Tag: parshas bihaaloscha

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Bihaaloscha – Law and Order


 One of the hallmark attributes and the heritage of the mussar of Kelm heavily emphasized was the attribute of seder, orderliness. Indeed, every chapter that discusses a character trait in the Sefer Cheshbon HaNefesh begins with a statement that summarized that chapter. By the Trait of Order (section 3) the summary statement is: “All your actions and possessions should be orderly – each and every one in a set place and at a set time. Let your thoughts always be free to deal with that which lies ahead of you.”

The Ralbag in his Toaliyos elaborates on the importance of seder, orderliness, in this week’s Torah portion of Bihaaloscha. Before there were cell phones and the internet, sending out alarms and alerts for everyone’s information, the Jews traveling in the desert would blow trumpets to ensured that everyone would simultaneously receive the proper signals and instructions on what to do.

The Torah states:

“If they blow a teki’ah on one of them, the princes, the leaders of Israel’s thousands, must convene before you. When you blow a teki’ah and a teru’ah, the divisions encamped to the east must set out. When you blow a teki’ah and a teru’ah a second time, the divisions encamped to the south must travel. They must blow a teru’ah for beginning their traveling, but when assembling the assembly, you must blow a teki’ah but not a teru’ah” 

(Bamidbar 10:4-7).

The tekiah and teruah of this passage are the same as the blasts of those names that are sounded on Rosh Hashanah: tekiah was a long clear blast of the trumpet, and teruah was a series of short, staccato blasts. When both trumpets sounded a tekiah, it signaled the entire nation to assemble at the Mishkan. Such a blast from a single trumpet summoned the leaders. A teruah blast would signal to the three tribe formations that they were to begin their journey.
 The lesson the Ralbag learns from these pesukim is that it is appropriate for a leader to organize his matters in a fashion such that when he wants his ministers to come before him, or the whole nation to gather, he makes sure that the message will be understood altogether, at once, so that no jealousy will develop amongst them. This was facilitated through the powerful sounds that were heard far and near through the trumpet blasts. If sometimes they would call only some and then other times call the others, there would be a difference in the type of blasts, so that those being summoned would sense through the type of blast who is being summoned. This is an obvious way to keep things orderly. This is why there was one tekiah blown to summon the leaders, and there wasn’t any teruah, but when the entire nation was called together there would be two tekiahs and [sometimes] teruahs. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Why would differentiating between trumpet blasts as a signal of who is being summoned and instructions as to what to do calm jealousy among people? It’s logical to suggest that the leaders were summoned more often than the populace, because they were leaders and needed advice in governance from the Supreme Leader, Moshe Rabbeinu. Wouldn’t the people often hearing the summoning of the leaders and everyone knowing about it create more jealousy if they weren’t brought together to see the leader, Moshe Rabbeinu as often? Wouldn’t less publicity, like private messengers sending word of who should come to Moshe Rabbeinu, be more subtle and cause less jealousy? And even if people see some people starting to go and are wondering why they weren’t invited, they could figure out that their invitation might be coming as soon as the messenger gets to him. So why should this process of trumpeting work to avoid jealousy?

It must be that an official sense of orderhas a calming effect on people, and they feel more at ease when they see and understand exactly what’s going on in an official and orderly fashion. That is the effect the attribute of order can have on people.
 We see this further a few pesukim later, when the Torah speaks about the order of the Jews while traveling in the desert. They didn’t travel the same way as the encampment, in a square surrounding the Mishkan, which was in the middle with three tribes at each side. Rather, they got into formation with Yehuda and his two other tribes in the front, the Mishkan was taken apart and its parts were carried by the Levite families of Gershon and Merari after them, then came the tribe of Reuvain and his two tribes in back of them, with the Levite family of Kehas carrying the vessels of the Mishkan. In back of them was the tribe of Ephraim and his two tribes, and finally at the end of the line traveled the tribe of Dan and his two tribes (See pesukim 11-28). The lesson the Ralbag learns from here is that it is befitting for a leader of a nation or army to have his actions orderly, so that no strife will occur amongst his followers. This is why there was an exact order to how the Jewish People traveled and encamped in the desert. Who would travel first, who would travel second, and who would travel third, because with this order, it ensured a scarcity of quarrels.
 The square encampment around the Mishkan and the line-up of tribes while travelling was designed to ensure order and keep the peace. But why make it so official? People don’t always like to live around family; they might want friends from another tribe as neighbors. Also, to reshape into a line from a square when traveling is a whole to-do. How do all these rules ensure less quarreling in the camp?

