Parashat Chukat Sharon Rimon ~ 1 ~ The Deaths of Miriam, Aaron and Moses • When did Miriam, Aaron and Moses die? • Are their deaths related? • What is the connection between Miriam’s death and the nation’s complaints at Mei Meriva? • How is Aaron’s death related to the snakes that attack the nation? • What was Moses and Aaron’s sin, and why were they barred from entering the Land of Israel? A. The Deaths of Moses and Aaron ַוָּיבֹאּו ְבֵני ִי ְׂשָרֵאל ָּכל And the children of Israel, the ָהֵעָדה ִמְדַּבר ִצן ַּבֶחֹדׁש whole congregation, came to ָהִרׁאשֹון ַוֵּיֶׁשב ָהָעם the wilderness of Zin in the first ְּ ב ָ ק ֵ דשׁ . month, and the nation settled )במדבר כ', א( (in Kadesh. (Num. 20:1 When did this take place? The verse states that the nation reached the wilderness of Zin in the “first month,” but the year is not mentioned. The Fortieth The commentators attempt to provide the Year information omitted by the verses. Rashbam explains: ~ 2 ~ ~ 3 ~ the first (and the beginning of the second) year and ..."בחדש הראשון" – In the first month” – At the“… the fortieth year. שלסוף ארבעים שנה. end of the forty years. For According to this view, Parashat Chukat begins the שהרי מת אהרן אחריה Aaron died after this, in the account of the fortieth year – the year in which the בחדש החמישי בשנת fifth month of the fortieth year .nation prepares to enter the Land of Israel ארבעים לצאת בני since the nation left Egypt, as ישראל, כדכת' בפרשת .it is written in Parashat Mas’ei Miriam’s How does this year begin? First, the nation arrives אלה מסעי. (Rashbam on Num. 20:1) Death in in Kadesh, near the border of the Land of Israel. This Rashbam explains1 that this takes place in the fortieth Kadesh is the starting point of their journey into the Land.3 year since the continuation of the parasha recounts What is the first thing that happens there? Aaron’s death and in Parashat Mas’ei2 the Torah states ...וַּיֵשׁ ֶ ב הָעָ ם בְּקָדֵשׁ , And the nation settled in… that Aaron died in the fifth month of the fortieth וַתָּמָ ת שׁ ָ ם מִרְ יָם וַתִּקָּבֵ ר Kadesh; and Miriam died there year. שׁ ָ ם. .and was buried there. (Num )שם( (Ibn Ezra interprets the verse in the same way and 20:1 adds an interesting point: The fortieth year begins with Miriam’s death, just as .the nation is preparing to enter the Land of Israel "בחדש הראשון" – In the first month” – of the“ בשנת הארבעים, והנה fortieth year. And behold, there The Sin at Immediately following Miriam’s death, the incident אין בתורה כלל שום is nothing in the Torah – no act Mei Meriva at Mei Meriva [lit. “the waters of strife”] occurs. As a מעשה או נבואה רק or prophecy – apart from [those result, God decrees that Moses and Aaron will not be בשנה הראשונה ובשנת that occurred] in the first year allowed to enter the Land of Israel. Instead, they will הארבעים. and the fortieth year. (Ibn Ezra die in the desert: on Num. 20:1) According to Ibn Ezra, the Torah does not describe any event that occurred during the years that the 3 It should be noted that in the second year, when the nation nation wandered in the desert as punishment for the prepared to enter the Land of Israel, they arrived at Kadesh- sin of the spies. It recounts only what happened in Barnea. Kadesh and Kadesh-Barnea are not the same place (Rashi on Num. 32:8; Ramban on Gen. 14:7 and Num. 20:1; see also Abarbanel’s commentary and Chaim bar Droma, 1 See also Seder Olam Rabba 9. VeZeh Gevul HaAretz, Jerusalem (5718) p. 149-168); however, 2 “And Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at God’s command, both are located on the border of the Land of Israel and the and he died there, in the fortieth year after the Children of Israelites passed through both places before they entered the Israel had left Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first of the Land. Presumably, it is no coincidence that both are named month” (Num. 33:38). “Kadesh”. ~ 4 ~ ~ 5 ~ ְּבנֹו ְוַאֲהרֹן ֵיָאֵסף ֵּומת ָׁשם: ,And strip Aaron of his garments ְולֹא ָהָיה ַמִים ָלֵעָדה And there was no water for ַוַּיַעׂש ֶׁמֹשה ַּכֲאֶׁשר ִצָּוה ;and dress his son Elazar in them ַוִּיָּקֲהלּו ַעל ֶׁמֹשה ְוַעל the congregation, and they ה' ַוַּיֲעלּו ֶאל הֹר ָהָהר and Aaron will be gathered ַאֲהרֹן... ַוֶּיֹאמר ה' ֶאל assembled themselves against ְלֵעֵיני ָּכל ָהֵעָדה: ַוַּיְפֵׁשט to his people and shall die ֶׁמֹשה ְוֶאל ַאֲהרֹן ַיַען לֹא …Moses and against Aaron ֶׁמֹשה ֶאת ַאֲהרֹן ֶאת ְּבָגָדיו there.” And Moses did as God ֶהֱאַמְנֶּתם ִּבי ְלַהְקִּד ֵׁישִני And God said to Moses and to ַוַּיְלֵּבׁש ָאֹתם ֶאת ֶאְלָעָזר commanded; and they went