A Cavalcade of Controversy
This week’s parasha, B’haalot’cha, details some of the most critical and evocative concepts in Torah and the human condition: the interplay of race/tribe, loyalty, and humility. Miriam and Aaron—Moses’ siblings—seek to undermine his leadership in a pique of ego and reckless ambition. They question his right to lead, assert their right to take his place, and attack him in the eyes of the community for his marriage to a Cushite woman (of Ethiopian descent). Despite our abhorrence of this seemingly racist sentiment from the perspective of contemporary mores, their assault stems more from an affiliation with a foreign tribe than a more concerted resort to a racial claim. Rather than clap back in kind, Moses remains silent, and the text reaffirms that he is eesh enav meod—possessing of an almost superhuman humility. The emphasis on this element of his character has far reaching implications, establishing the counter-intuitive quality of humility as a distinct virtue for Jewish leadership as opposed to the nature of leaders in other cultures, many of whom were regarding as deities themselves.
Of course, when confronted with a potentially life-threatening public attack, it helps that God has your back. God admonishes Miriam and Aaron for their arrogance, and affirms Moses uniqueness amongst all of humanity in that God speaks to him directly and not through dreams and visions. Miriam is stricken with leprosy to bring the point home (her first mention as a perpetrator before her brother Aaron is interpreted as indicating that she was the ring leader), and Moses, on brand, pleads with God to heal her. Thus, we learn that loyalty, humility, and tolerance of strangers/foreigners in our midst are defining Jewish virtues and the ultimate object lessons of this troubling but fascinating episode.