{"id":46859,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:15","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-129\/"},"modified":"2022-08-03T08:26:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T05:26:54","slug":"wall-129","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-129\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Numbers-12"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"129","date":"20260225","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"47131","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Numbers 12 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Numbers 12 - Judy Hammond","slug":"numbers-12-judy-hammond","old_id":"47131","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Numbers 12","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/numbers-chapter-12-read-by-judy-hammond","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"106911","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Complex Character Of Miriam ","post_title":"The Complex Character Of Miriam","slug":"the-complex-character-of-miriam","old_id":"106911","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":101758,"post_title":"Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam","slug":"naomi-bromberg-bar-yam","old_id":"101758","first_name":"Naomi ","last_name":"Bromberg Bar-Yam ","description":"Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam is a social worker and advocate in maternal and child health. 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In Torah, we meet Miriam four times: In Exodus 2 she follows her infant brother on the banks of the Nile looking after his welfare; Exodus 15:20, after experiencing God\u2019s \u201coutstretched hand\u201d at the Reed Sea, Miriam leads the women in dance and celebration; Numbers 12, she speaks with Aaron against their brother Moses; Numbers 20:1 Miriam dies. Moses invokes her name and experience of our chapter again after her death in Deuteronomy 24:9.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who was Miriam, how did she serve her people? Miriam worked quietly in the background and she knew when to make herself heard publicly. Also, she and her brothers formed a successful team in bringing B\u2019nai Israel from slavery to freedom and peoplehood. That is a topic for another day - Numbers 20, to be specific.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our first introduction to Miriam (Exodus 2), she is nameless, purposefully in the background, keeping a protective watch over her baby brother, and coming forward boldly when action was called for to find a wetnurse, their mother, for Pharaoh\u2019s daughter, who found the Hebrew baby.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Exodus 15:20, after crossing the Reed Sea, we meet Miriam by name and status, prophetess and brother of Aaron. After the men\u2019s joyous celebration, she led the women in song and dance, communicating in her actions that the women were also part of this miracle and were also moved to make public their thanks. Once again, Miriam stood purposefully in the background (ready with her timbrel) until it was time to act.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Miriam next appears in our chapter, Numbers 12, speaking with her brother Aaron, slighting their brother Moses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God chastised and punished both siblings, Miriam with <\/span>tzara\u2019at<\/span><\/i>, a visible, public disease requiring separation from the community she harmed by her act. Aaron, the passive participant, was forced to watch, as his sister suffered a disease he must diagnose and treat by sending her out of the camp. During her weeklong exile, the people waited for her. As Miriam stood purposefully in the background ready to act when needed, so the people waited while she was literally in the background, their waiting an action in itself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The text records this moment of Miriam's shame and humiliation and the people's honor of her. Gossip can sabotage the very community harmony Miriam and her brothers were working to achieve. Often whispered between friends, or in this case siblings, it takes on a life of its own, becomes public and is impossible to reverse completely. Such talk blurs the boundary of background and public actions that characterize Miriam\u2019s contribution to her people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We humans are not perfect, nor are we expected to be so. Miriam\u2019s merits far outweighed her flaws. In her life, Miriam\u2019s actions, in public and in the background, right and wrong can teach us how and when to act to create a strong community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why were Aaron and Miriam gossiping about Moses\u2019s wife?