Beha'alotchaBamidbar (numbers)

Lighting the Candelabrum
GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to Aaron and say to him: ‘The spouts of the Candelabrum’s lamps face its central shaft. When you ascend the steps in front of the Candelabrum in order to kindle the lamps, be sure to place the wicks in these spouts so the seven lamps shine toward the central shaft of the Candelabrum. Also, be sure to hold the fire to the wick until it burns by itself.’”

Aaron did so; he kindled the lamps such that their wicks faced toward the central shaft of the Candelabrum, exactly as GOD had commanded Moses.

Installing the Levites
Continuing with its account of 1 Nisan 2449, the Torah now describes how the Levites were installed into their office. GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“Encourage the Levites to separate themselves from the rest of the Israelites by telling them how fortunate they are to be conscripted into God’s service. Then, purify them, as follows.

This is what you must do to them to purify them: dash them with purification-water produced by the rite of the red cow, in case any of them have become defiled through contact with a corpse. Next, have them shave all their skin with a razor, the same way a metzora must when he is purified from tzara’at. They must do this since they are substituting for the firstborn, who became disqualified from Divine service when they worshiped the Golden Calf, and idolatry and tzara’at are related (in that both are associated with death). Finally, have them immerse their garments in a mikveh. Thus must they purify themselves.

They must then take a young bull for an ascent-offering with its prescribed grain-offering of fine flour mixed with oil, since this is the offering prescribed when a group of people commit idolatry. And you must take a second young bull as a sin-offering. The priests must not eat this bull, just like the first, even though they are usually required to eat sin-offerings whose blood is dashed on the Outer Altar.

You must then bring the Levites in front of the Tent of Meeting, and you must gather as well the entire assembly of the Israelites, since the Levites are to effect atonement for them.

You must bring the Levites before GOD, and the Israelites must lay their hands upon the Levites, similar to the way a penitent lays his hands on his atonement offering.

Then, just as a metzora must lift up and wave his purification-offering, Aaron, on behalf of the Israelites, must lift up the first clan of the Levites, the clan of Kehat, one Levite at a time, as a wave-offering before God from the Israelites, that they may perform GOD’s service.” (Since they carry the holiest objects when the people travel, the clan of Kehat are described as being “before God, that they may perform God’s service.”)

“The Levites must then lay their hands upon the heads of the two bulls mentioned before. Bring one as a sin-offering and one as an ascent-offering to GOD to atone for the Levites.

“Thus must you set apart the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will become Mine.

Thereafter, the Levites must come to serve in the Tent of Meeting. You must purify them and have Aaron lift the third Levite clan, that of Merari, as a wave-offering.” (Since they carry only the structure of the Tabernacle, they are described neither as being waved “before God” nor “to God,” as are the other clans.)

“For the Levites are given to Me from among the Israelites to carry the Tabernacle in transit and given over also to sing in the Sanctuary choir. I have taken them for Myself in place of all those who open the womb – that is, all the firstborn – of the Israelites.

For all the firstborn among the Israelites are Mine, whether man or beast; I sanctified them for Myself on the day I smote all the firstborn in Egypt and spared them.

But since the Israelite firstborn participated in the sin of worshiping the Golden Calf, I have taken the Levites, who did not, instead of all the firstborn of the Israelites,

and I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites to perform the service for the Israelites in the Tent of Meeting and to atone on behalf of the Israelites, so that the Israelites will not be inflicted with a plague when the Israelites approach the Sanctuary. For because they worshiped the Golden Calf, they cannot enter the Sanctuary without being inflicted with a plague.”

So Moses, Aaron, and the entire assembly of Israel did what God told them to do to the Levites: Moses assembled them, Aaron lifted them up, and the Israelites laid their hands upon them. The Israelites did in accordance with all that GOD had instructed Moses regarding the Levites.

The Levites, too, did what was required of them: they purified themselves and immersed their clothes. Then Aaron lifted them as a wave-offering before GOD, and Aaron atoned for them, to purify them.

Thereafter, the Levites came to perform the service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and before his sons. Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites did to the Levites just as GOD had commanded Moses regarding them, and neither the Israelites nor the Levites demurred.

The Levites’ Term of Service
GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“This is the rule concerning the Levites: Whereas the priests can be disqualified from service by bodily blemishes, this is not the case with the Levites. For them, only age matters: from 25 years old and upwards they must enter the service to work in the Tent of Meeting. They must train for five years and commence their service at age 30.

When they are 50 years old, they must retire from the work troop, and do no more work.