It must be that the sense of official order has such a calming effect that to have this setup and these rules is helpful. We see from all this how important the trait of seder, having order, is both practically and specifically as designed to combat the negative attribute of jealousy and infighting.

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Bihaaloscha – Stay Away From Bad Friends


Among the travails recounted in this week’s Torah portion of Biha’aloscha was the “Asafsuf,” Egyptians who had joined the Jews in their Exodus from Egypt. They were also known as the Eirev Rav, and they originally started out with proper intent to follow Hashem, but soon began trying to convince the Children of Israel to complain to Hashem again, this time about a lack of meat, going so far as to say that they preferred Egyptian bondage over the presence of Hashem (see Bamidbar 11:20).

“The rabble (Asafsuf) that was among them cultivated a craving, and the Children of Israel also wept once more and said, ‘Who will feed us meat?’ We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge; the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now, our life is parched, there is nothing; we have nothing to anticipate but the manna” (Bamidbar 11:4-6)!

Based on these pesukim the Ralbag learns a lesson that we must guard ourselves from unscrupulous friends. This we see from the fact that because the Jews were connected to the Asafsuf (Eirev Rav) who went out with them out of Egypt, the Jews stumbled when they were pulled towards their weakness, a physical craving for meat, by the Asafsuf. This was even though they had ample provisions that they didn’t have to put any hard work into or go to any trouble to receive, i.e. the manna. This is what the pasuk meant when it said, “The rabble that was among them cultivated a craving and Children of Israel also wept.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

This was not the first time the Eirev Rav caused trouble for the Jewish People. They were also the ringleaders of the sin of the golden calf which had taken place a short time earlier, about a year or so before. The sin of the golden calf almost led to the annihilation of the Jews, if not for Moshe’s prayers. So the Jews should have known to stay far away from these rabblerousers and not to listen to them, lest they get into big trouble again. Furthermore, the Jews had done complete teshuva [repentance] from the sin of the golden calf, with the unified initiative of building and inaugurating the Mishkan, the House of Hashem and completely subjugating themselves to His Service and Will. How could they have fallen into the trap again, again succumbing to the tricks and complaints of the Eiruv Rav?

We see how much of an influence friends or even acquaintances that live in close proximity to us can have! Indeed, we also see the fact that negativity has a powerful draw, easily overwhelming the good and positivity. Therefore it is best to stay as far away as possible from bad friends, to not risk being influenced by them.

Think twice before associating with people who might have a bad influence on you, even if they are well intentioned. The Eirev Rav left their home country to join the Jewish People on their journey towards truth, but unfortunately they were still drawn to their past and where they came from; the desires and attitudes from their upbringing, which got them into a lot of trouble. It’s worthwhile to stay far away from people like this, even if they look like they mean well and are trying to change; if they have a negative effect on you then one should keep their distance.

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Bihaaloscha – Formula for Peaceful Relationships

This Dvar Torah is dedicated in memory of Eliezer Yehoshua ben Yaakov Lieberman a”h. May his memory be a chizuk and comfort to his family, and may they see no more sorrow.

At the end of this week’s Torah portion of Bihaaloscha, Miriam speaks lashon hara, slandered Moshe on some level, to Aharon, and Miriam was punished with tzaraas, spiritual leprosy. During this entire ordeal not only was Moshe silent, but he even prayed for Miriam to be healed.

There are many lessons the Ralbag learns from this occurrence. One is that it is beneficial for a person to act with the character trait of humility and lowliness as much as possible. For we see that Moshe, with all his perfection, and being the king and prophet, still in all the Torah testifies that he was the humblest of all people.

Another lesson the Ralbag learns from here is that a person shouldn’t take to heart things which are said against him, even if you might be the master over the person who spoke out against you. Moshe was totally unperturbed by the fact that Miriam and Aharon spoke out against him, and he was quiet. For this reason, the Torah writes at this juncture, “And the man, Moshe, was very humble.” It is further understood that Moshe knew what was said about him, for Aharon said to him, “Do not cast a sin upon us for we have been foolish and we have sinned” (Bamidbar 12:11).

