Miriam

[Jayhawker Soule]

For many U.S. synagogues last Shabbat's Torah portion was Beha’alotcha which includes the following verse [from Sefaria]:

Numbers 12:1; Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cu****e woman he had taken [into his household as his wife]: “He took a Cu****e woman!”​

​

As I started reviewing some of the commentary found in TheTorah: Miriam, I was struck by the following articles:

1. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: Were They Siblings?
2. Will the Real Miriam Please Stand Up?
3. Pre-Biblical Aaron, Miriam, and Moses

I found them to be intriguing.

Returning to Num. 12:1, the verse often provokes discussion about whether or not Miriam was being racist. I rather appreciate the view expressed by Prof. David Goldenberg who concludes:

The complaint against Moses by Miriam and Aaron, then, has nothing to do with the Ku****e’s skin color. The point, rather, is that the woman is not an Israelite. In having God punish Miriam for arguing against the marriage, this text implicitly acknowledges the acceptability of foreign marriage. [source]​

Enjoy.

 

[rosends]

One standard rabbinic understanding is that it has nothing to do with race.
Rashi writes, "This tells us that all agreed as to her beauty just as all agree as to the blackness of an Aethopian" (citing this medrash) and then continues, "כושית — The numerical value of this word (736) is the same as that of יפת מראה, a woman of beautiful appearance."

 

[Brickjectivity]

Of the three articles I like #2 best. It summarizes two different views and touches most of the points covered in the other two articles. It brings up the idea, too, that there could be lost information about Miriam.

Another article brings up some possibly missing text that appears in a Qumran scroll: More about Miriam the Prophetess - TheTorah.com

 

[dybmh]

Another article brings up some possibly missing text that appears in a Qumran scroll: More about Miriam the Prophetess - TheTorah.com

From the article:

"Thus, it should not be viewed as a simple remake of the biblical passage, but a later composition partially based on... "

This seems to me to be the consistent pattern of what is found in those caves. They were a creative group of people. Or perhaps they collected other people's creations and protected them.

 

[Brickjectivity]

From the article:

"Thus, it should not be viewed as a simple remake of the biblical passage, but a later composition partially based on... "

This seems to me to be the consistent pattern of what is found in those caves. They were a creative group of people. Or perhaps they collected other people's creations and protected them.

Oh good point.