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had taken [into his household as his wife]: \u201cHe took a Cushite woman!\u201d (verse 1).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why were Aaron and Miriam gossiping about Moses\u2019s wife? Rashi explains that the word Cushite does not mean that Moses married someone from Cush, which is translated as Ethiopia. The numerical value of the word is the same as beauty and it means that everyone agreed that she was beautiful. They were gossiping about Moses having <\/span>divorced <\/span><\/i>his beautiful wife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi\u2019s interpretation is motivated by the fact that the only wife we know about is Zipporah and she is a Midianite woman, not an Ethiopian. Rashi does not explain why the Torah did not say outright that she was beautiful. Ibn Ezra takes a completely opposite approach. He explains that she is called a Cushite because she had a dark complexion similar to an Ethiopian. Their complaint was not that Moses divorced a beautiful woman, but they believed that Moses divorced her because she was not beautiful, because she was foreign.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ibn Ezra and Rashi's interpretations seem flawed because the Torah does not mention a divorce. The Midrash explains that they knew Moses had separated from his wife because of the previous story of the 70 elders. When the 70 men began to prophesy, Moses\u2019s wife told Miriam that she felt bad for their wives because their husbands will no longer be with them. This is why God tells Aaron and Miriam that he speaks to other prophets in a dream but Moses is a \u201cmember of his household.\u201d The idea is that God could appear to Moses at any moment, so he needed to be constantly ready for God. This necessitated him to separate from his wife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps a connection could be to another story in a previous chapter- Yitro leaving. Yitro only arrived with Zipporah and Moses\u2019 children around the time of the giving of the Torah. When Yitro refused to continue on with the Israelites, maybe he returned to Midian with his daughter. The gossip may have been that Moses chose a wife who was not able to fully be by his side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God\u2019s anger at Aaron and Miriam may also have to do with their lack of sympathy. Moses needed to be fully ready for God at any time. This meant he was not able to lead a \u201cnormal\u201d lifestyle. Instead of supporting their brother with this hardship, Miriam and Aaron chose to gossip about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":106916,"alt":"","title":"-62e8dad1adcc2--62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png.png","width":1280,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Gossip Girl (And Boy)","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why were Aaron and Miriam gossiping about Moses\u2019s wife?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":106916,"alt":"","title":"-62e8dad1adcc2--62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png.png","width":1280,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/08\/62e8dad1adcc2-62e8dad1adcc3num12-gossip.png-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"620","name":"Aaron","old_id":"1020"},{"term_id":"640","name":"Miriam","old_id":"1040"},{"term_id":"805","name":"Gossip","old_id":"1205"}]},{"order":4,"id":"47156","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Miriam, Quarantined ","post_title":"Miriam, Quarantined","slug":"miriam-quarantined","old_id":"47156","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":45274,"post_title":"Erika Dreifus","slug":"erika-dreifus","old_id":"45274","first_name":"Erika ","last_name":"Dreifus ","description":"Erika Dreifus, a Fellow in the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute, is the author of Birthright: Poems (Kelsay Books, 2019) and Quiet Americans: Stories (2011). Please visit Erika online at www.ErikaDreifus.com and follow her on Twitter @ErikaDreifus, where she tweets \u201con matters bookish and\/or Jewish.\u201d Photo credit: Jody Christopherson.\r\n","short_description":"Erika Dreifus, a Fellow in the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute, is the author of Birthright: Poems (Kelsay Books, 2019) and Quiet Americans: Stories (2011). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":72309,"alt":"","title":"Erika Dreifus photo by Jody Christopherson-1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erika-Dreifus-photo-by-Jody-Christopherson-1-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The people had remained, to set out together","post_main_content_content":"