Passover in the Desert
GOD spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, on 1 Nisan 2449 – the first month of the second year since their exodus from Egypt – saying:

“Even though the Israelites are technically exempt from offering up the Passover sacrifice until they enter the Land of Israel, they must nonetheless, as an exception to this rule, offer up the Passover sacrifice here, in the desert, in its appointed time, in two weeks. And at all times, they must offer up the Passover sacrifice in its appointed time even if this happens to fall on the Sabbath.

On the afternoon of the 14th of this month, you must offer it up in its appointed time, even if most or all of you are impure by having come in contact with a corpse; you must offer it up in accordance with all the rules that apply to it intrinsically, i.e., that it be an unblemished, male lamb or kid in its first year, and in accordance with all its ordinances that apply to it extrinsically, i.e. that it be roasted, eaten with unleavened bread, and so on.”

Moses spoke to the Israelites, instructing them to offer up the Passover sacrifice. Even though Moses had already taught them the laws of the festivals, he nevertheless reviewed them with the people prior to each festival.

So they offered up the Passover sacrifice on the afternoon of the 14th day of the first month, in the Sinai Desert; the Israelites did exactly according to all that GOD had commanded Moses.

The Second Passover
But there were men who had become ritually defiled because of contact with a corpse. Therefore, they could not offer up the Passover sacrifice on that day. So they approached Moses and Aaron together, in the tent that served as their house of study, on that day.

Those men said to Moses, “We are ritually defiled due to contact with a corpse. But last year, the Passover animal was not eaten as a sacrifice; everyone just slaughtered the animal, put the blood on the doorposts, and ate the meat. Why should it be any different this year? Perhaps it is to be slaughtered as a sacrifice only when it assumes its full legal force, when we enter the Land of Israel. This year, it is an exceptional case, and who is to say that the laws that will apply later on also apply now? Why, then, should we be excluded from slaughtering and eating the Passover animal now?” Moses replied, “True, last year, the Passover animal was not slaughtered as a sacrifice. But God said that this year it is to be treated as a sacrifice, and as you know, only ritually undefiled people may offer up sacrifices.” To this, they argued, “If it is to be treated as a sacrifice, then there are two aspects of every sacrifice: offering it up and eating it. We understand that we must not eat sacrificial meat. But why should we be excluded from participating in the other aspect – offering up GOD’s sacrifice in its appointed time, along with the rest of the Israelites? Let us slaughter our animals outside the Tabernacle. The blood can then be dashed inside by ritually undefiled priests on our behalf, and other, ritually undefiled people can eat the flesh in our stead.”

Moses said to them, “Wait, and I will hear what GOD instructs me concerning you.”

The following laws were part of the original laws of the Passover offering, but because God foresaw that these righteous individuals would yearn to perform this commandment, He did not give these laws until they asked about it, in order that it be ascribed to their merit. Thus, GOD spoke to Moses in response to their query, saying:

But he must offer it up in the afternoon of the 14th day of the second month, Iyar, rather than in the first month, Nisan. The other laws of the Passover offering, however, do apply: he must eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

He must not leave any of it over until morning, and he must not break any of its bones. He must offer it up in accordance with all the rules connected with the regular Passover sacrifice. Nonetheless, he does not have to remove leavened bread from his house, and the day is not considered a festival for him per se, in that work is permitted.

But if a man who is ritually undefiled and is not on a journey neglects to offer up the Passover sacrifice, his soul will be cut off from his people – he will die prematurely and childless – for he did not bring GOD’s offering in its appointed time; that person will bear his sin.

Signals to Journey
Before the Torah begins the chronicles of the people’s travels in the desert, it describes how they broke camp and made camp. It will be recalled that on the day the Tabernacle was erected, 1 Nisan 2449, the cloud covered the Tabernacle that served as a tent for the Tablets of the Testimony, and at nightfall, there was an appearance of fire over the Tabernacle, which remained until morning.

So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and there was an appearance of fire by night.

Thus, at GOD’s bidding the Israelites traveled, and at GOD’s bidding they encamped. As long as the cloud hovered above the Tabernacle, they remained encamped.

Whenever the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle for many days, the Israelites kept the charge of GOD and did not travel.

Sometimes, the cloud remained for several days above the Tabernacle. In this case, too, at GOD’s bidding they traveled and at GOD’s bidding they encamped.

Sometimes the cloud remained over the Tabernacle from nightfall until morning, and when the cloud departed from over the Tabernacle and spread itself over the camp of the tribe of Judah in the morning, they traveled. At other times, the cloud remained for a day and a night, and when the cloud departed from over the Tabernacle and spread itself over the camp of the tribe of Judah, they traveled.

