Numbers 8:1-12:16 | Zechariah 2:14-4:7 | Matthew 26:17-30

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Parashat Beha'alotekha
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Beha'alotekha

1. What can we learn from the description of the movement of the LORD's cloud in this week's parasha? 

Benjamin Ehrenfeld

In this week's parasha, we are given detail as to how the LORD'S anan (cloud) rested over the people of Israel and how that cloud guided them.  

On the day 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. It was always so: the cloud covered it, appearing as fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from the Tent, the Israelites would set out accordingly; and the spot where the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. At the command of the Lord the Israelites broke camp, and at the command of the Lord they would make camp: they remained encamped as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle.

    Numbers 9:15-18 (NJPS) 

The chapter continues to detail that, no matter how long the cloud stayed, the Israelites would not move until the cloud would move. The cloud is a symbol of the LORD's presence and the visual sign of his command for the people to stay or move. Much can be said about the LORD's choosing to manifest his will in a cloud. A cloud connotes mystery and wonder. It demonstrates the hidden-ness of the LORD from his people. What is striking is that while the wonder of the LORD is remarkably vital to having proper relationship with Him,

this cloud makes his will perfectly clear. When this cloud moved, the people moved; when it stayed, they stayed. There was nothing hidden or mysterious about it apart from the people's awareness of when God would have them move.

It could be asked if this clarity of will be found by us now? Why did our ancestor's seem to see it so much more clearly? This parasha contains the key to at least one answer: They knew where to look.  

What made this cloud so distinct was not just that it turned to fire by night; this cloud rested over the Tabernacle and the tablets of the Covenant. This cloud could be found wherever the Tabernacle was, wherever the Covenant was. At the same time, the Tabernacle had to follow it and the tablets of the Covenant would also follow, but being placed ahead of the people: 

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord traveled in front of them on that three days' journey to seek out a resting place for them, and the Lord's cloud kept above them by day, as they moved on from camp.

    Numbers 10:33-34 (JPS) 

The Tabernacle and the Covenant are where the people were to look for the cloud. When that cloud would move, the people were to carry the Tabernacle and the Covenant with them to follow. 

The Tabernacle of the Lord is the Jewish people and by extension those from among the nations who have come to the Messiah of Israel. The Torah and the Living Torah are the Covenant that we set before us to either hold when the Presence of God rests upon us, or to follow when God would move us from wherever we may have been. At times, the Lord calls us to be still in his presence. At other times we are called to watch for his sign to follow as we journey home. 

2. At the end of Parashat Beha‘alotekha, Miriam is stricken with "snow-white scales" as punishment for her (and Aaron's) protest against Moses' marriage to a Cushite woman (Number 12:1-15). At the end of this section, we read, "And Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days and the people did not depart until Miriam was readmitted." Why did the people wait to continue on their journey again until Miriam was readmitted? 

Rabbi Jonathan Kaplan

Mekhilta' deRabbi Yishmael helps us address this question in the following midrash: 

This is to teach you that with the measure with which a human measures, with it they will measure the person. . . Miriam waited for Moses a while, as it is said, "And his sister positioned herself from afar . . ." (Exodus 2:4).  In the wilderness, God [Hammāqôm] caused the Ark, the Divine Presence, the Priests, all Israel, and the Seven Clouds of Glory to wait for her.  As it is said, "And the people did not journey until Miriam was brought in again . . ." (Numbers 12:15).

    Mekhilta de'Rabbi Ishmael, Parashta Beshallach 1 

The first thing which this midrash reminds us is that it is God and not the people who delayed the departure of the camp on their journey. As it says in Exodus 40:36-37, 

When the Cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle, the children of Israel would depart on their journeys. But if the Cloud did not lift up, they would not depart until it lifted up. 

But why did God delay "the Ark, the Divine Presence, the Priests, all Israel, and the Seven Clouds of Glory" for her account? The darshan links Numbers 12:15 with Exodus 2:4 where a young Miriam stationed herself from afar to ensure that the infant Moses would reach safe harbor. According to the darshan, God rewards Miriam's fidelity by judging her with the same standard with which she regarded Moses. When Miriam is in a risky place of peril on the edge of civilization, God stands far off, delaying the whole entourage of Israel, to ensure that she returns safely. 

The darshan uses the example of Miriam from Exodus and our parasha to illustrate the value concept of ‘measure for measure.' According to this principle, the way we treat others has consequences for the way we will be treated in the future by God or by other people. As Yeshua reminds us in the Sermon on the Mount,  

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. . . So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

    Matthew 7:2, 12 (NIV) 

Joshua Brumbach 

It has been taught that everything in the Torah reveals Mashiach. As such, parallels between the Torah and the life and work of Yeshua are numerous. Sometimes one may need to dig beneath the surface a little, but at other times the parallels are obvious.   

In our Besora reading for this week, Yeshua instructs his talmidim to prepare of place for them to observe Passover. During a particular point in the Seder while Yeshua is reclining with his talmidim, he reveals that one of them is going to betray him.   

Parashat Beha'alotekha, our Torah portion for this week, also describes the observance of Passover.  Furthermore, it too describes a sort of betrayal by Moses' siblings, Miriam and Aaron. In the parasha, Miriam particularly is punished for criticizing Moses, and is inflicted with tzara'at-a physical malady the sages contend is a direct result of lashon hara (evil speech). It always seems so surprising that after all they had witnessed of God's mighty acts performed through Moses, Aaron and Miriam still had the audacity to speak against Moses, their brother.  

How much more so in respect to the followers of Mashiach? The talmidim had an intimate relationship with Yeshua. They ate with him, prayed with him, and witnessed the miracles he performed. They knew Yeshua better than anyone else, other than his family. So how was it that Judas, who knew Yeshua so intimately, was able to betray him and turn him over to the authorities of his day? 

Like Miriam, Moses' sister, who was afflicted with tzara'at, Judas also suffered physically for his betrayal.  Upon witnessing Yeshua condemned to death, Judas became greatly afflicted physically and mentally. He was filled with so much remorse and anguish that he returned the thirty pieces of silver he had received for his betrayal and hung himself in a field (Matthew 27:3-10).     

The betrayal of righteous people is a serious offense.  Whether it is in the form of lashon hara, or by deed, they both carry consequences. This betrayal can arise when we convince ourselves that we are somehow spiritually higher than others or that we can lead better than others can.  The issue is not whether we can; the issue is the condition of our neshama, our soul. We must constantly ask ourselves whether our hearts are in the right place.  Respect for those in spiritual leadership is a strong value within Judaism, and we must always be careful to not think of ourselves more highly then we ought (Romans 12:3).  Rather, we must constantly strive to be those who live by humility and who put others needs above our own. 

NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT SHELACH-LEKHA

Numbers 13:1-15:41
Joshua 2:1-24
Mark 14:32-50