So Miriam was shut out of camp seven days;
\r\n<\/span>and the people did not march on until Miriam was readmitted.
\r\n<\/span>\u2014Numbers 12:15<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Had another been stricken on the way to the promised land\u2014
\r\n<\/span>had the Divine perhaps punished my brother Aaron
\r\n<\/span>(who, may the record show, was equally at fault)\u2014
\r\n<\/span>I\u2019d have cared for the patient,
\r\n<\/span>no matter how feverish, or contagious, or leprous.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But when <\/span>I<\/span><\/em> was the one afflicted and the Divine refused
\r\n<\/span>my other brother\u2019s plea for mercy,
\r\n<\/span>none sat by my side, or brought me water,
\r\n<\/span>or smoothed my brow.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Cast out to suffer seven days in solitude
\r\n<\/span>I knew not what would greet me
\r\n<\/span>once the snow-white scales had faded,
\r\n<\/span>the skin refreshed,
\r\n<\/span>the illness and banishment ended.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How miraculous the discovery:
\r\n<\/span>The people had remained.
\r\n<\/span><\/em>How indescribable
\r\n<\/span>the emotions as we set out anew,
\r\n<\/span>together<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"How miraculous the discovery: The people had remained. How indescribable the emotions as we set out anew, together","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Miriam, Quarantined","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"640","name":"Miriam","old_id":"1040"}]},{"order":5,"id":"47152","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Moses\u2019 Resume, Moses\u2019 Eulogy ","post_title":"Moses\u2019 Resume, Moses\u2019 Eulogy","slug":"moses-resume-moses-eulogy","old_id":"47152","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46658,"post_title":"Deborah Silver","slug":"deborah-silver","old_id":"46658","first_name":"Deborah ","last_name":"Silver ","description":"Rabbi Deborah Silver is the Rabbi of Shir Chadash in Metairie, New Orleans. She was ordained in 2010 by the Ziegler School at the American Jewish University, Los Angeles. Prior to rabbinical school she was educated at Cambridge University, England, after which she worked as an attorney at Mishcon de Reya, and at BPP Law School as an assistant professor, both in London. She hopes that her rabbinate embodies her deep love of Jewish learning - in all its varied forms - which has characterized her journey to date.\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Deborah Silver is the Rabbi of Shir Chadash in Metairie, New Orleans.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":46659,"alt":"","title":"deborah silver","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732.jpg","width":305,"height":324,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732-282x300.jpg","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732.jpg","medium_large-width":305,"medium_large-height":324,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732.jpg","large-width":305,"large-height":324,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732.jpg","1536x1536-width":305,"1536x1536-height":324,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732.jpg","2048x2048-width":305,"2048x2048-height":324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-e1546180915732.jpg","post_full_size-width":305,"post_full_size-height":324,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deborah-silver-293x420.jpg","home_baner-width":293,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An intimate portrayal of a great leader, by his boss","post_main_content_content":"