Whether it was for two days, a month, or a year that the cloud lingered, hovering over the Tabernacle, the Israelites would encamp and not travel; and when it departed from over the Tabernacle and spread itself over the camp of the tribe of Judah, they traveled.

At GOD’s bidding they encamped and at GOD’s bidding they traveled; they kept the charge of GOD by traveling and camping at the word of GOD expressed through the movements of the cloud, which moved both at God’s command and through Moses’ words, as we have described.

The Trumpets
Sometime prior to the first journey, GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“Make yourself two silver trumpets, since you are the people’s king and it befits a king to summon and command the people by having trumpets blown for this purpose. Nonetheless, since your kingship over the people will never be matched by any other king they will have, only you will make use of these trumpets. Spend your own money to make them. You must make them out of a block of silver hammered into their form. You must make use of them to summon the community when you wish to speak to them and to announce the departure of the divisions.

When you have the priests blow a teki’ah (a long blast) on both of them, the whole community must convene before you at the entrance to the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

If they blow a teki’ah on one of them, the princes, the leaders of Israel’s thousands, must convene before you at the entrance to the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

When you have the priests blow a teki’ah followed by a teru’ah (a series of short blasts) and another teki’ah on both trumpets, the divisions encamped to the east must set out.

When you have the priests blow the same signal – a teki’ah followed by a teru’ah and another teki’ah – a second time on both trumpets, the divisions encamped to the south must travel. Thus, they must blow a teru’ah framed by two teki’ah-blows for beginning their traveling,

but when assembling the assembly, you must blow a teki’ah on both trumpets, but not a teru’ah.

The descendants of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets. Even though only you, Moses, may make use of these particular two trumpets, this institution of trumpet-blowing will be a rule for all time, for all your generations, with other trumpets. These will be blown for the following purposes:

If you go to war in your land against an adversary who attacks you, you must blow a teru’ah with the trumpets and be remembered favorably before GOD, your God, and thus be saved from your enemies.

On the joyous days you designate to celebrate your victory over your enemies, as well as on your festivals, and on your new-moon celebrations, you must blow a teki’ah on both trumpets over your communal ascent-offerings and your peace-promoting feast-offerings, and it will be a remembrance before your God; I am GOD, your God.”

The Torah now begins the chronicle of the people’s journeys. On the 20th day of Iyar, the second month of 2449, the second year after the Exodus, the cloud rose up from over the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

Leaving Mount Sinai
The Israelites traveled from the Sinai desert in accordance with their journeying order that God had given them earlier, and the cloud settled at the end of that day in the Paran desert, at the place that would later be known as Tav’eirah and then as Kivrot HaTa’avah.

This was the first journey in their military formation at GOD’s bidding through Moses.

The Division of Judah
The banner of the division of Judah traveled first according to their troops. Heading its leading troop, that of the tribe of Judah, was Nachshon son of Aminadav.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Issachar was Netan’eil son of Tzu’ar.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Zebulun was Eli’av son of Cheilon.

The Division of Reuben
After the clans of Gershon and Merari had left, the banner of the division of Reuben set out according to their troops. Heading its leading troop, that of the tribe of Reuben, was Elitzur son of Shedei’ur.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Simeon was Shelumi’eil son of Tzurishadai.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Gad was Elyasaf son of De’u’eil, who was also known as Re’u’el.

The Clan of Kehat
After the division of Reuben set out, the clan of Kehat – who carried the holy equipment – set out. The clans of Gershon and Merari had erected the Tabernacle by the time the clan of Kehat had arrived, so they could set up the furnishings inside it and the Outer Altar outside it. After this, the clans of Gershon and Merari set up the surrounding courtyard.

The Division of Ephraim
After the clan of Kehat set forth, the banner of the division of Ephraim set out, according to its troops. Heading its leading troop, that of the tribe of Ephraim, was Elishama son of Amihud.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Manasseh was Gamli’eil son of Pedahtzur.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Benjamin was Avidan son of Gid’oni.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Asher was Pag’i’eil son of Ochran.

Heading the troop of the tribe of Naphtali was Achira son of Einan.

This was the traveling order of the Israelites according to their troops. Having described the order in which they traveled, the Torah now resumes the narrative of how they indeed traveled.

