Torah portion BeHaalotcha
Torah Portion BeHaalotcha
Bemidbar – Numbers 8:1-12:16
Num 8:1 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
Num 8:2 “Speak to Aharon, and tell him, ‘When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the menorah.’”
Num 8:3 Aharon did so. He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the menorah, as YHWH commanded Moshe.
Num 8:4 This was the workmanship of the menorah, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work: according to the pattern which YHWH had shown Moshe, so he made the menorah.
Everything in the Tabernacle and the Temple is an earthly reflection of the reality in heaven. These points of maximum congruity between our dimension and that dimension are an actual link – like an umbilical chord, between here and there. They bring the two dimensions into alignment.
Numbers, continued:
Num 8:5 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
Num 8:6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Yisra’el, and cleanse them.
Num 8:7 Thus shall you do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
Rather like the Nazir’s cleansing ritual.
Numbers, continued:
Num 8:8 Then let them take a young bull, and its meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering.
Num 8:9 You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Yisra’el.
Num 8:10 You shall present the Levites before YHWH. The children of Yisra’el shall lay their hands on the Levites,
Num 8:11 and Aharon shall offer the Levites before YHWH for a wave offering, on the behalf of the children of Yisra’el, that it may be theirs to do the service of YHWH.
Num 8:12 The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering to YHWH, to make atonement for the Levites.
Num 8:13 You shall set the Levites before Aharon, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to YHWH.
Num 8:14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Yisra’el, and the Levites shall be mine.
Num 8:15 “After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering.
Num 8:16 For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Yisra’el; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Yisra’el, I have taken them to me.
Interestingly, here human offerings are made “in place” of the entire assembly – as a representative of it. So it’s difficult to see any arguments against Yeshua’s sacrifice on the stake for us based on the sacrificial system in the Torah. Quite the contrary, this passage argues in favor of such a substitutionary offering.
Numbers, continued:
Num 8:17 For all the firstborn among the children of Yisra’el are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.
Num 8:18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Yisra’el.
Num 8:19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aharon and to his sons from among the children of Yisra’el, to do the service of the children of Yisra’el in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Yisra’el; that there be no plague among the children of Yisra’el, when the children of Yisra’el come near to the sanctuary.”
Num 8:20 Thus did Moshe, and Aharon, and all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el, to the Levites. According to all that YHWH commanded Moshe concerning the Levites, so the children of Yisra’el did to them.
The Levites perform their priesthood in place of the Priesthood of the Firstborns of each family. As we saw with Cain and Abel and then Seth, and when Judah’s older brothers disqualified themselves in various ways, the Firstborn is supposed to be the priest of the family, but the priesthood could be handed down to subsequent brothers if necessary. Similarly, the Levites are now taken in place of the Firstborns, until that day when the Levites themselves will again be made subservient to the ultimate Firstborn, Yeshua HaMashiach.
Numbers, continued:
Num 8:21 The Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes; and Aharon offered them for a wave offering before YHWH; and Aharon made atonement for them to cleanse them.
Num 8:22 After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aharon, and before his sons: as YHWH had commanded Moshe concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
It is, actually, necessary for all of us to be cleansed and dedicated in order to do our service to Elohim. We do this by means of immersion to cleanse us from past impurity and through teshuvah (repenting from sin) and with faith in Yeshua HaMashiach to have offered Himself as our required sin offering to pay our penalties for us. Each of these aspects is clearly reflected in the Torah’s sacrificial system.
Numbers, continued:
Num 8:23 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
Num 8:24 “This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;
Num 8:25 and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,
Num 8:26 but shall minister with their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites concerning their duties.”
We saw in Parashat Naso that a man serves from ages 30-50, therefore we can presume from this passage that from age 25-29 a young man undergoes an apprenticeship of sorts, to learn the proper services before he becomes of age to actually be responsible himself for some aspect of running the Tabernacle or Temple.
Numbers, continued:
Num 9:1 YHWH spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
Num 9:2 “Moreover let the children of Yisra’el keep the Pesach in its appointed season.
Num 9:3 On the fourteenth day of this month, between the evenings, you shall keep it in its appointed season–according to all its statutes, and according to all its ordinances, you shall keep it.”
