Beha'alotcha
Numbers 8:1 – 12:16
Aaron is commanded to light the menorah, and the Levites are consecrated for service. God provides for those who missed the first Passover by instituting Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover). The cloud over the Tabernacle guides Israel's journeys, and two silver trumpets signal the camp's movements. When the people begin to complain — first about hardships generally, then about the monotony of manna — God sends quail but also a plague. Moses appoints seventy elders to share his burden of leadership. The parasha ends with Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses; Miriam is stricken with tzara'at and quarantined for seven days.
Key figures
- Aaron — Lights the menorah, speaks against Moses alongside Miriam
- Moses — Overwhelmed by the people's complaints, prays for Miriam's healing
- Miriam — Speaks against Moses, stricken with tzara'at for seven days
- The seventy elders — Appointed to share the burden of leadership with Moses
- Eldad and Medad — Prophesy in the camp; Moses wishes all God's people were prophets
Famous verses
- 10:35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said: "Rise up, O Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate You flee before You."
- 11:29 And Moses said to him: "Are you jealous for my sake? would that all Hashem's people were prophets, that Hashem would put His spirit upon them!"
- 12:3 Now the man Moses was very humble, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth.—
Haftarah: {'ref': 'Zechariah 2:14-4:7', 'connection': "Zechariah's vision of the golden menorah with seven lamps echoes the lighting of the menorah by Aaron, and the declaration 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit' connects to divine guidance of Israel."}
Total gematria: 442,885.