Just before they set out from Mount Sinai, Moses said the following to Jethro, who was also known as Chovav (“the cherisher”), for he cherished the Torah. Jethro was also known as the son of Re’u’el (“the friend of God”) the Midianite. Moses said to Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, “We are traveling now to the Land of Israel, the place about which GOD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ This journey should take three days. When God told us ‘I will give it to you,’ He meant to us, but not to others: converts like yourself do not receive a portion of the land. Nonetheless, come with us and we will be good to you in other ways. We will give you a portion of the spoils of war, for GOD has spoken of good military fortune for Israel.”

Jethro said to him, “I will not come with you, for I must go back and manage my land in order to take care of my family. If I will not receive a portion of the land, how will I be able to support my family and myself?”

And if you come with us, then we will bestow on you, at least temporarily, part of the good land that GOD grants us.” These arguments convinced Jethro: he went home to convert his family, and rejoined the Jews later on.

So, the people set out. But the mixed multitude, instead of focusing on their goal, the Land of Israel, focused on the material aspects of the life they were about to leave behind, as the narrative will describe in full presently. In this sense, they traveled from the mountain of GOD both figuratively (by seeking to escape the Godly life) and literally. For the time being, however, God overlooked this, and with His assistance they all miraculously traveled a distance of three days’ journey from the mountain of GOD in one day. The people carrying the ark of GOD’s Covenant that Moses made and that housed the broken first set of tablets traveled at a distance of a three-day journey ahead of the rest of them, so this ark could prepare for them a place to settle by miraculously flattening the area where they were to camp.

This ark was accompanied by the leading cloud, which leveled the path for them and killed all the dangerous snakes and scorpions on the way. The other six clouds, however, continued to surround the people from all sides as they traveled, and thus the cloud of GOD was above them by day, when they traveled from the campsite. At the end of this day, they camped in the Paran desert, as was mentioned above.

Signals to Journey
The Torah now backtracks to add another detail to its description of how the people set out to travel. Whenever those carrying the ark that Moses made and housed the broken tablets set out, Moses would say, “Arise, GOD! Let Your cloud go before us, preparing the way for our journey! May Your enemies who have gathered to attack us be scattered, and may those who hate You – and are therefore always pursuing us – turn and flee from You.”

And when the ark came to rest, Moses would say, “Repose, GOD, among the myriads and thousands of Israel.”

The Incident at Tav’eirah
After they had camped, some people from the mixed multitude had second thoughts about submitting to God’s laws, and therefore sought a pretext to avoid serving Him. They decided to complain in a way that would be evil in GOD’s ears, i.e., that would vex Him. So they complained about how weary they were after making a three-day journey in one day. GOD heard this and became angry, for, after all, He had made them travel this fast in order to hasten their entry into the Land of Israel. A fire from GOD broke out among them, consuming those at the extreme moral poles of the camp: these elements of the mixed multitude, and the 70 elders, who should have inculcated them with proper values and who deserved to die in any case for having behaved irreverently at the giving of the Torah.

The remaining people from the mixed multitude who had sinned but had not yet been reached by the fire cried out to Moses to intercede on their behalf. Moses prayed to GOD, and the fire subsided.

Moses therefore named that place Tav’eirah [“blaze”], for a fire from GOD had broken out among them there.

The Incidents at Kivrot HaTa’avah
Although only a few of the mixed multitude had participated in the incident at Tav’eirah, the mixed multitude among the Israelites in general had begun to have strong cravings for their former way of life even before this. The Israelites, too, were affected by their behavior, and began to cry with them. Even though they had taken many animals with them from Egypt and therefore had plenty of meat, they all said, “Who will feed us meat?” for they were seeking a pretext to avoid the challenges of their new way of life.

“Furthermore, we recall the fish (our main staple) that we ate so enjoyably in Egypt because we were free of Divine obligations, whereas now we cannot eat in a relaxed way because our lives are encumbered with commandments, and even in order to eat the manna we must fulfill a number of commandments. Moreover, we miss the taste of the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. True, the manna tastes like whatever we want it to except for these beneficial foods, because their flavors are considered harmful to nursing infants. But since God can do anything, He could have excluded these flavors from the manna only for nursing mothers! Clearly, He is just trying to vex us.” In fact, God excluded these flavors from the manna because if the nursing mothers would see everyone else enjoying them, they would want to taste them in the manna, too. Once they would desire them, they would automatically taste them in the manna, and these tastes would then go into their milk and harm their babies.

“But now,” they continued, “we are bored, for there is nothing else at all; we have nothing before our eyes but manna, day and night.”

