Pull up a chair! This week’s Parasha is full of good
stories.
First, we have a number of sections with instructions for
various tasks related to the Tabernacle and the Israelites’ march through the
desert. We have instructions for the installation of the Levites for their
tasks in the Tabernacle. Then we learn
about Pesach sheini – the second Pesach designated for folks who happened to be
in a state of ritual impurity for the Pesach at its regularly scheduled time.
Lastly, we have God’s instructions to
Moses to make two silver trumpets to direct the Israelites to assemble or to
break camp and march.
And then we get a series of episodes. The first tells of the
riffraff who crave meat, which leads all of the Israelites to whine and
complain about how they miss the delicious food in Egypt. God and Moses are fed
up with the people at this point. God sends enough meat to make a person
nauseous, and then kills many people with a plague.
Then we have a story about the delegation and spreading
around of Moses’ power. Similar to an episode in the book of Exodus, here, God
draws from the spirit that is upon Moses and puts it upon 70 elders.
Lastly, we have the story of Aaron and Miriam questioning
Moses’ marriage to a Cushite woman and questioning the primacy of his
leadership. Miriam is punished with tzara-at (white scaly skin…)
At least regarding the last three episodes, this parasha
focuses a lot on Moses and his style of leadership. In the last episode, the
narrator of the Torah comments that Moses Moses was “a very humble man, more so
than any other man on earth.” Perhaps we can spend some time thinking about
what humility means to us and what role humility plays in good leadership.
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