Num 9:4 Moshe spoke to the children of Yisra’el, that they should keep the Pesach.
Num 9:5 They kept the Pesach in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the evenings, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that YHWH commanded Moshe, so the children of Yisra’el did.
There is an aritcle in the right-hand side section of the Simchat webpage which discusses the Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Firstfruits chronology in the Tanakh and as it relates to the execution of Yeshua – showing exactly when each aspect should be observed and how the dates played out the year of Yeshua’s execution.
Numbers, continued:
Num 9:6 There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Pesach on that day, and they came before Moshe and before Aharon on that day.
Another reason a person cannot keep the passover is due to being uncircumcised, if you recall. A person going through the conversion process to Messianic Judaism must read through an entire Torah cycle and observe all the feasts and fasts EXCEPT Passover (unless they had previously been circumcised). Most goyim are not circumcised until the END of the conversion process, after they have read through the entire Torah and learned to “count the cost,” as Yeshua put it. (See commentary on acts 15 et al.) So they may not participate in Pesach. This was not some kind of oversight on Yeshua’s part – not by a long shot. Rather it is a clear message that Torah observance is required in order to be grafted in to the House of Israel, since a person who is not circumcised cannot be there nor partake of the Covenant Kiddush established by Yeshua at Pesach which we are commanded to re-enact at the Seder.
Numbers, continued:
Num 9:7 Those men said to him, “We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer the offering of YHWH in its appointed season among the children of Yisra’el?”
Num 9:8 Moshe answered them, “Wait, that I may hear what YHWH will command concerning you.”
Num 9:9 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
Num 9:10 “Say to the children of Yisra’el, ‘If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still keep the Pesach to YHWH.
Num 9:11 In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with matzah and bitter herbs.
Notice that Elohim in no way endoreses their idea that uncleanness doesn’t matter. It very much matters. He does NOT excuse their uncleanness, instead he gives them an alternate date to observe the rites.
Numbers, continued:
Num 9:12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statute of the Pesach they shall keep it.
Num 9:13 But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Pesach, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn’t offer the offering of YHWH in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
Num 9:14 If a foreigner lives among you, and desires to keep the Pesach to YHWH; according to the statute of the Pesach, and according to its ordinance, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the foreigner, and for him who is born in the land.’”
Called Pesach Kattan, it is the only moedim in the Torah in which Elohim allows a “make-up test.” It takes place on the 14th of the month, not the 15th, and is not accompanied by the 7 days of Unleavened Bread because those nust be observed anywhere you are, no matter what your state of ritual purity. Passover itself, however, requires a visit to the Temple Mount, takes place on the 14th day of the month, and if you happen to be ceremonally unclean you would be excluded from participating. This make-up test allows you to go to the Temple and offer your sacrifice and eat the bitter herbs on the 14th day of the second month. It is presumed you will have already observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread from the 15th to the 21st day of the first month.
Numbers, continued:
Num 9:15 On the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony: and at evening it was over the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until morning.
Num 9:16 So it was continually. The cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.
Num 9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children of Yisra’el traveled; and in the place where the cloud remained, there the children of Yisra’el encamped.
Num 9:18 At the command of YHWH, the children of Yisra’el traveled, and at the command of YHWH they encamped. As long as the cloud remained on the tabernacle they remained encamped.
Num 9:19 When the cloud stayed on the tabernacle many days, then the children of Yisra’el kept the charge of YHWH, and didn’t travel.
Num 9:20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days on the tabernacle; then according to the command of YHWH they remained encamped, and according to the command of YHWH they traveled.
Num 9:21 Sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they traveled: or by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they traveled.
Num 9:22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, remaining on it, the children of Yisra’el remained encamped, and didn’t travel; but when it was taken up, they traveled.
Num 9:23 At the command of YHWH they encamped, and at the command of YHWH they traveled. They kept the charge of YHWH, at the mitzvah of YHWH by Moshe.
Num 10:1 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
Num 10:2 Make you two trumpets of silver; of beaten work shall you make them: and you shall use them for the calling of the congregation, and for the journeying of the camps.
Num 10:3 When they shall blow them, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the door of the tent of meeting.
Num 10:4 If they blow but one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Yisra’el, shall gather themselves to you.