The Ralbag learns another lesson, that a perfect person wouldn’t take revenge or bear a grudge from one who insulted him. Not only this, but he should even help the one who spoke out against him. For we see that Moshe Rabbeinu of blessed memory not only was not unnerved at the words Miriam, his sister, threw out against him, but he helped her as much as he could through prayer.  (Click here for Hebrew text.)
 The Ralbag learns from the fact that Moshe Rabbeinu was unphased by the lashon hara Miriam spoke against him, that any person should be unphased by insults or words said against him or her. It would seem that even though someone said some harsh words against the other, which was most likely uncalled for, and a sin to be spoken, the one spoken about has the ability to, and should try to, stay quiet, and be totally unaffected about what was said about him or her. Yet only one who has perfected his or her qualities can not only be unphased and stay quiet but can proactively help the one who insulted them, in their time of need. We see how severe of an impact an insult has on a person, that even if unphased and quiet about the situation, a normal person still cannot come to help the one who insulted him or her, even in their time of need.

But what if a person can’t forgive and move on; what if inside of them they still feel insulted; does that mean they should suppress their feelings? 
The answer is no, suppressing one’s feelings is very unhealthy and is prohibited under the prohibition of “Don’t hate your brother in your heart, you shall surely rebuke him, and not carry upon him a sin” (Vayikra 19:17). The Ralbag in his commentary on this pasuk says that if a person does something against you (or Hashem), you should rebuke him, in order to direct him back onto the right back path. The point of the rebuke is that if he did anything against you, maybe he will fix the wrong he did or be afraid to do anything bad to you again. One just has to make sure that the rebuke is done in a way that it serves its purpose, (this is the hard part). Giving rebuke in a private fashion with words that will stir him to change his ways, not harshly and in front of others. As the Torah concludes, rebuking should not be done in a way that it will be a sin on the rebuker for embarrassing your fellow.  (Click here for Hebrew text.) The Ohr Hachaim shares a beautiful lesson on this pasuk along the same vein. He says “You shall not hate your brother etc.” This means that if your fellow Jew does something to you that will cause you to hate him, don’t hate him in your heart, rather you should speak to him about what he did… and what it means, “you shall not carry upon him a sin,” that is, you should not conclude in your mind that what occurred from your brother was done wickedly, and he unlamentally stands by his sin, without any remorse. Rather, you should judge him favorably and rebuke him, and through the rebuke one of two things will happen. Either he will give a valid excuse for what he did and did not really sin, or he will regret what he did and repent, never wanting to do it again, and then he will be like a friend or brother to you. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
  We see from here that if a person can’t honestly let go of what someone else did to them then the right thing to do is to go over to them and speak it out. In this way, if done correctly you can fix the situation or see that the situation isn’t as dire as it looked at first glance, but one certainly shouldn’t suppress his or her feelings which will just build hatred in one’s heart.

Lastly, one might think you can never say no, and are always required to help others. That is what kindness is all about! However, the Ralbag on the next pasuk (Vayikra 19:18) says “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This means you shall love him like your own body. For this reason, one should choose for him whatever good is possible to give him, and keep distance damages from your friend, just as you would for yourself. Indeed, this mitzvah is fashioned in such a way that it should not damage (or hurt) the lover, for because of this love one isn’t required to take off from his own job in order to get his friends job done for him, because love for yourself comes before love of your friend…

Every person in the world is different, some are naturally “forgive and forget” individuals, some work hard, learning mussar, and perfecting their character traits so that an insult will genuinely not make a tangible impact on him or her, yet others do feel the pain and are expected to not hold it in and suppress it but rather do something about it to constructively resolve the issues. Whichever category one falls into we see that Hashem understands we are frail human beings, who for the most part are not perfect, but can still do a lot of good and should have the patience and humility to deal with these rough situations.

Hashem expects each and every one of us to know ourselves, know what our strengths and weaknesses are, what we can and cannot do, but act accordingly to not hurt ourselves as well as not to ensue conflict with others.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

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Bihaaloscha – Really Feeling Someone Else’s Pain 


