From the beginning of the Book of Exodus much of the Torah's narrative focuses on the stories of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, the three Hyper-prophetic children of Amram and Jocheved. Like the season finale of our favorite Television shows, Parashat Chukkat ties up some loose ends.

 

As if it were an early incarnation of Game of Thrones, this Parasha brings us the end of two of our favorite characters while, at he same time, meting out a punishment to the remaining main character. Indeed, Chukkat contains the death of both Miriam and Aaron, and Moses learns that he will not be allowed to go into the Promised Land with the Children of Israel.  Fade to black and wait until next season. Alas, and thankfully, the Torah, and the story of our people, does not end here.

 

Many of us know the story leading to Moses' punishment well. The Israelites, as they were wont to do, were complaining bitterly. This time it was about a lack of water. God tells Moses to "speak" to a rock and cause water to emanate from it. Instead, Moses, expressing anger at the Israelites, "hits" the rock with his staff and the water comes out. Because Moses "hit", and did not "speak" to, the rock, God refuses him entry to the Promised Land. It is a harsh sentence indeed.

 

What is usually ignored when we discuss this Torah portion is the fact that the reason often given for the water shortage was Miriam's death. According to our tradition, Miriam was the diviner of water for the Israelites. Indeed the Midrash tells us that the water well followed her wherever she went. On her passing, the water was gone.

 

There is an underlying message here. Moses was diminished by the loss of his siblings. Aaron helped to connect the Israelite people with God in a way that Moses could not. Miriam was a life-sustainer in a way that Moses was not.   Moses lost a part of himself, his identity, and even his ability, when his siblings past.

 

Family units and ties can make us stronger and the loss of any connector can weaken us. It could be argues that, had Aaron and Miriam not died, Moses would not have disobeyed God's direct command, and each of them would have made it to the Promised land.

 

Even the greatest prophet benefited from his connection to his family.  

 

A few announcements for upcoming events:

 

My Friday class on Ethics will occur every Friday between July 12th and August 23rd from 10:00 am to about noon. The Class is entitled: "Conflict Resolution, the Beit Midrash Way." Each class is "Stand-alone", so if you cannot make it to all 7 classes it is fine. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 per class and $30.00 for all 7 classes. Among other things, we will learn how to actually talk when we disagree.

 

This Shabbat and Weekend join us for Our Scholars Near the Beach presentation by Rabbis Jonathan Rubenstein and Linda Motzkin. Rabbi Rubenstein is a baker. On Friday afternoon he will teach us to bake Challah, which will be served at our vegetarian/dairy Shabbat dinner on Friday evening. Over Shabbat the Rabbis will teach us about baking in Judaism and vegetarianism. On Saturday both Rabbis Motzkin and Rubenstein will do a Lunch and Learn about the Torah Portion, entitled: Chukkat, Water, Water Everywhere". On Sunday, Rabbi Motzkin will give a PowerPoint presentation about how to create and write a Torah. We will then be given an opportunity to help to perform the Mitzvah of proofreading Torah pages she has written. No knowledge of Hebrew is required! Come to any one or all of the programs. (Look elsewhere in the Shabbat Reminder for more information.)

 

 

Shabbat Shalom - Rabbi Michael S. Jay