Weekly Torah portion: Beha'alotekha
And Miriam and Aaron with her, spoke against Moses concerning the Cushite wife he had taken, for he had taken a Cushite wife (Numbers 12:1).
To what were Miriam and Aaron referring? The Talmud provides the following explanation of the term ‘cushite’:
Hence it is written, “A Shiggaion of David, which he said unto the Lord, concerning Cush a Benjamite” (Psalms 7:1). Was Cush that Benjamite's name? And was not his name Saul? — But, just as a Cushite is distinguishable by his skin, so was Saul distinguished by his deeds. In like manner you explain: “concerning the Cushite woman that he had taken” (Numbers 12:1). Was she a Cushite? Was not her name Zipporah? But as a Cushite woman is distinguishable by her skin so Zipporah was distinguished by her deeds. In like manner you explain: “Now Ebed-Melek the Cushite . . . heard” (Jeremiah 38:7ff.). Now was his name Cushite? Was not his name Zedekiah? But as the Cushite is distinguishable by his skin so was Zedekiah distinguished by his deeds. In like manner you explain: “Are ye not as the children of the Cushites unto me, O children of Israel, said the Lord?” (Amos 9:7). Now is their name (children of) Cushites? Was not their name (children of) Israel? The truth is that as the Cushite is distinguishable by his skin, so are Israel distinguished by their ways from all other nations (Moed Katan 16b).
What is does the Talmud mean by “distinguished by his/her deeds”? Rashi explains: “Ansolutely righteous (tzadik)”.
In his Aramaic translation of the Bible, Onkelos renders ‘Cushite woman’ as ‘beautiful woman’, and explains that the criticism was that Moses had divorced her. The Targum Yonatan goes even farther afield: “And Miriam and Aaron said improper things about Moses regarding a Cushite woman that the Cushites gave to Moses when he fled before Pharaoh, and whim he divorced, for Moses had been wed to the Queen of Sheba and she was divorced by him.”
In his commentary to the biblical verse, Rashi explains that referring to the woman as a ‘Cushite woman’ “tells us that all agreed that she was beautiful, just as all agree that a Cushite is black.” In support of this statement, Rashi offers a somewhat inaccurate gematria, pointing out that ‘Cushite’ and ‘beautiful’ (yefat mar’eh) are numerologically equal (this is not entirely correct since the numerological value of ‘Cushite’ as written in the Bible is 730, and the value of ‘the Cushite’ is 735, but the numerological value of ‘beautiful’ is 736, which would seem to further undermine Rashi’s already shaky explanation). Rashi further suggests that the subject of the criticism was that Moses had divorced the Cushite woman.
However, it would seem to be clear that all of these commentaries contradict the apparent plain meaning of the text. After all, Miriam is punished measure for measure for her slander: “And the cloud moved off from over the tent, and, look, Miriam was blanched as snow…” (Numbers 12:10). As Robert Alter notes: “If the Cushite woman is actually black, this sudden draining of pigmentation, as Jacob Milgrom notes, would be mordant poetic justice for Miriam’s slander” (The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary).
1. Why did the Sages go to such lengths to explain that the word ‘cushite’ described the beauty or piety of Moses’ wife? Why was it preferable to explain the criticism as referring to Moses unjustly divorcing his wife?
2. Would it not have been easier simply to explain that ‘Cushite’ refers to the woman’s origin or color?
3. Is the ‘Cushite woman’ Zippora, and do Miriam and Aaron criticize Moses for marrying a woman of foreign nationality, or is the ‘Cushite’ another woman, and do they disapprove of his taking a second wife in addition to Zippora?
4. What motivates us to attempt to explain the Bible in deviation from or contradiction of its plain meaning? What do such apologetics say about our relationship to the Bible? Are we trying to defend the Bible? Are we trying to justify ourselves?
Because this year the second day of Shavuot was observed on a Saturday, there will be a discrepancy between the weekly Torah readings in Israel and the Diaspora until July 11, 2009. The "Iyunei Shabbat" refer to the portions read in Israel.
Iyunei Shabbat is published weekly by the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, The Masorti Movement and The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel in conjunction with the Masorti Movement in Israel and Masorti Olami-World Council of Conservative Synagogues.
Chief Editor: Rabbi Avinoam Sharon