At the end of this week’s Torah portion of B’haaloscha Miriam spoke lashon hara (slander), on some level, about Moshe to Aharon. 
The last chapter of the medrish, Pirkei diRebbe Eliezer (54) discusses this episode. “The 8th (9th) descent is when Hashem descended upon the Tent of Meeting as it says, ‘And Hashem descended in a pillar of cloud and He stood at the entrance of the tent and He called for Aharon and Miriam, and they both came out.’ Hashem said to him, whoever slanders his friend in secret has no way to heal, all the more so his brother who is the son of his father and mother. Hashem was angry at them and removed Himself from on top of the tent as it says, ‘Hashem was infuriated at them.’ He left and immediately Miriam received spiritual leprosy (tzaraas). Hashem said, if Aharon would also be a spiritual leper (metzora), a high priest with a blemish, may not bring an offering onto the alter, rather he will look at his sister and will feel pained as it says, ‘And Aharon turned towards Miriam.’ Aharon then went to Moshe, said to him, ‘ My master Moshe, siblings only are separated by death… our sister, while she is still alive has been separated from us as if she is dead. Moshe appeased him with kind words and prayed for her as it says, ‘And Moshe screamed out to Hashem saying, G-D please heal her please.'” The Be’ur Maspik adds that the gemara in Shabbos 96a points out that though it sounds like from the pasuk “Hashem was infuriated at both of them” which sounds like they both got spiritual leprosy, yet the gemara qualifies that just Hashem’s wrath was upon both of them. The Maharz”u adds more insight into this medrish, clarifying, that when Aharon saw his sister and was pained, in this way he accepted his punishment for his sin with his pain. This was also the means he atoned for his sin, in the fact that he partnered in her pain.
 It is implicit from the medrish and gemara that Miriam and Aharon deserved equal punishment, and in fact received equal punishment. But for Aharon Kohen Gadol, Hashem wasn’t willing to actually make Aharon a leper because he had to serve in the Mishkan, and a kohen with a blemish may not serve in the Mishkan. So, alternatively, he saw what happened to Miriam and was greatly pained upon seeing the state she was in.

But how is this equal to the punishment Miriam received? Chaza”l say that leprosy is physically quite painful, and the embarrassment Miriam must have felt must have been tremendous. So how does Aharon’s feeling bad for Miriam compare or equate to the pain Miriam was in?

 It must be that when Aharon internalized the state his beloved sister was in and why it had happened, the tzadik that he was, as well as running after peace, caring for every individual in the Jewish Nation, all the more so for his own sister,someone of that sensitivity level has the ability to actually feel the pain a spiritual leper is feeling, as if he himself has that same pain. For that reason the Torah likened that Miriam and Aharon were equally punished.

We see from here the awesome ability and to what extent a person can relate to his fellow. This takes on a whole new meaning to imagining being in his shoes. In fact, it would seem that one can actually be in the other’s shoes!  

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Bihaaloscha – Artists and Kings

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.

One of our fundamental beliefs of trust in Hashem is that we are expected to go through the motions of putting in our proper effort, but Hashem ultimately produces the results. This cannot be more evidently expressed than by the making of the menorah which is discussed in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion of Bihaaloscha. “Now this is how the menorah was made: it was hammered work of gold, hammered from base to petal. According to the pattern that Hashem had shown Moshe, so was the menorah made” (Bamidbar 9:4).

The Medrish Rabba relates in the name of Levi the son of Rebbe [Yehuda Hanasi] “…that a pure menorah came down from Heaven. For Hashem said to Moshe, ‘And you shall make a menorah out of pure gold’ (Shemos 25:31). [Moshe] asked, how do we make it? [Hashem] responded, you shall make it hammered [out of one piece]. Nevertheless, it was difficult for Moshe and he went down, and he forgot how to make it. He went up and said, my Master how do I make it? [Hashem] responded, you shall make it hammered [out of one piece]. Nevertheless, it was difficult for Moshe and he came back down, and he forgot. He went back up and said, my Master I forgot it. [Hashem] showed [the menorah] to Moshe and still it was too difficult for him. [Hashem] said to [Moshe], see and do, and He showed him a menorah made out of fire and showed him how it was made. Nevertheless, it was too difficult for Moshe. Hashem said to him, go to Betzalel and he will make it. [Moshe] told Betzalel and he immediately made it. [Moshe] started wondering why he was shown many times how to make it and he still couldn’t figure it out but Betzalel who never saw how to make it, still made it out of his own knowledge. [Moshe answered himself] that Betzalel was standing in the “shade of G-D” when Hashem showed me how to make it. Therefore, when the Holy Temple was destroyed, they hid the menorah. This was one of the  five things hidden, (a) the ark, (b) the menorah, (c) the fire [that came down from Heaven to lick up what was sacrificed on the alter], (d) Divine Providence (i.e. prophecy), (e.) and the keruvim [that were on top of the ark.] And when Hashem will return in His mercy and rebuild the Beis Hamikdash with its sanctuary, He will bring them back to their place in order to rejoice in Yerushalayim as it says, ‘Desert and wasteland shall rejoice over them, and the plain shall rejoice and shall blossom like a rose. It shall blossom and rejoice’ (Yeshayahu 35:1, 2).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The Rada”l perceptively points out that the reason it was difficult for Moshe to make it was in order to hint to us that even complete preparation from any person to place a place where one can instate upon it The Light of Heaven is not within the power of a complete person to perform by himself, as it says, if not for Hashem helping him etc. and this is why it was made by Betzalel who was given Divine intellect from on high to do all the work and not from his heart.
The Rada”l is clearly stating that Hashem purposefully had Moshe put in all his effort for naught and then Betzalel easily made the menorah in order to send the message that while it is worthwhile to try, which Moshe did and did not easily give up, however Hashem is the one that produces the results, especially when it comes to holy spiritual matters like building the menorah. Also, to clearly prove the point that only Hashem produces the results, He had Betzalel, who was not directly shown how to make the menorah, orchestrate making it.