One of the challenges of Torah narrative is that it can be hard to keep track of who is on stage at any given moment. Here is an example:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent [of meeting] and called out \u201cAaron and Miriam!\u201d The two of them came forward\u2026 <\/span>(12:5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But we know from verse 4 and from back in Exodus<\/span> (29:42) that this spot was Moses and God\u2019s designated meeting place. So even though he says nothing in this scene, Moses was there.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is important because of what God is going to say: <\/span>When a prophet of the Lord arises among you, I make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; he is trusted throughout My household. With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the Lord <\/span>(12:6-8).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

These verses are a poem. They are a tightly worded \u2018menorah\u2019 (chiastic) structure with two different kinds of vision on the outside, the opposition between dreams and direct encounter the next layer in, and a declaration of Moses\u2019 faithfulness at the heart. God has moved out of the ordinary level of discourse to describe Moses in the best kind of elevated language Biblical Hebrew has to offer. There is a deeply personal quality to the poem, as if God is savoring the special connection God and Moses have.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the end of the Torah we find an echo of our text here: \"<\/span>Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses whom the Lord singled out face to face\u2026\"\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Deut. <\/span>34:10).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is followed by a sort of resume in prose - the wondrous acts, the signs, the wonders, the way that Moses displayed God\u2019s might and power. We can see how it would make sense to end the Torah on a high. But while impressive in its scope and accurate in terms of Moses\u2019 achievements, the end of the Torah lacks the intimacy that we find in our own chapter. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our tradition, it is a <\/span>mitzvah <\/span><\/i>to give a eulogy, generously to praise the good characteristics of the person who has left the world. This can also bring profound comfort to those who remain on earth, confirming what made their loved one special.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Everything that made Moses special to God is contained in the poem God recites in this chapter. God\u2019s words here are Moses\u2019 true eulogy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And in an act of consummate generosity and comfort, God delivers it while Moses is standing there to hear it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Y G Harrison\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":47154,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1124306651","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651.jpg","width":5202,"height":3465,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1364,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Moses\u2019 Resume, Moses\u2019 Eulogy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"An intimate portrayal of a great leader, by his boss","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":47154,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1124306651","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651.jpg","width":5202,"height":3465,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1364,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_1124306651-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"}]},{"order":6,"id":"47143","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Restoring Order and Life ","post_title":"Restoring Order And Life","slug":"restoring-order-and-life","old_id":"47143","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34285,"post_title":"Tammy Jacobowitz","slug":"tammy-jacobowitz","old_id":"34285","first_name":"Tammy ","last_name":"Jacobowitz ","description":"Dr. Tammy Jacobowitz is the chair of the Tanakh department at the SAR High School in Riverdale, NY, and is the founding director of Makom Ba'Siach at SAR, an immersive adult education program for parents. She has taught Bible for the Wexner Heritage program, and she is also an adjunct faculty member of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, where she teaches the Pedagogy of Tanakh. \r\nShe received her BA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, is a graduate of the Drisha Institute's Scholars Circle, and completed her PhD in Midrash at the University of Pennsylania in 2010 as a Wexner Graduate fellow. Dr. Jacobowitz is currently at work on a parsha book, geared towards parents reading to young children. Her research interests include the spiritualizing tactics of Midrash, gender and the body in the Bible and Rabbinics, purity and impurity, and the contemporary use of Midrash. She lives in Teaneck, NJ with her husband, Ronnie Perelis, and their four children.","short_description":"Dr. Tammy Jacobowitz is the chair of the Tanakh department at the SAR High School in Riverdale, NY,","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34286,"alt":"","title":"tammy j","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","width":512,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","medium_large-width":512,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","large-width":512,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","1536x1536-width":512,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","2048x2048-width":512,"2048x2048-height":768,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","post_full_size-width":512,"post_full_size-height":768,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Even Miriam and Aaron were not immune to sibling rivalry","post_main_content_content":"

Here is the story that sullies Miriam\u2019s reputation, that inextricably links her to the skin condition, tsara\u2019at<\/em>. Focusing on the feminine verb (vatedaber<\/em>), \u201cshe spoke,\u201d and the order of characters in the opening verse (Miriam, then Aaron), the rabbis of the Midrash amplify Miriam\u2019s misdeed as a gossiper, and fix gossip as the prototypical cause of tsara\u2019at<\/em>. To reach an audience far removed from the possibility of diagnosing or responding to tsara\u2019at,<\/em> the Midrash spins a homiletical message: stay away from harmful speech, <\/span>lashon harah. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

Learn from Miriam\u2019s mistake.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But a careful reading exposes the difficulty of this association. For one, Aaron is present at all stages of the story. Like Miriam, he spoke about Moses\u2019 wife, whatever their words might have been. Furthermore, like Miriam -- indeed with her: <\/span>They<\/span> said, \u201cHas the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Together, they discussed the injustice of Moses\u2019 special position, despite their common experience as prophets. The precise nature of their complaint is not clear, but the tone is: they are jealous, as siblings are wont to be. Even for this triad of important siblings.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God responds to them as would a parent. He summons them all, then castigates Aaron and Miriam. He is quite clear: you three do not share the same status, as your prophecy is not equal.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And then suddenly Miriam is struck with tsar\u2019at<\/em>. Is that because she is the sole sinner -- of jealousy? Notice, then, how the text describes what happens next.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhen Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with tsara\u2019at<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In \u201cturning\u201d toward Miriam, Aaron gazes with empathy - for he shares her fate. Together, they unleashed jealousy, and together, they suffer. Immediately, he begs Moses to pray on her behalf and restore her from her half-dead state. As the priest, of course, his job is to correctly identify and diagnose a metzora<\/em>. And Aaron\u2019s gaze follows with the pronouncement that she has tsara\u2019at.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\r\n