Num 10:5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall take their journey.
Num 10:6 When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
Num 10:7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm.
Num 10:8 The sons of Aharon, the Kohanim, shall blow the trumpets; and they shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations.
Num 10:9 When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets; and you shall be remembered before YHWH your Elohim, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
Num 10:10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your shalom offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your Elohim: I am YHWH your Elohim.
From this passage we learn that it is acceptable (mandatory, actually) to blow a trumpet or shofar to sanctify the sabbaths and yom tovim. It stands to reason, then, that someone in each household or congregation needs to learn how to blow one. The fact that a Cohen needs to blow one at the Tabernacle and Temple to signify the times doesn’t mean that one doesn’t need to be blown in all the other towns and households of Israel. It just means that the Cohanim are obligated to blow on at the Tabernacle/Temple Mount. The tradition of lighting candles comes from Elohim’s commandment to Aharon to light the Menorah each evening – and that’s fine. But there’s no commandment for us to light candles, and here there is a commandment to blow a trumpet to sanctify the sabbaths and moedim. If you choose only one instead of both, you should choose to blow a trumpet or shofar for your home or synagogue.
Numbers, continued:
Num 10:11 It happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tent of the testimony.
This shows again that the feast of unleavened bread was not observed along with Passover Kattan, because if it were, the 21st day of the month would have been a required sabbath and no journeying would have taken place. Yet here they are clearly breaking camp and traveling.
Numbers, continued:
Num 10:12 The children of Yisra’el set forward according to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran.
Num 10:13 They first took their journey according to the command of YHWH by Moshe.
Num 10:14 In the first [place] the standard of the camp of the children of Yehudah set forward according to their armies: and over his army was Nachshon the son of `Amminadav.
Num 10:15 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Yissakhar was Netan’el the son of Tzu`ar.
Num 10:16 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Zevulun was Eli’av the son of Chelon.
Num 10:17 The tent was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tent, set forward.
Num 10:18 The standard of the camp of Re’uven set forward according to their armies: and over his army was Elitzur the son of Shede’ur.
Num 10:19 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Shim`on was Shelumi’el the son of Tzurishaddai.
Num 10:20 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad was Elyasaf the son of De`u’el.
Num 10:21 The Kehati set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and [the others] did set up the tent against their coming.
Num 10:22 The standard of the camp of the children of Efrayim set forward according to their armies: and over his army was Elishama the son of `Ammihud.
Num 10:23 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Menasheh was Gamli’el the son of Pedatzur.
Num 10:24 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Binyamin was Avidan the son of Gid`oni.
Num 10:25 The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rearward of all the camps, set forward according to their armies: and over his army was Achi`ezer the son of `Ammishaddai.
Num 10:26 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pag`i’el the son of `Okhran.
Num 10:27 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Naftali was Achira the son of `Enan.
Num 10:28 Thus were the travels of the children of Yisra’el according to their armies; and they set forward.
Num 10:29 Moshe said to Chovav, the son of Re`u’el the Midyanite, Moshe’ father-in-law, We are journeying to the place of which YHWH said, I will give it you: come you with us, and we will do you good; for YHWH has spoken good concerning Yisra’el.
Num 10:30 He said to him, I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my relatives.
Num 10:31 He said, Don’t leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you shall be to us instead of eyes.
Num 10:32 It shall be, if you go with us, yes, it shall be, that whatever good YHWH shall do to us, the same will we do to you.
The ancient land of Midian is in what is now Saudi Arabia. The mountiain in the “Sinai” penninsula now called “Mt. Sinai,” is, frankly, a tourist trap. Recent research shows that the actual location of Mt. Sinai is at the mountain now called “Jabl al Lawz” in Saudi Arabia. Moshe’s relative was able to “be their eyes” in their travels because Sinai was in his homeland of Midian, now part of modern Saudi Arabia. That should be fairly obvious from the fact that Elohim spoke to Moshe on Mt. Sinai while he was still living in Midian and Elohim told him the sign of his mission would be that the Israelites would worship “on this mountain,” but somehow that rather obvious fact is lost on the millions of people who travel to Egypt’s “Sinai” penninsula.