The Maharz”u seems to have a different understanding of why Betzalel was able to make the menorah so easily but Moshe had a lot of difficulty. However, when scrutinizing this commentary one will see it is really the same theme as the Rada”l. The Maharz”u is very much bothered by  why Betzalel was referred to as standing in the “shade of G-D,” for in fact Moshe was in the “shade of G-D” on the mountain with Hashem and still didn’t know; so how did Betzalel know? Is it possible that he was more in the “shade of G-D” than Moshe who got closer than anyone else on the mountain? The Maharz”u answers that maybe when it says that Betzalel was in the “shade of G-D” it hints to a quality on a level in the matter of working on making the utensils of the mishkan. Betzalel had something more than Moshe had, for he was an artist (or architect) and it’s important to have in mind that Moshe was the king and he did not do anything by himself; rather all actions were done upon his command and direction. This was clearly indicated by all the work that Betzalel and the sages did, and also by the menorah. Nevertheless, the credit went to Moshe for building the mishkan, its utensils, including the menorah, as it says, “And the mishkan of Hashem that Moshe made in the desert.”
Moshe had reached the 49th level of wisdom, one notch below the perfection of all wisdom. He was certainly physically fit enough to make anything, for he assembled the mishkan all by himself, and he even knew how to do hands-on work, because he used to help his fellow Jews in the slave pits of Egypt to lighten their burden. Even though now he is king and almost all the jobs are done for him, it does not seem from the medrish that it was beneath his dignity to make the menorah; on the contrary he tried and failed four time! So, with all his knowledge and worldly experience, why did he fail?

The Maharz”u says it was because he was not an artist like Betzalel and he had plenty of responsibilities because he was the king and he would not have the time to figure out how to be an artist or architect. For Betzalel, it was natural and easy for him to make the menorah because Hashem gave him that artistic gift, to be good at working with his hands;, that was his purpose in life; he used it to the best of his ability. Moshe’s purpose was to be king, the authority over everyone else; so as much as he tried, he just didn’t have the feel of how to make the menorah since he wasn’t naturally an artist or architect. No matter how much wisdom and intellect Hashem granted Moshe He still didn’t give him the knack to sculpt things. Being artistic and handy just wasn’t Moshe’s purpose in life, so Hashem didn’t grant him that ability.

Moshe thought that with all his wisdom he might be able to figure it out since Hashem did command him to make it. So he put in all his efforts to try and not give up so easily, but it was not with in his natural talents to accomplish making the menorah. So ultimately, Moshe had to give it over to Betzalel and direct him to make the menorah since Hashem did grant Betzalel the talents to make it.

This too shows that we put in the efforts but ultimately Hashem causes the results to happen.

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Biha’aloscha – The Negative Effect Physical Desires for Food Have on Faith

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.

There are two episodes in the Torah which seem to mirror each other but had vastly different outcomes. In this week’s Torah portion Biha’aloscha the Jews complained that they were not given meat to eat which they desired, as the Torah states, “But the multitude among them began to have strong cravings. Then even the Children of Israel once again began to cry, and they said, ‘Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge, the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now, our bodies are dried out, for there is nothing at all; we have nothing but manna to look at’” (Bamidbar 11:4-6).  Hashem responded, “And to the people, you shall say, ‘Prepare yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat, because you have cried in the ears of the Lord saying, ‘Who will feed us meat, for we had it better in Egypt.’ [Therefore,] the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat it not one day, not two days, not five days, not ten days, and not twenty days. But even for a full month until it comes out your nose and nauseates you. Because you have despised the Lord Who is among you, and you cried before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt’” (11:18-20)? In the end, “The people rose up all that day and all night and the next day and gathered the quails. [Even] the one who gathered the least collected ten heaps. They spread them around the camp in piles. The meat was still between their teeth; it was not yet finished, and the anger of the Lord flared against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very mighty blow” (11:32, 33). The Jewish people were in the desert for a couple of years at that point, and were on the way to Israel to possess their Promise Land, before they sent the spies. They had been eating nourishing manna all this time, yet the Ralbag in this week’s Torah portion says that they didn’t lust for something they required, they were simply running after their desires, since the manna was technically enough for them. But there was a group of lowlifes that left with the Jews out of Egypt who had convinced many of the Jews to cry and say that they very much desired that Hashem give them meat to eat, and even though they had a surplus of cattle, as it says, “And also, a great mixed multitude went up with them, and flocks and cattle, very much livestock” (Shemos 12:38), yet they wanted to find some excuse to have Hashem give them meat.