ְלֵעֵיני ְּבֵני ִי ְׂשָרֵאל, ָלֵכן לֹא Aaron, “Because you did not ְּבנֹו ַוָּיָמת ַאֲהרֹן ָׁשם up to Mount Hor before the ָתִביאּו ֶאת ַהָּקָהל ַהֶּזה ֶאל believe in Me, to sanctify Me ְּבׁרֹאש ָהָהר ַוֵּיֶרד ֶׁמֹשה entire congregation. And Moses ָהָאֶרֲץ אֶׁשָר נַתִּתָי לֶהם... in the eyes of the Children of ְוֶאְלָעָזר ִמן ָהָהר: ַוִּיְראּו ָּכל stripped Aaron of his garments )שם, ב-יב( Israel, therefore you shall not ָהֵעָדה ִּכי ָגַוע ַאֲהרֹן ַוִּיְבּכּו bring this assembly into the and dressed his son Elazar in ֶאת ַאֲהרֹן ְׁש ִׁלֹשים יֹום ּכֹל land which I have given them…” them; and Aaron died there, at ֵּבִית י ְׂשָרֵאל: Num. 20:2-12) the top of the mountain; and) Moses and Elazar descended Aaron’s Immediately afterwards the verses recount Aaron’s from the mountain. And the Death death, which occurs at the next stop on the nation’s entire congregation saw that route: Aaron was dead; and they wept for Aaron thirty days, the entire ַוִּיְסעּו ִמָּקֵדׁש ַוָּיבֹאּו ְבֵני ,And they traveled from Kadesh House of Israel. (Num. 20:22- ִי ְׂשָרֵאל ָּכל ָהֵעָדה הֹר and the Children of Israel, the (29 ָהָהר: ַוֶּיֹאמר ה' ֶאל ֶׁמֹשה whole congregation, came to ְוֶאל ַאֲהרֹן ְּבהֹר ָהָהר ַעל Mount Hor. And God said to The Death The Torah begins its description of the fortieth year ְּגבּול ֶאֶרץ ֱאדֹום ֵלאמֹר: ,Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor of the by recounting the deaths of the nation’s leaders – ֵיָאֵסף ַאֲהרֹן ֶאל ַעָּמיו ִּכי ,on the border of the land of Edom Leaders Miriam dies; Moses and Aaron are destined to die לֹא ָיבֹא ֶאל ָהָאֶרץ ֲאֶׁשר saying, “Aaron shall be gathered in the in the desert, and Aaron dies shortly afterward. The ָנַתִּתי ִלְבֵני ִי ְׂשָרֵאל ַעל to his people, for he shall not Fortieth year ends with the description of Moses’ death4 at the ֲאֶׁשר ְמִרֶיתם ֶאת ִּפי ְלֵמי enter into the land which I have Year ְמִרָיבה: ַקח ֶאת ַאֲהרֹן ,given to the Children of Israel According to tradition, Moses died on the 7th of Iyyar. The 4 ְוֶאת ֶאְלָעָזר ְּבנֹו ְוַהַעל because you rebelled against Tosefta (Lieberman ed.) on tractate Sotah 11:7 cites the :chronological calculation upon which this tradition is based ָאֹתם הֹר ָהָהר: ְוַהְפֵׁשט My word at Mei Meriva. Take at the end of Deuteronomy, the nation mourns for Moses for ֶאת ַאֲהרֹן ֶאת ְּבָגָדיו Aaron and his son Elazar, and 30 days after his death, and the book of Joshua states that the nation waited three days to sanctify themselves and then ְוִהְלַּבְׁשָּתם ֶאת ֶאְלָעָזר .bring them up to Mount Hor crossed the river on the 10th of Nisan (Josh. 4:19). The 7th of Adar is 33 days before the 10th of Nisan. ~ 6 ~ ~ 7 ~ והבאר בזכות מרים, end of Deuteronomy. These events characterize the And the well was in Miriam’s מה כתיב )שם כ', א(: ?fortieth year as a period of leadership transitions. merit, for what does it say "ותמת שם מרים ותקבר And Miriam died there and was“ Abarbanel writes: שם", ומה כתיב אחר כך: buried there” (Num. 20:1), and "ולא היה מים לעדה"... ?what does it say afterwards ובא הכתוב הזה ללמדנו, And this text comes to teach )במדבר רבה )וילנא( And there was no water for“ שבימים מועטים מתו us that Aaron and Miriam, and פרשה א ד"ה ב ד"א (the congregation” (Num. 20:2 אהרון ומרים וגם משה... Moses as well, died within a וידבר ( (Bamidbar Rabba [Vilna ed.] 1) )פירוש אברבנאל short time... (Abarbanel on לבמדבר כ', עמ' ק( (Num. 20, p. 100 The manna (food), the well (water) and the Clouds of Glory (protection) were the three vital elements that B. Crisis enabled the nation to survive in the desert. According to the midrash, the existence of these three elements The deaths of the nation’s leaders within a short depended on the merit of the nation’s leaders. This time of one another, just before the nation entered midrash suggests that just as the nation could not the Land of Israel, were certainly a cause for distress survive physically without these three basic elements, among the people. they could not have survived spiritually without their Miriam, The following midrash describes what happened after leaders – Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Aaron, and the deaths of the nation’s three leaders: These three leaders pass away within the same year Moses – and can no longer guide the nation. The disappearance המן בזכות משה. ’The manna was in Moses The Water, of the water, manna, and Clouds of Glory reflect the תדע לך שהוא בזכות ’merit. Know that it is in Moses the Clouds bleak circumstances faced by the nation when their משה כיון שנסתלק משה merit, as when Moses passed of Glory, ,leaders died.