The Torah states the following: “The Children of Israel, the whole community, arrived in the desert of Tzin in the first month and the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.” (Numbers, 20:1). There are many questions that need to be answered from this seemingly simple verse such as: Why does the Torah tell us what month the Israelites arrived – not usually found when the Torah reports arrivals; Why did the Torah emphasize that the whole congregation arrived?; Why did Miriam’s burial have to be mentioned and later, the absence of water as affecting the entire congregation?
Torat Moshe explains that our sages say that Moses and Aaron were busy with the funeral arrangements for Miriam when they saw a multitude approaching. Moses was somewhat nonplussed, but Aaron felt that the people had surely come to pay their last respects to Miriam. Moses did not think so, for if Aaron had been correct, the people would have approached in an orderly procession. The confused mob approaching suggested to Moses that these people had something to complain about. When the people overheard this, they quarreled with Moses, and left Aaron out of it. In fact, they should have paid their respects to Miriam for a variety of reasons, not the least of it the fact that they had enjoyed a water supply for 40 years due to her merit. It was due to their indifference that God let it come to a critical situation. Should one argue that the people had been unaware that their water supply had been due to Miriam’s merit, God had stopped the supply IMMEDIATELY when Miriam had died, to bring home this lesson to the people who had either not known or had pretended not to know. Mention of their arrival in the desert, and the date, is to tell us that lack of water was not due to the natural habitat, nor to the time of year. At winter’s end, there is plenty of moisture remaining from the rainy season. Neither was the absence of water due to unfriendly terrain, since the people had settled there – in Kadesh – obviously a place fit for habitation. Water disappeared ONLY with the death of Miriam. This proved that the death of the righteous woman had caused the absence of water. The congregation was denied water now, because they had neglected to give respect to Miriam after her death.
In parshat Balak, we read about Balaam, who was a prophet of the gentile nations. This parshah focuses on Bilam’s ability to curse and his attempts, commissioned by King Balak of Moab, to curse the advancing nation of Israel. Nechama Leibowitz discusses the similarities/differences between Bilam and the other prophets of Israel. She teaches that the prophets of Israel do not themselves run after prophecy. On the contrary, a glance at Exodus 3-4 or Jeremiah 1 reminds us that they objected, as a rule, to this sudden imposition of responsibility from On High. Far from seeking it, it was thrust on them. Bilam, on the other hand, hankers after prophecy, and strives – through magical means – to obtain such power, to force it down from Heaven, as it were, through the medium of seven altars, seven bullocks, enchantments and solitude. As the Ramban observed in respect of sacrifices, the person bringing them wishes, through their medium, to achieve closer communion with God, elevating human nature to a Divine level. Balaam, on the other hand, desired to mould, as it were, the Divine will to his own nefarious ends, bringing the Divine down to the mortal level. But what did Bilam achieve through his sorcery? What are the implications of the phrase: “And the Lord put a word (davar) in Bilam’s mouth” (23:5). In Sanhedrin 105b it explains that rabbi Eliezer saw this word as an angel, and rabbi Yochanan saw it as a hook. According to Rabbi Eliezer, Bilam was merely guided from above to bless and not to curse. He had been intellectually enlightened to face the true facts. According to Rabbi Yochanan, however, he uttered the blessings in spite of himself, forced against his will, struggling and in distress like one that is hooked, to do the biding of his master.
~Devorah Abenhaim