In a similar vein, right after the Jewish people witnessed all the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the sea, when their belief and trust in Hashem reached such a peak that Hashem testified, “so said the Lord: I remember to you the loving kindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following Me in the desert, in a land not sown” (Yirmiyahu 2:2), an expression of endearment for the Jewish people following blindly Hashem out of Egypt into a barren desert. Yet the Torah relates, “The entire community of the children of Israel complained against Moses and against Aaron in the desert. The children of Israel said to them, If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread to our fill! For you have brought us out into this desert, to starve this entire congregation to death…And Moses said, When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and bread in the morning [with which] to become sated, when the Lord hears your complaints, which you are making [the people] complain against Him, but [of] what [significance] are we? Not against us are your complaints, but against the Lord… And Moses said to Aaron, Say to the entire community of the children of Israel, Draw near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.…It came to pass in the evening that the quails went up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. The layer of dew went up, and behold, on the surface of the desert, a fine, bare [substance] as fine as frost on the ground” (Shemos 16:2-3, 8-9, 13-14). They just left Egypt with such wonderous miracles as eating from fruit trees miraculously grown and producing succulent fruit as they were walking through dryland in the splitting of the Red Sea, as well as drinking fresh water from the walls of salty seawater on either side of them, plus much sheep and cattle which left with them out of Egypt. Yet when they got to the desert of Cin their physical desire of hunger caused them to complain to Hashem. Yet at that point Hashem listened to them but did not punish them; on the contrary, he began giving them manna and quail.

What was the difference between these two episodes? Both times it would seem that the Jewish people were at such great height of belief and trust in Hashem that they should have trusted in Hashem to feed them at first, and later what Hashem had been feeding them; yet they complained that they wanted to go back to Egypt, as the Ralbag in the Torah portion of Bishalach says, since meat was found there in plenty. Both times Hashem listened to their complaints and gave them what they wanted. But the second time they were punished, and many died; what changed?
The Ralbag in his Toaliyos learns a very important lesson from here in this week’s portion, “this is to inform us that it is not befitting of a person to run after his physical desires, for we see what happened to those who ran after their desires and many of them died. However, the Almighty Hashem wanted to fulfill their request to show the nation that the hand of Hashem is not shorthanded so that they will strengthen their faith in the Almighty Hashem. He showed them the He brought for them such an abundance of meat to last a month, for even the least amount a person gathered was ten laden donkeys full. Now, behold The Almighty Hashem did not punish when they asked for meat and bread in the Desert of Cin because then they did not have manna and it was appropriate for them to ask for bread and sustenance. However, now, when they had manna the problem was, they were running after their physical desires or their intent was to test The Almighty Hashem if he can give them meat in such abundance.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We first learn from here that one’s physical desires, at the very least for food, can cause someone, even at such lofty levels of belief and trust in Hashem, to question their faith.
We also see how two episodes, which at first glance look exactly the same, can have drastically different results. For in the first case in Bishalach, all they wanted was a much-needed well-balanced diet, which Hashem patiently provided when they asked for it, though they did so in the form of a complaint. But in this week’s portion of Biha’aloscha their complaints stemmed from running after a desire that they wanted but did not need. Therefore, even though Hashem did fulfill their request, just to teach them a lesson in strengthening their faith, it came with deadly consequences.

It is very important to get to the root of an issue and to see the subtle differences before concluding that two things might look the same.