But he cannot heal her himself. \u00a0Aaron\u2019s distinctive punishment is to see Miriam as a metzora<\/em> - their shared guilt acted out on her body-- and feel powerless to perform his healing task. But he takes responsibility, in his humility, and beseeches Moses to take action.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, \u201cO God, pray heal her!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Acting in unison, the triad of siblings restores order and life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Her forthcoming book is The Book of Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid\/OU).","short_description":"Dr. Erica Brown is Director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership at The George Washington University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39526,"alt":"","title":"erica brown","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","width":154,"height":186,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","medium-width":154,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","medium_large-width":154,"medium_large-height":186,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","large-width":154,"large-height":186,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","1536x1536-width":154,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","2048x2048-width":154,"2048x2048-height":186,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","post_full_size-width":154,"post_full_size-height":186,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","home_baner-width":154,"home_baner-height":186}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The big sister sees her little brother for the leader and prophet he has become","post_main_content_content":"

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: \u201cHe married a Cushite woman!\u201d They said, \u201cHas the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?\u201d The Lord heard it\u2026As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! (Num 12:1-2,10)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Dear Moses,<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I write to you with shame and embarrassment from outside of the camp. I write to you to apologize for speaking badly about you to Aaron, for belittling you by speaking about your wife. It was not my place. I have thought long and hard about why this happened.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

You see, I stood as your protector among the reeds when you were only three-months old. I laugh when I think of my audacity, suggesting to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter that I find a Hebrew slave to nurse you. I was so proud of myself that I was able to reunite you with our beloved mother, of blessed memory. Through her milk, you would be bonded forever to our people while growing up behind palace walls. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

I\u2019m a meddler, a chutzpah lady. I jump in when I see a need, a gap, a problem I can solve. But as we all aged, I was no longer your protector. God was.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I have always seen you as the younger brother and not always as the remote, respected leader you are among our ragtag wilderness people. I thought of you as an equal, as part of our sibling triumvirate. When God came down to chastise Aaron and myself, I let go of my defensiveness and saw you the way God asked us to, not as a brother but as a leader who speaks face-to-face with God. I knew that to be cognitively true, but emotionally refused to accept it. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Strange as it sounds to hear this from a big sister, I want to thank you as I have never thanked you for your public service. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

I also appreciate that you put aside your hurt feelings and prayed on my behalf. The God who answered your prayers so many times before, would not grant me absolution this time. That is on me. Aaron and I, though older, are often less wise than you, our younger brother. We have been on the sidelines of your great story while you have been its hero. You carried the load so often alone, for that I am so very sorry. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today, as an old woman near the end of my life, I beg your forgiveness for not telling you sooner how much I admire and am grateful to you. I apologize for adding to your burden instead of lightening it. Only when I left the camp at a distance from you was I truly able to see you clearly.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

With love and contrition, <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Miriam<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Apology Note to Moses","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The big sister sees her little brother for the leader and prophet he has 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Miriam and Aaron act badly. In the face of Moses marrying a Cushite woman (possibly a Nubian from his days in Egypt, possibly a reference to Zipporah as a Midianite), Miriam and Aaron speak out against him. Their claim originates as a family spat about their sister-in-law, but quickly devolves into an assertion that they too should be seen as prophets on the same level as their eminent brother. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

God hears their gripe, and responds immediately, summoning them all, making clear that there are none to equal Moses in the quality of his relationship to God and his capacity to hear the divine message \u201cplainly and not in riddles\u201d and to see God directly (8). Miriam is afflicted with a disfiguring skin disease (having appeared to criticize the skin of Moses\u2019 Cushite wife!) and God storms off, literally.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