Numbers, continued:
Num 10:33 They set forward from the Mount of YHWH three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of YHWH went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
Num 10:34 The cloud of YHWH was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp.
Num 10:35 It happened, when the ark set forward, that Moshe said, Rise up, YHWH, and let your enemies be scattered; and let those who hate you flee before you.
Num 10:36 When it rested, he said, Return, YHWH, to the ten thousands of the thousands of Yisra’el.
These verses are now part of the liturgy for reading the Torah portions in synagogues that have a Torah scroll.
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:1 The people were as murmurers, [speaking] evil in the ears of YHWH: and when YHWH heard it, his anger was kindled; and the fire of YHWH burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp.
Num 11:2 The people cried to Moshe; and Moshe prayed to YHWH, and the fire abated.
Num 11:3 The name of that place was called Tav`erah, because the fire of YHWH burnt among them.
Traditionally considered to be the outside edges, where the mixed multitude lived.
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:4 The mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly: and the children of Yisra’el also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
Num 11:5 We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:
Num 11:6 but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all save this manna to look on.
Num 11:7 The manna was like coriander seed, and the appearance of it as the appearance of bdellium.
Num 11:8 The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
Num 11:9 When the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.
The people are complaining that they lack fish, and lack fresh fruits and vegetables, which is rather obvious considering they have been living in temporary camps and therefore don’t plant gardens.
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:10 Moshe heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent: and the anger of YHWH was kindled greatly; and Moshe was displeased.
Num 11:11 Moshe said to YHWH, Why have you dealt ill with your servant? and why haven’t I found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me?
Num 11:12 Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them forth, that you should tell me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which you swore to their fathers?
Num 11:13 Where should I get meat to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us meat, that we may eat.
Num 11:14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
Num 11:15 If you deal thus with me, please kill me out of hand, if I have found favor in your sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
There is a problem with either the translation or the transmission of the original paleo-Hebrew texts, because they didn’t ask for meat. And clearly they were still in possession of their flocks and herds for use both as meat and as sacrifices. We can generalize, however, that what they wanted was something “different.”
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:16 YHWH said to Moshe, Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Yisra’el, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you.
Num 11:17 I will come down and talk with you there: and I will take of the Spirit which is on you, and will put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you not bear it yourself alone.
This is the origin of the Sanhedrin, 70 members plus the leader – in this case, Moshe.
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:18 Say you to the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of YHWH, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore YHWH will give you flesh, and you shall eat.
Num 11:19 You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days,
Num 11:20 but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome to you; because that you have rejected YHWH who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
Num 11:21 Moshe said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and you have said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
Num 11:22 Shall flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
Num 11:23 YHWH said to Moshe, Has YHWH’s hand grown short? now shall you see whether my word shall happen to you or not.
Aside from the fact that they hadn’t asked for meat, even Moshe seem incredulous that Elohim’s pronouncement can be carried out – because he is only thinking of the flocks and herds they already have available to them. For some reason, it didn’t occur to him that Elohim could provide other sources of food, hence Elohim’s annoyance at Moshe’s inability to think outside the box. Of course Elohim can provide anything He chooses, in any quantity!
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:24 Moshe went out, and told the people the words of YHWH: and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the Tent.
Num 11:25 YHWH came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was on him, and put it on the seventy elders: and it happened that when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.
Num 11:26 But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested on them; and they were of those who were written, but had not gone out to the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp.
Now, here is a strange problem. There are 12 tribes. If each tribe provided 6 elders, the total members of the Sanhedrin would have been 72 and not 70. We are not told what tribe Eldad and Medad were from, but it appears that their apparent refusal to “be gathered” to the Tent of Meeting means their tribe(s) lost representatives in the Sanhedrin permanently. When the Ruach HaKodesh descended on the 70, it also descended on the 2 missing men – presumably to demonstrate to the camp that they should have gone to “be gathered.”
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:27 There ran a young man, and told Moshe, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
Num 11:28 Yehoshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moshe, one of his chosen men, answered, My lord Moshe, forbid them.
Num 11:29 Moshe said to him, Are you jealous for my sake? would that all YHWH’s people were prophets, that YHWH would put his Spirit on them!
A true leader wants the good of the entire community. If your leader appears selfish and tries to hoard power or authority, then you either need a new leader or a new community.