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Biha’aloscha – Competition

Towards the end of this week’s Torah portion of Biha’aloscha we have the mysterious episode of Eldad and Meidad. Why was there such a reaction from Yehoshua? Did they do anything wrong? The Medrish Tanchuma sheds light on this episode in the desert and it will also clarify an issue I have had for many years, of what is the similarity between jealousy and zealotry, which both have the same Hebrew word, kinah.
This episode took place within the first two years of the Jews’ freedom from Egypt, before the episode of the spies, right after Yisro gave the advice to Moshe to delegate his responsibilities among many courts, shortly after Yisro had left. Hashem told Moshe to gather 70 elders who would help him with taking care of the needs of the people.  The Medrish Tanchuma begins with deliberation on how to choose the elders. There was going to be lots drawn, but each tribe was to be equally represented, and 6 multiplied by 12 is 72, not 70. The Medrish Tanchuma writes: “So what did they do? Rebbe Nechemia said this is what Moshe did. He took 72 tickets, wrote the word ‘elder’ on 70 of them and two of them were left blank. They were mixed up and thrown into a ‘hat’ and he told [each one of the candidates] come and pick your ticket. If it says ‘elder’ on it you know you were chosen and if it is blank then you know you were not chosen. [There was actually someone appointed over the drawing to pick out each ticket. He would then read the ticket and give it to the next person in line.] The appointee would say [to the one standing before him,] ‘Here is one ticket which says ‘elder’ because you are befitting to be picked that is why you received this.’ In this way all the elders were appointed. Eldad and Meidad were there and they excluded themselves. They said ‘we are not worthy to be appointed as elders.’ And for excluding themselves they were given five qualities over the elders. The elders only prophesied the next day as it says ‘And to the nation you shall say you will sanctify them the next day.’ But they prophesied about what will happen at the end of forty years, as it says “And there were left two men etc.” What was their prophesy about? Some say it was about the downfall of Gog. Others say they prophesized and said that Moshe will die in the desert and Yehoshua will bring the Jews into the land. Proof that this was what they prophesized about, for this is what Yehoshua said to Moshe. ‘Yehoshua bin Nun, the servant of Moshe…’ and it writes ‘The youth ran and told Moshe…’ Who was this? Gershom ben Moshe, (Parenthetically on a historical note, the Etz Yosef points out that “the youth” must be referring to someone well known and not some random kid so it must be Gershom, Moshe’s firstborn son, because Eliezer was born on the way back to Egypt after the burning bush so he would only be 3 or 4 at the time of this episode. Also from the fact that Gershom is delivering the news must be that the prophesy was about Moshe’s death.) The elders did not enter the land but Eldad and Meidad did. Eldad is Elidad ben Kislon and Meidad is Kamiel ben Shiftan. We don’t know the elders’ names but we know their names. The elders’ prophecy was temporary for it stemmed from Moshe, as it says that Hashem told Moshe, ‘And I will delegate some of the spirit that is upon you and I will place it on them.’ But these two had prophesy [directly] from Hashem, as it says, ‘And the spirit rested upon them.’ One shouldn’t be mistaken to think that since the elders’ prophesy stemmed from Moshe then he was lacking a bit, for it can be comparable to a candle that was lit and many other candles were lit from it but the flame is not diminished in any way, so to Moshe, even though the prophesy of the 70 elders came from him he wasn’t lacking at all in his level of prophesy as it says, ‘There was no one that ever got up again like Moshe with in the Jewish people’ (Devarim 34:10).” (Click here and here for Hebrew text)
In summary, the Etz Yosef surmises that Eldad and Meidad were better off than the elders in five ways: (1) They prophesied about the future. (2) They entered the Land of Israel. (3) Their names were identified.  (4) There prophesizing did not stop. (5) There prophesy was directly from Hashem.

In explaining Yehoshua bin Nun’s concern and Moshe’s response, the Etz Yosef says that the elders only delegated prophesy from Moshe in order to work with him in taking care of the burdens of the nation. So Yehoshua didn’t have any kinah (jealousy or zealotry) for Moshe’s sake, since the prophesy was delegated from Moshe’s spirit and that is why their prophesy was temporary. But by Eldad and Meidad it writes: “that it rested on them,” the spirit from Hashem Himself. We know this since it does not write: “his spirit rested on them;” therefore it must be that they merited to have prophesy just like Moshe, straight from Hashem. About this very matter Yehoshua was jealous (or zealous) of them (for Moshe), for making themselves like Moshe. Moshe answered Yehoshua: “Why are you jealous (zealous) for me? Am I jealous of you? [Of course not] because you are my student… and who cares if all the nation of Hashem are prophets like me to go around and prophesize like Eldad and Meidad that Hashem chose to rest His spirit among them and not my spirit, to make them as important as me? I am not jealous of them because every one of them are my students and no one is jealous of their students!”

