבֶּ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה הֲלֹ֖א גַּם־בָּ֣נוּ דִבֵּ֑ר וַיִּשְׁמַ֖ע יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ג) וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה עָנָ֣ו מְאֹ֑ד מִכֹּל֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ {ס} (ד) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה פִּתְאֹ֗ם אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶל־מִרְיָ֔ם צְא֥וּ שְׁלׇשְׁתְּכֶ֖ם אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וַיֵּצְא֖וּ שְׁלׇשְׁתָּֽם׃ (ה) וַיֵּ֤רֶד יְהֹוָה֙ בְּעַמּ֣וּד עָנָ֔ן וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖ד פֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֑הֶל וַיִּקְרָא֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן וּמִרְיָ֔ם וַיֵּצְא֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א דְבָרָ֑י אִם־יִֽהְיֶה֙ נְבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם יְהֹוָ֗ה בַּמַּרְאָה֙ אֵלָ֣יו אֶתְוַדָּ֔ע בַּחֲל֖וֹם אֲדַבֶּר־בּֽוֹ׃ (ז) לֹא־כֵ֖ן עַבְדִּ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה בְּכׇל־בֵּיתִ֖י נֶאֱמָ֥ן הֽוּא׃ (ח) פֶּ֣ה אֶל־פֶּ֞ה אֲדַבֶּר־בּ֗וֹ וּמַרְאֶה֙ וְלֹ֣א בְחִידֹ֔ת וּתְמֻנַ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה יַבִּ֑יט וּמַדּ֙וּעַ֙ לֹ֣א יְרֵאתֶ֔ם לְדַבֵּ֖ר בְּעַבְדִּ֥י בְמֹשֶֽׁה׃ (ט) וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֧ף יְהֹוָ֛ה בָּ֖ם וַיֵּלַֽךְ׃ (י) וְהֶעָנָ֗ן סָ֚ר מֵעַ֣ל הָאֹ֔הֶל וְהִנֵּ֥ה מִרְיָ֖ם מְצֹרַ֣עַת כַּשָּׁ֑לֶג וַיִּ֧פֶן אַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶל־מִרְיָ֖ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה מְצֹרָֽעַת׃ (יא) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אַהֲרֹ֖ן אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י אַל־נָ֨א תָשֵׁ֤ת עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ חַטָּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֥ר נוֹאַ֖לְנוּ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטָֽאנוּ׃ (יב) אַל־נָ֥א תְהִ֖י כַּמֵּ֑ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר בְּצֵאתוֹ֙ מֵרֶ֣חֶם אִמּ֔וֹ וַיֵּאָכֵ֖ל חֲצִ֥י בְשָׂרֽוֹ׃ (יג) וַיִּצְעַ֣ק מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אֵ֕ל נָ֛א רְפָ֥א נָ֖א לָֽהּ׃ {פ}
(1) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had taken [into his household as his wife]: “He took a Cushite woman!” (2) They said, “Has יהוה spoken only through Moses? Has [God] not spoken through us as well?” יהוה heard it. (3) Now Moses himself was very humble, more so than any other human being on earth. (4) Suddenly יהוה called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three of them went out. (5) יהוה came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron and Miriam!” The two of them came forward; (6) and [God] said, “Hear these My words: When prophets of יהוה arise among you, I make Myself known to them in a vision, I speak with them in a dream. (7) Not so with My servant Moses; he is trusted throughout My household. (8) With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of יהוה. How then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!” (9) Still incensed with them, יהוה departed. (10) As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with scales. (11) And Aaron said to Moses, “O my lord, account not to us the sin which we committed in our folly. (12) Let her not be like a stillbirth which emerges from its mother’s womb with half its flesh eaten away!” (13) So Moses cried out to יהוה, saying, “O God, pray heal her!”
Rabbi Max Weiss, The Mussar Torah Commentary, p. 225-226
Moses stands at the center of the Torah. He, more than any other person, connects heaven and earth. He is the translator, interpreter, and messenger of God’s word. He is judge, builder, arbiter, and community organizer. Moses mediates between God and the people of Israel, even as he stands in the midst of his people, working among them as a connector. With all of his incredible skill, Moses is called “very humble” (Numbers 12:3). Moses’s humility is based on his recognition that he lives his life among and with his people, not at the center and not above them. His humility flows from his knowledge of his proper place in the world. This awareness allows him both to lead and to follow, to be in front and to be behind, to know his power and to know his limits. Moses is humble. He possesses anavah; he is not self-abasing, nor does his power lead to arrogance.
Rashi on Numbers 12:12, 4
If you (Moses) do not heal her by your prayer, who will put her in quarantine as a leper (cf. Leviticus 13:4) who will ultimately declare her clean? It is impossible for me to examine her as to the character of her leprosy, since I am a near relative and a near relative may not examine the leprous plagues of his kin, (Sifrei Bamidbar 105; cf. Mishnah Negaim 2:5) and there is no other priest in The world who is not her relative. This is alluded to in the words אשר כצאתו מרחם אמו — “since he (the only person who could declare her clean) has come out of the same womb".
Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Newman, in CCAR & URJ, The Torah: A Women's Commentary, p. 2140
It does, indeed, take “double vision” to see both blessing and curse, to picture opportunity amidst danger. Courage grows through hope, through the willingness to look for unknown possibilities and to grasp them, through refusing to see only danger in darkness when its counterpart, opportunity, may be waiting in the shadows. The prayer of the caregiver, the cry of the distraught parent, the reassuring whisper of the loving spouse, can help to wrest some measure of opportunity out of danger.
Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah, vol. 2, location 2662
What is true for Moses may be true for all of us on a much smaller scale. It is one thing to pray for people we cherish, or with whom we have never faced conflict. It is quite another to pray—sincerely, with passion—for those who have hurt or disappointed us.