|
|
|
|
During the month of June we shall be reading some very interesting stories as we follow the cycle of Torah readings from week to week – all of which have one theme in common: Rebellious Leaders. First, Miriam (and to a lesser extent Aaron) rebels against Moses (Beha’alotecha, Numbers Ch. 12). Next, ten of the twelve tribal leaders return from their reconnoitre of the land, unable to take a lead (Shelach Lecha, Ch. 13). We then read about the Levite, Korach (Ch. 16), challenging the leadership of his first cousins Moses and Aaron in what looks like an acute case of ‘relative deprivation.’ So, what happens next? The Torah is completely silent about the thirty-eight years of wandering which follow these rebellions, and does not take up the story again until the fortieth year, when it records the death of Miriam (Numbers Ch. 20:1). Miriam, Moses and Aaron’s elder sister is the first of the three leaders to die. What do we know about her? Everything that the Torah has to say can be fitted on to one A4 sheet – with space to spare. And yet, it was Miriam’s brave initiative, which ensured her baby brother Moses’ survival at the very beginning of the Exodus story (Exodus Ch. 2). And then, after the Israelites passed through the See of Reeds on dry land, the Torah speaks of Miriam as a nevi’ah, a prophet, who led the women in dancing with timbrels, singing her own song to the entire community (Ch. 15: 20-21). If Miriam was so important, why is it that she disappears from the narrative? Perhaps it’s not surprising that when we encounter her again in Numbers Ch. 12, the text opens with the words, ‘Then Miriam spoke [Vattedabber - feminine singular] - and Aaron – against Moses...’ No doubt Aaron felt upstaged by his younger brother, but nothing could have compared with Miriam’s feeling of marginalisation. But the Torah is not sympathetic: Miriam’s reward for her challenge was a dose of white scaly skin – which meant she had to be shut out of the camp for seven days. Shut out but not forgotten. The Torah simply adds one more detail about Miriam - her death and burial thirty-eight years later - but the sages helped to fill in the gaps by telling the tale of ‘Miriam’s Well’ - a miraculous source of natural water, which accompanied the Israelites throughout their travels in the desert. When Miriam died, they explained, the well dried up - that’s why, immediately following her death, the people rebelled against Moses and Aaron, demanding water (Numbers 20: 1-2). By linking these two events the sages taught that despite what the Torah fails to tell us, Miriam was a remarkable leader, whose loss was keenly felt by her people. ©
Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah |
