Menachem Mirski
Thoughts on Parashat Beha’alotcha
In the Bible, the Divine wrath is typically seen as a punishment, exerted on Israelites or other peoples. The same is true of this week’s Torah portion; however, there are nuances that make this story different from other biblical accounts of the Divine anger and punishment. The first thing worth noticing here is that if we slightly change the language and its underlying logic this particular Divine wrath can be seen as a symptom, an ‘unavoidable outcome’ of the mindset of frustration and anger, in line with the idea that frustration breeds anger and anger breeds anger. Moreover, Moses, again, plays here a very important role but the essence and outcome of his actions are also slightly different from those of other biblical accounts:
And Moses said to יהוה, “Why have You dealt ill with Your servant, and why have I not enjoyed Your favor, that You have laid the burden of all this people upon me? Did I produce all these people, did I engender them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a caregiver carries an infant,’ to the land that You have promised on oath to their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people, when they whine before me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all this people by myself, for it is too much for me. If You would deal thus with me, kill me rather, I beg You, and let me see no more of my wretchedness!” Then יהוה said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy of Israel’s elders of whom you have experience as elders and officers of the people, and bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them take their place there with you. 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. (Numbers 11:11-17)
He is obviously a mediator. But what’s the name of Moses’ character trait that plays the most important role in this whole process? The answer is: humility. Moses is not whining or self deprecating. He is honest and aware of his limitations: Did I produce all these people, did I engender them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a caregiver carries an infant,’ to the land that You have promised on oath to their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people, when they whine before me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ (Numbers 11:12-13). Moses’ humility balances the angry mindset of (some of) his people. The result is as follows: he sets the tone of the discussion with an angry God, who seems to respond with divine anger to human anger. Moses’ refusal to take any side and participation in anger of both sides brings a miracle: it changes the Divine judgment. As a result God does not punish the Israelites again, as he did already several times in response to their complaints and murmuring. On the contrary, God provides them with what they want and at the same time, which is crucial here, the divine spirit descends upon the 70 wise men of Israel; this all is done to balance the sense of hurt and anger in the community and provides the Israelites with a proper spiritual guidance.
This whole story teaches us about the importance of humility and tranquility in the process of making our life more peaceful and, in turn, more fruitful and rational. Moses openly exposes himself to the Divine judgment, which we all do when we pray – the Hebrew verb lehitpalel, which is commonly believed to mean ‘to pray’ actually means to expose oneself to the Divine judgment. When we pray we should always keep in mind both of these ideas – openness to the Divine judgment and our humility. I deeply believe that these are the foundations of our relationship with God in the context of prayer; this attitude deepens our relationship with the Eternal and makes us hear better the Divine response to our prayers, which is always more fruitful for us.
Shabbat shalom,
Menachem Mirski
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