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:30 Moshe got him into the camp, he and the elders of Yisra’el.
Num 11:31 There went forth a wind from YHWH, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the earth.
Num 11:32 The people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails: he who gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
To dry.
Numbers, continued:
Num 11:33 While the flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of YHWH was kindled against the people, and YHWH struck the people with a very great plague.
Num 11:34 The name of that place was called Kivrot-Hatta’avah, because there they buried the people who lusted.
Num 11:35 From Kivrot-Hatta’avah the people traveled to Chatzerot; and they abode at Chatzerot.
It is speculated that the reason Elohim was angry was not because they ate what He provided for them – since He promised to do just that, after all – but because in their haste and greed, they did not kill the animals properly. Some speculate they tore limbs from living birds, or ate the blood instead of draining it away, or didn’t cook the meat to render out the blood.
Numbers, continued:
Num 12:1 Miryam and Aharon spoke against Moshe because of the Kushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Kushite woman.
Now, the Rabbis try and claim this is really Tzipporah, but there is no real basis for that reasoning other than the obvious one – racism. The text is plain – Moshe married a black woman from Ethopia. We can presume, however, that a man such as Moshe would not have married a pagan, and since Elohim upholds the marriage, she must have been a godly woman.
Numbers, continued:
Num 12:2 They said, Has YHWH indeed spoken only with Moshe? Hasn’t he spoken also with us? YHWH heard it.
To many in the Rabbinic community even today, marrying a non-Jew or a person of non-Caucasion descent renders one “unfit” for service. Sad, but true. The Rabbis claim that it is a Torah violation for any Jew to marry a non-Jew, but in fact only Levites were commanded to always marry within their tribe. Elohim gives instructions for taking wives who are war captives, etc., from other nations, so it’s clear he didn’t intend other tribes to refuse to take converts into their communities. And, of course, during the Bronze Age a person’s lineage went by their father – matrilineal descent is an innovation which came later by way of the Rabbis, not Elohim. Do note that the “sons of Aharon” were commanded to only marry within their tribe – Moshe would not have been bound by that commandment. Only Aharon and his sons are priests – Moshe, amazingly enough, was not, nor were his offspring.
Numbers, continued:
Num 12:3 Now the man Moshe was very humble, above all the men who were on the surface of the earth.
Num 12:4 YHWH spoke suddenly to Moshe, and to Aharon, and to Miryam, Come out you three to the tent of meeting. They three came out.
Num 12:5 YHWH came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aharon and Miryam; and they both came forth.
Num 12:6 He said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I YHWH will make myself known to him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream.
Num 12:7 My servant Moshe is not so; he is faithful in all my house:
Num 12:8 with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of YHWH shall he see: why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moshe?
Num 12:9 The anger of YHWH was kindled against them; and he departed.
Elohim put it in no uncertain terms: Moshe did nothing wrong here. It was their racist attitudes that were wrong, not Moshe’s actions.
Numbers, continued:
Num 12:10 The cloud removed from over the Tent; and behold, Miryam was leprous, as [white as] snow: and Aharon looked at Miryam, and behold, she was leprous.
White enough for you, Miryam?
Numbers, continued:
Num 12:11 Aharon said to Moshe, Oh, my lord, please don’t lay sin on us, for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned.
Num 12:12 Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.
Num 12:13 Moshe cried to YHWH, saying, Heal her, Elohim, I beg you.
Num 12:14 YHWH said to Moshe, If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.
Num 12:15 Miryam was shut up outside of the camp seven days: and the people didn’t travel until Miryam was brought in again.
Num 12:16 Afterward the people traveled from Chatzerot, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
Our mental attitudes are a reflection of our spiritual beliefs – and Elohim has no patience whatsoever for people who judge a person by their skin color or race. Torah observance and Faith in Yeshua are the ONLY measuring line that Elohim accepts to judge a person. Only Levites who are Cohanim are commanded to marry within their tribe – for everyone else, a person’s skin color should never, ever be a factor in our acceptance of someone. Period. Doing so is an affront to the Image of Elohim by which we are ALL made – and affront to Yeshua, in other words!
Next: Haftarah BeHaalotcha.
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