Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Behaalotekha/0/en
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Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Behaalotekha
What was the Selav?
Miryam's Speech: Gossip or Challenge to Authority?
How is Miryam and Aharon's critique of Moshe to be understood? Was this simply idle and misguided chatter, or did they have a fundamental disagreement with his behavior leading them question his authority as leader?
- The Sifre views Miryam and Aharon as intending no harm, and in fact trying to improve Moshe's family life by encouraging the resumption of normal relations between Moshe and Zipporah. Modern scholars, in contrast, cast Miryam and Aharon in a negative light, suggesting that they were contesting Moshe's leadership and claiming to be his equals. Debate the two positions, pointing out the pros and cons of each. See Miryam's Critique of Moshe and his Cushite Marriage.
- R"Y Bekhor Shor offers a different reading of the story presenting the siblings as bothered by what they perceived as hubris in Moshe's decision to marry a non-Israelite. Was intermarriage in fact prohibited at this time? Even if not, was it not preferable to marry an Israelite? If so, were the siblings not justified in their complaint?
- Ibn Kaspi presents Miryam and Aharon as upset that Moshe veered from the monogamous ideal by taking an additional wife. He defends Moshe by asserting that celibacy is unnatural and that the greater a person's deeds, the greater their desire. His position is an explicit reaction to Christian ideals of abstinence, and expectation of clerical celibacy.
- Is it always wrong to speak about another? What if your intentions are to help the other? If you truly believe that another's actions are wrong, is it problematic to consult someone about their behavior before approaching the person yourself?