The Uniqueness of Manna
Now, to show how unfounded these complaints were, it should be remembered that the manna was not limited to one taste, but had any taste they wished (other than the five mentioned above). Its unlimitedness was reflected both in how it was shaped like coriander seed (for coriander, like flax, grows in single stalks, alluding to undivided simplicity), and by how its color was white like that of a white gem (and thus not limited to a specific color).

When the dew descended on the camp at night, the manna would descend upon it, so it was “packaged” and protected from spoiling or getting dirty.

Moses Complains
Moses heard the people weeping with their families, both about what they would eat and about the restrictions the Torah placed on whom they could marry, each one at the entrance to his tent. This was the ninth time that the people challenged God’s ability to provide for them in the desert. GOD became very angry, and Moses also considered it evil.

Moses said to GOD, “Why have You treated me, Your servant, so badly? Why have I not found favor in Your regard, that You place the burden of this entire people upon me?

Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them, that You say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nursing woman carries a suckling,’ to the land You promised their forefathers?

Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat.’

And now that You have killed the 70 elders, I cannot carry the responsibility of this entire people alone, for it is too hard for me.”

God Responds
But first God addressed Moses’ complaint about not being able to lead the people by himself. GOD said to Moses, “Gather for Me 70 other elders of Israel to replace those that just perished. Gather individuals who you know were the people’s elders in Egypt and who had been appointed by the Egyptian taskmasters as foremen to oversee their work. Since they had been beaten on account of their people, they earned the right to be their leaders, just like those who became the princes. You must coax them into accepting this office by telling them how fortunate they are to be selected as leaders of God’s children. At the same time, however, stipulate that they accept this office with the awareness that the people are sometimes difficult to deal with. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting, and they must stand there, in front of everybody, and enter the tent together with you so they can be present when you hear My words. In this way, the people will understand that they must honor and respect them.

I will descend and speak with you there, and I will elevate them by taking some of the spirit that is upon you and bestowing it upon them. This will not diminish your Divine spirit in any way. Then they must accept your stipulation to bear the burden of the people together with you, so that you need not bear it alone. So much for your complaint about having to lead the people by yourself.

As for the people who complained about not having enough meat, you must say to them, ‘Prepare yourselves for punishment tomorrow, when you will eat meat, for you have cried in GOD’s ears, saying, “Who will feed us meat? For we had it better in this respect in Egypt.” Therefore, GOD will indeed give you meat, and you will eat.

GOD descended in a cloud and spoke to him, and He elevated them by taking some of the spirit that was on Moses and bestowing it on the 70 elders. And when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did not continue afterwards to prophesy on the same level as they did on that day.

Eldad and Meidad
Now two men of the 70 chosen ones had remained in the camp and did not go to the Tent of Meeting. The name of the first was Eldad and the name of the second was Meidad. Even though they did not go to the Tent of Meeting, the spirit of prophecy rested upon them anyway. They were among those upon whose ticket the word “elder” had been written, but they did not go out to the Tent of Meeting, because they felt unworthy of the gift of prophecy. But God rewarded them for their humility and gave them the gift of prophecy anyway, so instead they prophesied in the camp.

The lad Gershom, Moses’ son, ran and told Moses, saying, “Eldad and Meidad are prophesying in the camp!”

Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ servant from his youth, answered and said, “Moses, my master! They are prophesying that you will die and that I will be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land! Appoint them to a position of public office so they will become too preoccupied and exhausted to prophesy. Or imprison them!”

Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? If only all GOD’s people were prophets, that GOD would bestow His spirit of prophecy upon them!”

Then Moses, together with the elders of Israel, withdrew from the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to the camp, each man to his private tent.

Quails
The following morning (21 Iyar), God dealt with the other issue – punishing the complainers. He waited to do this until Moses and the elders were in their tents, since it pains the righteous to see the wicked being punished. A wind went forth sent from GOD and swept up quails from the sea and spread them over the camp and beyond it to a distance of about a day’s journey this way and a day’s journey that way, all around the camp. They flew at a height of about two cubits above the ground, which made it easy to catch them.

With him I speak mouth to mouth; unambiguously, without riddles, so he can behold the image of GOD, that is, understand Divine providence. I told him explicitly to separate from his wife. After the Giving of the Torah, I said to him, ‘Go say to [the people], “Return to your tents [and live with your wives],” but you remain here with Me, so I can communicate with you [at all times].’ So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant, no matter who it might be, or against such an obviously exalted person as Moses, even if he weren’t My servant? You should have reasoned that I do not show him special attention for no reason! Assuming that I do is tantamount to blasphemy. And if you say that I do so because I am unaware of his deeds, that is real blasphemy!”