Beloved Friends,
This week’s Torah portion is called Chukat from the Book of Numbers. Within its chapters, we read of Miriam’s death in the wilderness. Though Moses, Aaron, and the children of Israel are bereft and mourn her passing, they quickly revert to their rebellious, stiff-necked, and selfish selves.
Immediately they begin to complain about their thirst. It seems that, inexplicably, there is no water to drink. Our sages of blessed memory sense a connection between Miriam’s death and the sudden lack of water. They teach that when Miriam was alive, a well was present for the children of Israel at each of their encampments. But, with her passing, the well no longer appeared.
The sages take this lesson further. They posit that the well of water was present for the Israelites solely due to Miriam’s merit. Through the excellence of her character and the acts of Gemilut Chasadim, her acts of loving kindness, the Israelites had life-giving and life-supporting water.
Moses, Miriam, and Aaron were each remarkable people. The manner in which they lived their lives affected the Israelites in unique ways. In the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Ta’anit 9a, Reb Jose, the son of Rabbi Judah taught about how the individual merit of these three siblings accrued to the benefit of the Children of Israel. Because of Moses’ merit, the Israelites were sustained by manna. Aaron’s merit provided the Israelites with the Pillar of Cloud that led them safely through the Sinai wilderness by day. And it was due to Miriam’s merit that a miraculous well followed them and provided water for all their needs throughout their journey.
There is a powerful lesson for us in the midrash above. These three siblings were very human and each experienced failure and success. They were not superhuman and yet their merit had tremendous impact upon the community. We, too, are capable of having just such an impact. Even with our human flaws, each of us is just as capable of good work, the acts of love and kindness, that bring light, hope, and sustenance to our community.
I wrote this message on June 19th. This date is quite significant as it marks the date in 1865, when the last state, the state of Texas, was forced to emancipate the people still enslaved. It is a day now commemorated as Juneteenth, Black Independence Day. It is most certainly a moment to look back at the horrible passage in our nation’s history that lasted more than 250 years. But it is also a time to reflect on the present where racism, hatred, and violence continue to reverberate from that time until now. Juneteenth calls us to reckon with our past so that the present and the future can be brighter allowing for all to be truly free.
It is now that we need to tap into the merit we have for the benefit of our community. Like Moses, Miriam, and Aaron, we can provide the life-sustaining, indeed life-enhancing sustenance, guidance, and support necessary for all of us to enter the Promised Land, the land of freedom, justice, and love.
Shabbat Shalom,
