Numbers Chapter 12
1 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said: 'Hath the LORD indeed spoken only with Moses? hath He not spoken also with us?' And the LORD heard it.-- 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth.-- {S} 4 And the LORD spoke suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam: 'Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting.' And they three came out. 5 And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth. 6 And He said: 'Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the LORD do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so; he is trusted in all My house; 8 with him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD doth he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?' 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and He departed. 10 And when the cloud was removed from over the Tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam; and, behold, she was leprous.
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The way this is interpreted in Judaism is: Miriam and Aaron were speaking disparagingly about Moses because afterall he DID marry. Meaning, "why is he married and is not being attentive to his wife. He always off meditating and gives no time to her. Not good (for Tzipporah). What? Is he sooooo holy?! Well, we also get memos from God, and we don't separate from our families. Is somebody trying to be overyly holy???"
And God heard this and was angered. (Whenever one person badmouths another it brings anger). Angered all the more so because Moses just didn't respond to that accusation, for he was meek. So He called them all out on it.
The Holy One explained that all the other prophets gets His message but via darkened lense, or fuzzy dreams, or somehow not in a way that is a sharp and clear like Moses. Moses WAS different. So just don't mess with him! And with that, the Blessed One inflicted tzaraat on Miriam -a patch of her skin turned white. (This part is probably what upsets people and so maybe they vengefully, turn the story around into "black" being the bad color???)
(I always wondered why God didn't inflict Aaron. But it could be because he was the High Priest -it wouldn't look so good for his job).
Well, that was a decent punishment. If someone can't stop bad mouthing, they are put away from people until they can learn to appreciate society. Plus, the Jewish people couldn't move forward until 7 days when Miriam got 'better'. People were probably asking, "Well, why aren't we moving yet?" "Oh, because Miriam did what?!"
5 comments:
I printed this out and showed this to my Mom!! She laffed til she cried, and if you dont mind, she is going to use this for a Sunday School lesson this week!
Y'know if God gave leprosy to everyone that bad mouthed folks, we would all be in serious trouble..
Another good post!!
Hi Tracy,
re: Your Mom. That is so wonderful to hear!
I don't mind at all, feel free.
Girl, if that leprosy business was around today imagine the prez. election..... LOL
In case you were wondering why they referred to her as "Cushite" instead of her name:
there are two opinions and both can merge and make better sense.
(1) opinion is that after Moses left Egypt cuz he killed the Egyptian, he dwelled in the desert and made his way to Cush. Cush = Ethiopia. There he married and ruled there for a time. But again, he never consumated the marriage.
(2) According to numerology /gematria: cushite -the cushite is same number as word that means beautiful appearance (Yefat Mareh).
My own opinion, they are both right. Moses two times had wives, and twice he did the same to them. (One from Cush, hence cushite; the other from Midian, but beautiful -thus, also Cushite)Both were beautiful. At least from Tzipporah, he had sons. But then it was back to separating. This behavior bothered Miriam and Aaron.
My mom loves you!!
She has her study bible and books out to find all of this!
Thanks for another great lesson
May I offer yet another interpretation. It's not that yours is not valid, because it is; its not that mine is better, because it's not.
It's just another interpretation, another way of looking at the same thing--that, and nothing more.
I realize that you're Jewish, and I hope you won't find offense in my use of quotes from my Christian Bible in my effort.
We're told that Moses was meek, and indeed he was:
"Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth."
Now Jesus tells us this:
"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
My dictionary tells me that meekness is synonymous with submissiveness.
And so it is, but not submissive to the wishes of man, but to the wishes of God.
One who is meek, then, seeks to know and do the will of God, and, because of that, resides in a blessed state.
Jesus, we're told, was also such a man.
The prideful and haughty (those who the Bible speaks against vehemently) seek primarily their own will, without consideration for what God wishes or desires.
Therefore, we're told that Moses is meek, and that meekness is a blessed state--because it is.
The Lord, that divine, spiritual presence, that wreaks so much havoc in the old testament (your Bible), is, for me, the Law of God.
What is that Law?
As the Lord gives it to Moses, stating it perfectly:
"Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again." Book Leviticus, Chapter 24, Verse 20
Jesus states it this way:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Book Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 12
He casts the statement in a positive light, offering at the same time a way to keep the Law on your side.
And again in Galatians:
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Gal 6:7
It has also been called Karma--a deed or action that carries its own consequence.
What we have, then, is Miriam and Aaron (accusers) attacking God's servant (meekness).
Moses represents this Great Light of God, against which no accusation can stand. As we reside in that Great Light of Meekness, no power can stand against us, or accuse us before God.
Moses' greatest sin, according to his accusers, is that he had wedded himself to darkness (the absence of Light), represented here by the Cushite woman.
What Miriam and Aaron failed to understand is that darkness enhances the Light, giving it a greater brightness, a stronger brilliance.
This marriage of Light with Darkness was within the divine Will and not outside of it.
Something the accusers failed to see, and clearly brought out in this passage from Genesis:
"4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."Book Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 4
No "darkness", no "first day."
Again we're told:
...wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?' 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and He departed.
Evil, God's only accuser, should always tremble before goodness, the "servant of God."
Here follows a long passage, but it clarifies who the accuser is, as well as the accusation:
"9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."Book Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 10
I don't feel that the Lord/Law is actually angry in a human sense, but only appears to be, whenever retribution is delivered, as in "an eye for an eye."
The Law is the creation of an All-loving God, of whom it has been said: "God is Love...."
It's the method by which evil, the usual product of a free will, is kept in check.
For their foolish words, they both were punished:
Miriam with leprosy, and Aaron to behold the result of his actions--Miriam's tortured condition.
There's more to be said, but I'm afraid that I have taken up much too much of your blog space already.
Namaste
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