You might think that ends the matter. They sinned; God spoke and acted. End of story. But our Torah\u2019s telling is only warming up. The real action picks up at this point. Acknowledging their sin, Aaron does immediate teshuvah and confesses to his brother, pleading for compassion. Moses responds instantly with not only forgiveness, but with action on his sister\u2019s behalf: \u201cMoses cried out to the Lord, saying, \u2018God, please heal her please!\u2019(13) God responds with the world\u2019s first kal va-homer<\/em> (a type of legal argument called <\/span>a fortiori<\/span><\/em>) that she must at least remain in isolation for seven days. And during that time, we are told \u201cthe people did not march on until Miriam was readmitted (15).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the aftermath of clear sin, what is the Israelite expectation: <\/span>teshuvah<\/span><\/em> and consequences, forgiveness and compassion, solidarity restored. The one who commits error is expected to own their mistake and to bear the effects. Those afflicted find their way to forgiveness, even to the extent of advocating on behalf of those who wronged them. And God\u2019s grand response is to balance <\/span>din<\/span><\/em> (justice, consequences) with <\/span>rachamim<\/span><\/em> (compassion, forgiveness). And the people? Well, their love for Miriam cannot be erased by a single misjudgment. They wait until she can rejoin them, and only then do they resume their journey. Together.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As should we.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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On a superficial reading of the Bible, Moses was asking, \u201cWho am I to stand before Pharaoh?\u201d He was asking not about identity, but about his personal worthiness for such a mission. Moses, the Torah intimates, was not a man convinced of his place in history. He did not seek leadership. On the contrary, he kept refusing it. \u201cThey will not believe me\u2026. I am slow of speech and tongue\u2026. Please send someone else\u201d (Ex. 4:10). He was, a later passage says, \u201ca very humble man, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth\u201d (Num. 12:3). He accepted the divine call not because he held a high opinion of himself, but because the task was real, the need great, the hour pressing, and the command inescapable. He had, in Shakespeare\u2019s phrase, \u201cgreatness thrust upon him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from the the Jonathan Sacks Haggadah<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Stripes' Bible","tile_main_caption":"Numbers 12: The Secret of Humble Leadership","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Adam Mintz and Rabbi Yehuda 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Arts","old_id":"769"},{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"}]},{"order":11,"id":"47175","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Lashon Ha-Ra (Evil Speech) \u2013 Then and Now ","post_title":"Lashon Ha-Ra (Evil Speech) \u2013 Then and Now","slug":"lashon-ha-ra-evil-speech-then-and-now","old_id":"47175","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why did Moses\u2019 siblings speak against his wife - and against his relationship with God?","post_main_content_content":"

In the beginning of our chapter, Miriam and Aaron, the sister and brother of Moses, speak derogatively about Moses\u2019 Cushite wife and also complain that the Lord had spoken through them as well as through Moses. Here Scripture inserts a very significant comment about the character of Moses: \u201cNow Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth\u201d (Numbers 12:3). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Miriam, Aaron and Moses are summoned by God to the Tent of Meeting. God appears, angry at Miriam and Aaron for speaking against Moses. As our Chapter continues, Miriam is punished with leprosy (tzara\u2019at<\/em>) and banished from the Israelite camp for seven days. But, at the behest of Aaron and in answer to the prayer of Moses, the entire people of Israel waits for her to be healed and to return to the camp before moving on. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Rabbinic Sages employed this biblical narrative to teach that the divine punishment for lashon ha-ra<\/em> (literally \u201cbad tongue\u201d, i.e. \u201cbad-mouthing\u201d, denigrating another person) is leprosy, based on a play on words metzorah<\/em> (\u201cleper\u201d) \u2013 motzi shem ra<\/em> (\u201cone who casts an evil name\u201d, i.e. casts aspersions) (see Babylonian Talmud, Arachin 15b). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to the Midrash (Sifre Numbers to Numbers 12), Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses for having ceased marital relations with his wife, Zipporah. Miriam noticed that Zipporah had stopped adorning herself like other married women. And when asked, Zipporah explained that Moses had desisted from having sexual relations, because he needed to constantly hold himself in readiness to answer the call of God. Suppressing his desire for Zipporah was indeed a great sacrifice on the part of Moses, because Zipporah, Moses\u2019 Cushite (i.e. dark-skinned) wife, was exceptionally beautiful \u2013 more than all other women. Her remarkable attractiveness is reflected in her name: Zipporah \u2013 Tzfu Ur\u2019uh (literally \u201cgaze and behold\u201d). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps the primary sin of Miriam and Aaron was their challenge to his leadership: \u201cThey said, \u2018Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?\u2019\u201d (Numbers 12:2). Indeed, to this day, we find that those who seek to undermine and usurp legitimate authority, often do so by employing undeserved deprecating speech \u2013 the traditional sin of lashon ha-ra<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60185,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-gossip","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","width":400,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":300}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Lashon Ha-Ra (Evil Speech) \u2013 Then and Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why did Moses\u2019 siblings speak against his wife - and against his relationship with God?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60185,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-gossip","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","width":400,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":300}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"805","name":"Gossip","old_id":"1205"}]},{"order":12,"id":"47159","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Beyond A Mirror\u2019s Light ","post_title":"Beyond A Mirror\u2019s Light","slug":"beyond-a-mirrors-light","old_id":"47159","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. 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\"And He said, \u2018Hear now My words; if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him through a mirror, in a dream I will speak with him. \u00a0Not so My servant Moses; he is trusted in all My household.\" (Numbers 12:6-7)<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Some prophets see the mirrors of the night,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>While others glimpse the mirrors of the day,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>But Moses gazed beyond a mirror\u2019s light. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prophet\u2019s soul, a lens enhancing sight,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>May catch a flash reflected on the gray;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Some prophets see the mirrors of the night.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Words glow on day\u2019s mirrors, black fire on white,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>White fire on black, and blaze the prophet\u2019s way;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>But Moses gazed beyond a mirror\u2019s light.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What visions show, and prophets\u2019 pens must write,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Reveals a mirror\u2019s sheen, where angels pray;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Some prophets see the mirrors of the night.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Above the Throne, above the Chariot\u2019s height,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>All mirrors swirl as Torah verses sway;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>But Moses gazed beyond a mirror\u2019s light. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Instead of myriad mirrors, dull or bright,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>He heard one Voice that told him what to say;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Some prophets see the mirrors of the night,<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But Moses gazed beyond a mirror\u2019s light.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cMiriam haNeviah: Advocate for Women and Children\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Tali Adler: Who was this Biblical character? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cAaron's Silence, Aaron's Speech\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Elisheva Urbas: Explore the valences of when Aaron was silent and when he spoke up. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Numbers 12","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"106880","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 12 ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 12","slug":"points-to-ponder-numbers-12","old_id":"106880","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Equality or exclusivity?<\/em> The subject of the exclusivity of Moses\u2019 prophecy also arose in the previous chapter. There, Moses himself determined \u201cthe principle of equality\u201d with \u201cWould that all the LORD\u2019s people were prophets, that the LORD put His spirit upon them!\u201d (11:29). In the words of Miriam (and Aaron) that same principle is at the heart of their complaint \u201c\u201cHas the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?\u201d (verse 2).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. What does revelation look like?<\/em> The curious reader will find in verses 6-8 a few definitions (which may only heighten the curiosity), \u201ca vision,\u201d \u201ca dream,\u201d \u201criddles.\u201d And regarding Moses\u2019 special experience of prophecy, there is also \u201cmouth to mouth\u2026 and he beholds the likeness of the LORD.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Difficult sights<\/em>. Verse 12.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. The power of brevity<\/em>. Note how much power is in Moses\u2019 very concise prayer: \u201cO God, pray heal her!\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Shame<\/em>! One of the strongest definitions of the concept can be found in verse 14: \u201cIf her father spat in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Daily Summary","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder: Numbers 12","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"129","date":"20260225","wall_id":"129"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/46859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}