TORAH: Numbers 8:1-12:15
HAFTARAH: Zechariah 2:14-4:7
GOSPEL: Matthew 14:14-21
Portion Summary
The third reading from the book of Numbers and the thirty-sixth reading from the Torah is called Beha’alotcha (בהעלותך), a word that literally means “When you ascend.” It comes from the first verse of the portion, which could literally be translated as “When you ascend the lamps” (Numbers 8:2), a reference to the fact that the priest had to step up to clean and light the lamps of the menorah. This portion is jam-packed, telling the story of the consecration of the Levites, the first Passover in the wilderness, the silver trumpets, the cloud of glory, the departure from Sinai, the grumbling in the wilderness, the first Sanhedrin and the punishment of Miriam.
Portion Outline:
Torah
Numbers 8:1 | The Seven Lamps
Numbers 8:5 | Consecration and Service of the Levites
Numbers 9:1 | The Passover at Sinai
Numbers 9:15 | The Cloud and the Fire
Numbers 10:1 | The Silver Trumpets
Numbers 10:11 | Departure from Sinai
Numbers 11:1 | Complaining in the Desert
Numbers 11:16 | The Seventy Elders
Numbers 11:31 | The Quails
Numbers 12:1 | Aaron and Miriam Jealous of Moses
Prophets
Zec 2:6 Interlude: | An Appeal to the Exiles
Zec 3:1 Fourth Vision: | Joshua and Satan
Zec 4:1 Fifth Vision: | The Lampstand and Olive Trees
Portion Commentary:
The Puzzling Story of Miriam’s Leprosy
Aaron and Miriam grumble against their brother Moses. Miriam gets struck with leprosy, but Aaron gets off free. Is that fair?
“So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.” (Numbers 12:15)
Even Aaron and Miriam were not above the sin of grumbling. Numbers 12:1-2 relates a few details about their complaint against Moses. Apparently they had something against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married. (The Torah does not tell us the details of their gripe, but people are often irritated by their sibling’s spouses.)
The complaint against Moses had to do with his role as leader over the assembly. Both Miriam and Aaron were prophets in their own right. They had both personally received prophecies from God. They began to resent Moses’ sole leadership over the assembly. “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” (Numbers 12:2), they asked.
Miriam and Aaron assumed that no one could hear their private conversation. It was their own private gripe against their brother. They forgot that God could hear. The Torah says, “And the LORD heard it” (Numbers 12:2).
Read complete commentary at First Fruits of Zion.
