Torah Portion – Behaalotecha
By Rabbi Dov
“Behaalotecha” (ch as in Bach) means in Hebrew “As you lift up” (the lamps to set them up in front of the Temple’s lamp-stand.) It is a small part of the specific instructions regarding the lighting procedure of the Menorah at the Temple, which God tells Moses to pass on to Aaron, the High Priest.
This Torah portion covers quite a few important and relevant subjects that had been dealt with by rabbis and scholars for centuries, i.e. – the second Passover, the process of moving and encamping in the desert, Miriam and Aaron’s conflict regarding Moses’ Cushite wife, to mention a few.
This time around, while reading the Torah portion, once again, I realized that the following episode is the most relevant subject to write about, because it deals with the possible solution between religious and theological conflicts among many of the factions in the Jewish religious, today – and it is not exclusive to Judaism; other religions, if not all, confront similar hurdles.
Moses, and his most trusted young aid, Joshua, are in a tent, when another young aid rushes in to inform Moses that two men “Eldad and Meidad prophesying in the camp.” Joshua, disrespectfully, doesn’t wait for Moses to reply, and intervenes with a solution: “My Lord Moses, imprison them.” (Num.11:28). Moses turns to Joshua and teaches him the most valuable and crucial lesson in communal spiritual life and co-existence. “And Moses said to him (to Joshua) Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would bestow His spirit upon them!”
“If only all the Lord’s people were prophets…” Where can one find in the bible a better description of what spiritual “equality” among people ought to be? Could you imagine the Ultra-Orthodox community accepting and embracing the Reformist and the Progressive factions, just as they are? And could you imagine the Reformist and Progressive factions accepting the Ultra-Orthodox and the Orthodox communities, just where as they are spiritually, for example? Isn’t that obvious enough that it was “sensible and admirable” for Moses, to have God elevate everyone to his (Moses’) level of spirituality, based on “hearsay” without witnessing or checking it out personally? Or the fact that the scribers of the Torah spelled it out in the holy book for future generations – which the Charedim and non-Charedim observe in one way or another? Why then, don’t all factions of Judaism take Moses’ and God’s wish and will and practice them? Come to think of it, I doubt it if Eldad and Meidad used similar words of prophesies, or quoted directly from the Torah, while “prophesying. Just imagine what Moses had in mind when he proposed: “If only all the Lord’s people were prophets…”
Take a moment or two to consider it, and imagine all the people.
Sweet Shavuot.
Toraholic 