We see from this medrish that Eldad and Meidad were in fact very righteous people who emulated their teacher, Moshe, in the attribute of humility and merited to receive prophecy straight from Hashem instead of it being delegated through Moshe. It seems apparent that the kinah discussed in the Etz Yosef is not zeal but rather jealousy as inferred from Moshe’s response to Yehoshua of why Yehoshua should not have kinah on behalf of Moshe. This is because there is no reason for it because Moshe himself did not feel it since there is a psychological rule that teachers don’t feel jealousy towards their students. (Unless one can say that Yehoshua was being zealous for Moshe and Moshe is saying I have no jealousy of Eldad and Meidad because they are my students). In any event, we have to ask ourselves: what is jealousy and what is zeal?

Normally we think of jealousy as desiring something that someone else has. But in this case it is clearly not so, for Eldad and Meidad had the same type of prophesy as Moshe did, directly from Hashem, and Moshe even had a higher level of prophesy, face to face; so why is this jealousy? It would even seem that if not for the fact that they were his students Moshe would have felt kinah against them, albeit on his high level of humility, and the feeling would have been very miniscule. So what is this jealousy?
It must be that part of the attribute of kinah is competition and it might even be the underlying reason of kinah as we will see in the Orchos Tzadikim. In this way we will also see a commonality between jealousy and zeal.

In excerpts of Orchos Tzadikim in the Gate of Envy it writes: “Envy is a branch of anger, and no man escapes from it completely. For we see that among men each one tries to keep-up with one’s neighbor. For when he sees that his neighbor acquires food or clothes, or a home or amasses money, then he too endeavors to attain the same, thinking, “My fellow has all this; I must also have it.” And concerning this matter, Solomon hinted: “Again, I considered all labour and all excelling in work, that it is a man’s rivalry with his neighbor” (Eccl. 4:4)… Envy is the result of a feeling of inferiority. If one envies another’s beauty, strength or wealth, then he is unhappy with what the Creator, blessed be He, has decreed for him. This is similar to a servant who complains concerning the deeds of his master, and is not pleased with his master’s matters. Such a one is not a faithful servant. All the more so, ought he not to complain against the Creator, may He be Blessed, for all His deeds are righteous and proper, and one ought never to dispute them… Even though jealousy is a very bad quality, there are instances where it can be a very good quality and, in fact, it can be a most noble quality, — when one envies those who revere God, as it is said : “Let not thy heart envy sinners, but those that fear the Lord all the day…” (Prov. 23:17). And in the same way our Sages said : “that the jealousy of wise men increases wisdom” (Baba Bathra 21a)… The Holy One, Blessed be He, said : “Be jealous for My sake, were it not for envy, the world would not stand. A man would not plant a vineyard, marry a wife or build a house (Shoher Tob 37a)… One ought to be zealous against sinners and the wicked, to strife with them and to rebuke them. As our Sages said : “A man who cohabitates with a heathen woman, the zealous ones should smite him” (Sanhedrin 81b). Moses was jealous of the Egyptian, as it is said, “And he smote the Egyptian” (Exod. 2:12). And so we find in the case of Elijah, when he said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant” (I Kings 19:10). And so is it said, “In that he was very jealous for My sake among them” (Num. 25:11), and the Lord, may He be Blessed, gave him his reward for this as it is said: “Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace!” (Num. 25:12).  (Click here for Sefaria’s translation in its totality.)
In summary, the Orchos Tzadikim says the trait of jealousy, or envy, is a natural innate trait that everyone has and it is needed for the world to exist. However, if one gets carried away with being jealous of what others have, it can be very, very bad. He also discusses cases of zealotry like that of Pinchas, or the incident where Moshe killed an Egyptian to save a poor Jewish slave.  The Alay Orech, a commentary on the Orchos Tzadikim, points out that this type of kinah does not stem from strife or, G-D forbid, a bad attribute. Rather, zealotry stems from the perfection of man and his desire to make peace between the Jews and their Father In Heaven.  It would seem that jealousy and zealotry are two totally different  attributes, but are both called the same thing in Hebrew, kinah, and are both discussed in the same chapter of envy in Orchos Tzadikim. So how are they under the same umbrella?

Based on this Medrish Tanchuma and Etz Yosef we can say that all types of kinah boil down to competition. It doesn’t make a difference if someone has something you don’t have, or they have the same thing as you, or even similar to you, or whether it’s competing for the good of mankind, who will win good or evil, and being zealous to wipe out the evil. For good or for bad competition is the underlying impetus of all kinah.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder