And just like that, Miriam dies, and is buried. Chapter 20 begins with the loss of this beloved big sister, prophetic leader, and ends with another brother’s death - Aaron is stripped of the high priestly garb, handed to his heir Elazar, as the old man closes his eyes on a mountaintop. In between these two public mournings is the famous situation at the rock that would cost Moses his entrance to the Promised Land.
These three leader-siblings are represented in this epic chapter by the symbols that define them: Miriam’s well, Aaron’s High Priestly uniform, Moses’ rod. Aviva Zornberg writes: “This pivotal narrative crystallizes an important motif in the history of the wilderness. It is the turning point: an ending and a beginning. The three leaders fade from the scene, and the people reach a moment of transition…The poignant moment between death and life, however, carries its own mystery, for we suddenly become aware that thirty-eight years have passed without our noticing. Behind the scenes, a generation has vanished into the sands. There is something uncanny about this hidden passage of time, with its harvest of so many deaths…Suddenly, the people arrive at Kadesh, at the border of Edom, at the threshold of the Promised Land. In the blink of an eye, we find ourselves looking back at the unrecorded wilderness trauma.”
Miriam’s well dries, A new High Priest rises, and suddenly, after all those years, the rod that was held high by Moses to enact the Exodus is recalled into active duty. It’s hard to choose where to focus in this dense chapter. Tomorrow we’ll dip into the well. Today we’ll focus on the rod - this object of wonder, hinting at what it means for the tragedy of the man who used it, and what it may mean for each of us.
The rod first shows up when the shepherd Moses sees a burning bush and is called to service to free the people. His shepherd's staff becomes an instrument of wonder, a scary serpent that again returns to being wood. He’ll use it to fight Egypt with ten strikes, crack open the sea of reeds, hold it up in battle so that all can see, believe and win. The last time the rod was used, almost 40 years earlier was that scene in Exodus 17. Then, too, the people wanted water, and God instructed Moses to strike the rod and quench the thirst. That place was named Meriva - the place of Strife. This last place, again a rock and a rocky situation will be named the same. The people’s thirst is related to the loss of Miriam. Thirsty and grieving, they demand water. Again, Moses, along with Aaron, is told to bring the rod, by this time presumably a relic of the old days sitting in storage in the holy tent, and show off one more miracle. It will be basically his last. The rod has not been seen or spoken of since that last time he struck a rock to bring out water. This time the demand is to speak to the rock. But that’s not what happens:
וַיָּ֨רֶם מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־יָד֗וֹ וַיַּ֧ךְ אֶת־הַסֶּ֛לַע בְּמַטֵּ֖הוּ פַּעֲמָ֑יִם וַיֵּצְאוּ֙ מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֔ים וַתֵּ֥שְׁתְּ הָעֵדָ֖ה וּבְעִירָֽם׃
And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank.
From its first use, the rod was about visual faith - a tool to transform humans with the wow of magic, to make us believe in the power of the man holding the wand, pointing at a higher power of redemption. The eyes of these two generations of Hebrews were trained to see the rod and expect miracles. But here the request was to speak - and Moses resorted to the old ways, to his rage that helped the revolution but not needed now. The first thing he does when he exits the palace as a young prince discovering his true identity is to strike an Egyptian overseer and kill him. His hand becomes the rod of violence, an extension of his split identity and turbulent being. It will also be his undoing. Zornberg adds: “He raises his hand and strikes with all the pent-up power that once split the sea and rained down deathblows on the killers of his people. Now, the violent power of this hand surges one last time. His life from Egypt onward has come to a dark fruition.”
Is it about anger management? It will be the same hand that hits that will also write down the story, this Torah. Including the part about the Divine punishment of the prophet, the author, who will not enter the promised land, because he hit and did not speak, because he let his violent rage erupt. “The rock and the rod—these are the objects that mark this transitional moment between the wilderness and the Land.” Zornberg again guides our eyes to the possible hidden meanings of this saga. Tomorrow’s chapter takes us into the depth of the well that is also part of this parting, where the facts become fluid and the harsh lines dissolve.
Want to learn more, discuss your thoughts and feelings about the Book of Wilderness and Below the Bible Belt? Join me on Monday August 22 2022, 1pm ET for a one hour conversation on Zoom. Link here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87084369168
Meeting ID: 870 8436 9168
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#hebrewmyth #929 #torah #bible #hiddenbible #sefaria #929english #labshul #929project #myth #belowthebiblebelt #postpatriarchy #avivazornberg
The death of Miriam is, as you say, declared in the simplest terms. no attendants, so successor, the end of a line. Period. Aaron is delivered to death with attendant and succession. Who might have been with Miriam as she died: what did she pass on, secretly, to whom. To me? To you?
Everett Fox says in the “5 Books of Moses“, you can look at these texts as the old must die out or this is what happens when “the covenant people violated the covenant.”