Rabbi's Blog

As a proud United States citizen, I take my civil liberties seriously. Liberty and freedom bring with it responsibility, and one of the most important of these is being called to the halls of justice to serve as a juror to judge our peers. A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of facts, which then direct the actions of a judge. It is distinguished from a bench trial at which a judge or a panel of judges makes all decisions. I have been summoned to appear for jury duty many times, but only once have I actually been selected to serve on a jury, only to be dismissed by the judge. This took place in Superior Court which is the State of California system of ‘One-Day or One-Trial Jury Service’, a statewide policy designed to improve jury service in California. This time I was called for Federal Jury Duty which retains the juror for a full month. You can be called on the very last day and may still serve as a juror for a few weeks. 

I would prefer to be called in and either serve as a juror or be dismissed. For me, this was the worst of scenarios: calling in every day just to be told don’t come in today, but call tomorrow. This locked me down for the entire month of May. In the world at large there are some countries which use the jury system while others use a panel of judges. In this week’s parsha we see clearly that the system preferred by Hashem is ruling through the courts of the Beit Din. 

Besides the jury there are lawyers and judges. We know that Moshe’s ultimatum to erase his own name from the Torah was a great defense for the Jewish people’s sin of the golden calf. Moshe wasn’t only a good lawyer; he was also the head judge for the Jewish people. It is in Parshas B’Haaloscha that Moshe forms the first Sanhedrin, the seventy member body which judged the greatest cases of the people. These seventy men were of great distinction and were, in essence, the next in line of greatness to Moshe, Aharon, Nadav and Avihu. In this week’s Parsha, B’Haaloscha, Moshe is overwhelmed by the Jewish people incessantly complaining about the kiddush, I mean the food. In Bamidbar 11:16 the Torah states: “Vayomer Hashem El Moshe Esfa Li Shivim Ish Miziknei Yisrael Asher Yadata, Ki Heim Ziknei Ha’AmV’Shotrav, Vilakachta osam El Ohel Moed Vhisyatzvu Sham Imach”. “Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and its officers. Take them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you’. Moshe is now able to take on the most difficult cases while the Sanhedrin, the seventy elders, dealt with the people on a more day-to-day basis. There is another great lawyer in the family who was able to convince the judges to act in defense of the guilty, Aharon. 

At the conclusion of the parsha, we read about Miriam and Aharon speaking Lashon Hara against their brother, Moshe. As a result, Miriam develops Tzoraas/leprosy for being the talebearer. God comes to the defense of Moshe and sternly explains to Miriam and Aharon that Moshe is greater than they and therefore Moshe should act in a way that may have appeared to be above them. Hashem was angry at them and as a result removed Himself from the scene, leaving the siblings to handle their family situation. Aharon then spoke to Moshe and says in 12:11-13: “I beg you my lord, do not cast a sin upon us, for we have been foolish and we have sinned. Let her not be like a corpse, because of its emerging from its mother’s womb has half its flesh consumed!” At that point Moshe prays on behalf of his sister that her Tzoraas should disappear. I wonder… what were those words that Aharon spoke in defense of Miriam to the Judge Moshe to move him to commute her sentence? 

When Aharon says “let her not be like a corpse,”the reference is to a Rashi which explains that someone who has Tzoraas is considered as though he is dead. He becomes isolated with his tumaah - like a corpse. Furthermore, Aharon chooses his words delicately and effectively, defending Miriam with a reminder to Moshe of Miriam’s merits when she was delivering the Jewish babies in Egypt. She had a nickname of ‘Puah’. She would mouth “pu pu” to the babies as they were being born to keep them from crying, as babies usually do when they come out of the womb. Through her efforts she saved Jewish children from certain death. The Egyptians listened for that newborn cry, but they didn’t hear it because of Miriam’s soothing words. Aharon now claims that Miriam’s actions saved the children and should therefore stand as a Zchus - a merit in her defense - for the Loshan Hara she spoke against Moshe. Aharon especially stressed that Moshe should have Hakaras Hatov to his sister for saving his (Moshe’s) life and watching over him from a distance when he, Moshe, was placed in a basket in the Nile River. Moshe himself was not killed in his infancy only because Miriam saved him. Even if Miriam did not have enough merits, Aharon includes the merits of their mother Yocheved, the other nurse, for helping the Jewish women give birth. Yocheved’s nickname was Shifra, she was Mishaperes, which translates from the Hebrew as ‘made the babies look beautiful’, because she made the babies better when they emerged covered with blood from their birth. Both Miriam and Yocheved davened for the well-being of every baby. The Midrash Rabba explains that Miriam and Yocheved supplied mother and child with food and sustained them and kept them alive in spite of extreme danger. With this evidence and closing statement, Aharon convinces Moshe that Midda Kneged Midda - measure for measure -Miriam has merits which support that she should not be left as a ‘Meis’, a corpse. To the contrary she is deserving of a full recovery, and we read that Moshe acquiesces immediately. 

We are always playing the defense, prosecutor, judge and jury. As good Jewish lawyers and judges, we should always look for the merits of individuals to counter the sins they may have committed. Lifting up a light and lighting the candles should be emphasized so as to to light up the good merits of people so that we can more clearly see the good they have done and not just focus on viewing their sins. 

Ah Gut Shabbos 

Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky