Beha-Alotekha Numbers: 8-12
LA JOLLA, California — This parasha proceeds as follows:
Chapter 8 describes the golden lamp stand in the Tabernacle. It then explains that the Levites as a group represent an offering to God, to represent a counterpart to the dead first borns of the Egyptians in the Exodus.
Chapter 9 begins by providing a second opportunity to celebrate the Passover one month later for those who legitimately couldn’t celebrate in Nisan. It goes on to describe the cloud during the day and its appearance as fire by night, which guided the Israelites when to move on, to where, and when to stop.
Chapter 10 opens with a description of two silver trumpets to be blown at certain occasions, with different blast formulae depending on the intended activity. It goes on to specify each tribe’s duties and order in their marching. Next is a brief encounter with Moses’ father-in-law et al, who visited but did not accept an invitation to remain among the travelers .
Chapter 11 opens with complaints among the Israelites, followed by a punishing fire in the camp by God.Then came a plea for meat, there being dissatisfaction with manna only. After Moses’ discussion with God, He brings them quail, but in such volume that the people end up sick. There is also an intervening episode of two men in the camp speaking in ecstasy, which ‘prophet-activity’ Moses approved.
Chapter 12 deals with Aaron and Miriam speaking against their brother Moses, first in an accusation that he had married a Cushite, then a complaint that they were not his equal in receiving and employing prophecy. Miriam then was punished with a white-scales skin disease, made to suffer seven days of ostracism with her condition.
I have chosen five passages from these readings, for comparison with ancient pagan practices, from what I could find in Internet searches.
I. Numbers 8:14-17 “Thus you shall set the Levite’s apart…and..shall be mine….for service…in place of the first issue of the womb…in…Egypt.”
I found nothing of equivalence to this in the ancient Middle East, but as follows in these two Mediterranean nations.
The Greeks were devoid of hierarchical institutions of priests and priestesses. Those attached to such shrines as Delphi for consultation were everyday people otherwise engaged in everyday affairs.
In Rome, the cult was different, actually organized as a hierarchy. The rex sacrorum had to be a patrician, chosen for life. The flamen Dialis, dedicated to Jupiter, occupied a unique position sacerdotally because of his sacred office. Six Vestal Virgins, dedicated to the service of the sacred fire in the hearth temple and to the care of the storehouse, were committed to 30 years of service to the goddess Vesta. [1]
II. Numbers 9:10-14 “When any of you (Israelite or a resident stranger)…are defiled…or are on a long journey (during the Passover)…they shall offer it in the second month…in strict accord with the law of the Passover sacrifice…”
I found no such alternate festival among pagans. Of interest, however, I found a significant dialogue among early Christians as to the designation of Jesus’ birthday for a holy day. Since Luke mentioned shepherds with their flocks at night heard of Jesus’ birth, this suggested spring lambing season. Other spring nativities were popular, mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, c. 200 CE, with dates in May, April, and March. The Church, in the Fourth Century, ultimately settled on December 25, via conflation of the Nativity with pre-existing pagan festivals at the winter solstice. In these festivals, there were parties, gift-giving, and greenery-decorated dwellings The reasoning was that the growing Church recognized the popularity of such winter festivals, and thus attached its Christmas celebration to encourage spread of Christianity.
Another explanation: Jesus’ death was calculated to be March 25 of the Roman calendar, according to John’s Gospel. This calendar date was also attached to the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel.which informed Mary of the coming Jesus-birth nine months later, i.e. December 25.
Because of the above uncertainties, various Christians determined that celebration of the birth was not right. The Puritans of 17th Century Massachusetts famously banned the Christmas holiday. Quakers, too, abstained from Christmas!
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1878 novel Poganuc People has a character to explain: “Nobody knows when Christ was born, and there is nothing in the Bible to tell us when to keep Christmas.” Hence, his family didn’t observe Christmas. [2]
III.Numbers 9:15-23 “On the day…the cloud covered the Tabernacle…and in the evening…fire until morning…When..the cloud lingered…Israelites observed…and did not journey on…whenever the cloud lifted, they would break camp (and follow the cloud)…”
I found nothing on the internet resembling such a guide for travel. The closest thing to a travel guide was a huge work by the Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias c. 110-180 CE). He visited Greece, Antioch, Joppa, Jerusalem, the River Jordan, Egypt, Macedonia, the Italian peninsula, Troy, Alexandria, and Mycenae. He described architectural and artistic and religious objects, deities, residues of past military and sacred events, landscapes, animal species, mythological and historical underpinnings of each society, and agricultural products. [3]
IV.Numbers 11:1-2 “The people took to complaining bitterly before the Lord…The Lord…was incensed: a fire of the Lord broke out against them…”
From the internet: Unlike the Hebrews’ inclination to complain, the Greeks allegedly were more inclined to calmly seek information of events’ causes, including theological inquiry. [4]
I did learn that in Greece’s huge panoply of mythical figures and fables, there was Momos, a blamer. He enjoyed a brief period ‘on the stage’ before being banished from living among the gods. [5]
Incidentally, I learned also that today there is a ‘consequential’ movement in Greece to return to its ancient polytheist religion. It allegedly had 2000 hard-core followers, and more than 100,000 sympathizers nationwide, as of 2007. The source stated: “The concept of sin was totally unknown to them (the ancients), as indeed it is in modern Greece…Greeks today don’t observe any of the 10 commandments. Their outlook on life and values are much nearer to pagan ideas than those of the austere Judaeo-Christian faith.” [6]
v. Numbers 11:4-32 “…if only we had meat…nothing at all…but this manna…Lord was very angry..said to Moses…the people…shall eat meat…A wind from the Lord…swept quail from the sea and strewed them over the camp…”
Actually manna is/are (a) product(s) well known in the deserts of the Middle East. Chemically it is trehalose, a carbohydrate made of two joined glucose molecules, from a parasitic beetle. In the lab, it is used as a preservative e.g. for antibodies, vaccines, enzymes, and blood factors. [7]
After the Six-Day War, in 1968 an Israeli botanist explored the Sinai Desert, where he observed a desert shrub, Haloxylon salicornicum, the source…of manna in droplets on its stems. It is a byproduct of insects that feed on the plant’s sap. It has also been observed on the tamarisk tree.
In the past, Jewish confectioners in Baghdad made a candy from it,. Today, modern chefs have begun to experiment with it. [8]
As for the quail, they are a small mobile tasty bird. which migrates North and South between North Africa and Europe. Because of their relatively heavy bodies and short wings, they can’t cover great distances at a time, relying on the wind to help. When exhausted, e.g. after crossing the Mediterranean, they ground themselves, where they are easily captured, often in large nets. [9]
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NOTES
[1] Encyclopedia Brittanica, Priesthood; Ancient Greece and Rome
[2] Why We Celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, Anthony Santella, Dec. 18, 2013,Explainer
[3] Wikipedia, Pausanias (geographer)
[4] Gods, or God, Mary Lefkowitz, Oct. 23, 2007, The New York Times
[5] https://www.theol.com/Daimon/Momos.html
[6] By Zeus!, Helena Smith,1 Feb 2007,The Guardian
[7] The beetle cocoon that was manna for Moses,John Emsley 22 Aprilm1996, The Independent
[8] Manna is Real and Not So Heavenly, Vered Guttman, January 28, 2019, Jewish
World, Talk of the Table, Winter Issue 2019
[9] The Quail Epidemic of Numbers, John Wilkinson, The Bible and Healing: A Medical and Theological Commentary, Handsel Press, 2002
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Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.