Parashat Beha’alotcha

Parasha Thoughts

By Rabbi Shemuel Akhamzadeh

וַתִּסָּגֵ֥ר מִרְיָ֛ם מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים וְהָעָם֙ לֹ֣א נָסַ֔ע עַד־הֵאָסֵ֖ף מִרְיָֽם׃
So Miriam was shut out of camp seven days; and the people did not march on until Miriam was readmitted.
והעם לא נסע. זֶה הַכָּבוֹד חָלַק לָהּ הַמָּקוֹם בִּשְׁבִיל שָׁעָה אַחַת שֶׁנִּתְעַכְּבָה לְמֹשֶׁה כְּשֶׁהָשְׁלַךְ לַיְאוֹר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ב’)” וַתֵּתַצַּב אֲחֹתוֹ מֵרָחֹק וְגוׂ'” (סוטה ט’) :

Rashi explains that the respect given to Miriam was in return for what she had done for Moshe decades earlier, by waiting to see what would be of her little brother’s fate. Moshe was placed in a basket in the Nile in order that he be saved from Pharaoh’s cruel decree to kill every male child by throwing them in the river.

Tosafot in Masechet Sotah 9b records that Miriam waited a mere 15-20 minutes and observed to see what would be of her younger brother Moshe. In reward, the whole nation and the camp of the Shechina waited seven days for her until she was clear of her sickness so that she may reunite with them. Tosafot adds from a Mishnaic (Tosafta) source that Hashem’s grace is five hundredfold greater than his anger. This holds true in regards to the reward bestowed on Miriam. There are about 10000 minutes in a week, exactly 500 times the 20 minutes she had waited for Moshe.

As we go on with our daily routine, we are privileged with many opportunities to do mitzvot; some are easy, while others come with various price tags, monetary or otherwise. Hashem is the one who will repay us for any cost or hardship incurred for his Mitzvoth as much as 500 times. Keeping this in mind will allow us to continue even in the face of the challenges we face along the way. Perhaps we can even appreciate these challenges since the reward is in accordance to the level of challenge, just as it says in Pirke Avoth, “In accordance to the pain so is the reward” “בן הא הא אומר: לפום צערא אגראפרק ×”’, משנה ×›”×’”. Let’s keep in mind that this is only in reward for the challenge, not the Mitzvah itself.