ותדבר מרים ואהרן במשה, “Miriam and Aaron spoke out critically against Moses;” how did either of them know that Moses had separated from his wife? They had both noted that Tzipporah no longer wore the jewelry she had been in the habit of wearing. Miriam asked Tzipporah why she no longer wore that jewelry. Tzipporah replied that it was because Miriam’s brother (Moses) did not pay any attention to her jewelry. This was a hint that he had separated from her. She told Aaron about this and they talked about that situation criticizing him.

על אודות האשה הכושית, they wondered why Moses had chosen this point in time to separate from Tzipporah and concluded that it was because she was a Negress (ugly), and they could not understand that he had married her in the first place seeing that she had always been a Negress. A different interpretation of this line: She had been a queen in her land, the land of Kush. This would fit with what we have read in Chronicles that Moses had been a King in that land. At the time, he had to marry a local woman. Now there was no need for him to remain married to a Kushite woman. If this were correct, our verse would not refer to Tzipporah, for the line: “for he had married a Kushite woman,” would not make any sense as Tzipporah was a Midianite woman as we know from Exodus 2,21. The Kushites were descended from Cham, the third son of Noach, and as such were a cursed people, and a Jew would not have married a woman from a cursed nation [although, Keturah, Avraham’s second and last wife, was an Egyptian and therefore also from a cursed nation, as Mitzrayim was the second son of Cham, Kush having been his firstborn (Genesis 10,6) Midian himself was a son of Keturah an Egyptian (Genesis 25,2), and therefore descendant of a cursed nation. Ed.]

ויאמרו הרק אך במשה דבר, “did G-d then speak exclusively to Moses?” We have a rule in the Hebrew language that when restrictive clauses such as “only,” or “exclusively,” follow one another consecutively, they are meant to add something instead of to subtract something. In this instance we have two such clauses following one another, i.e. רק and אך. The addition follows promptly by Miriam adding that G-d had spoken to them, i.e. herself and to her brother Aaron also, so that they too were prophets. (The Talmud, tractate Megillah folio 14, and tractate Sotah folio 12 claims that Miriam had prophesied even before Moses had been born.) Concerning Aaron prophesying, the reader is referred to Samuel I 2,27, as interpreted by Sh’ ’mot Rabbah 3,21.)

וישמע ה “the Lord heard;” even though Miriam and Aaron had this conversation completely privately, and no one overheard them, G-d was privy to it, and He would demand that Moses’ integrity be defended. (Ibn Ezra)

ויאמר ה' פתאום, “suddenly the Lord spoke up;” He did so in order that Aaron and Miriam would not blame Moses for having complained about him to G-d.

ויקרא אהרן ומרים, “He called Aaron and Miriam’” He did not invite Moses to become part of this conversation. He did not want the Israelites to say that G-d had been angry at Moses also.

במראה אליו אתודע, “I make Myself known to him as a prophetic vision. The word מראה here is used in the same sense as in Numbers 23,3; ודבר מה יראני והגדתי לך, “and whatever He will show me I will tell you about.” (Bileam to Balak)

בכל ביתי נאמן הוא, “he is trusted in all My house.” The world at large knows that Moses has seen things that have not been shown to any other prophets. This is because he is the “father,” i.e. prototype of all prophets past present or future. In Proverbs 11,13, Solomon said of Moses: נאמן רוח מכסה דבר, “a faithful spirit keeps a confidence.” The Jerusalem Targum translates that phrase with the words: “in My whole house, among My whole people.” All of My people young and old simple and learned, are aware that Moses keeps absolute faith with G-d, and does not reveal anything he has not been told to reveal.

ותמונת ה' יביט “and he is allowed to see a visual image of the Lord.” G-d does not refer to a frontal image, but to a rear view as stated in Exodus 33,23.

ויחר אף ה' בם, “and the anger of Hashem was kindled against them;” according to some commentators Aaron was also smitten with tzoraat;” (to account for the word: בם, “against them”) Another sage holds that G-d contented Himself with being angry at Aaron without taking any action against him. (Compare Talmud in tractate Shabbat folio 97)

והענן סר והנה מרים מצורעת, “when the cloud had cleared, Miriam had been struck with tzoraat”. It is not seemly for the holy cloud of G-d to remains next to a ritually impure person.

אל נא תהי כמת, “do not let her be like a dead person.” Anyone suffering from this skin disease is considered as if dead. (Talmud, tractate Nedarim folio 64) What Aaron meant was that his sister should not be like a newly born infant that displays signs of tzoraat, and therefore is considered as if stillborn. We have a statement: “when a youngster is born afflicted with the disease of tzoraat he will never attain ritual purity.” (B’chor shor) Seeing that this affliction is attributed to a specific sin, it may be healed as a result of a prayer, as we know from when Pharaoh was healed from this affliction in response to Avraham’s prayer. (Genesis 12,17) Rashi comments here that Moses implied that seeing that Miriam and he emerged from the same womb, how could he be expected to tolerate that his other half be “as dead?”

אל נא רפא נא לה, “Heal her now, I beseech you, G-d!” the first word נא is to be understood as a request. The second time it is used, it appeals for immediate action by G-d. Proof of this is the fact that G-d’s reply explains why G-d cannot fulfill Moses’ second request. The minimum period time Miriam has to suffer from this affliction is one whole day.

הלא תכלם שבעת ימים, “would she not be banned for at least seven days?” G-d refers to such a daughter not being allowed to look at her father’s face as a sign of her shame. We find an example of this in the life of Avshalom, son of David, (Samuel II 13, 37-39) Here we are dealing with two sins Miriam had committed, one against G-d and one against Moses; G-d had spelled it out when He said: בעבדי במשה, “against My servant, against Moses.” Accordingly, if G-d were to apply a strict yardstick, Miriam would have to be ostracised at least for two weeks.

מחוץ למחנה שבעת ימים, “seven days outside the camp.” Not seven whole days, but the seventh day would be accounted as a whole day as our author had already explained once on Leviticus 13,5.

ואחר, “and afterwards;” after Miriam returned to the camp on the twenty ninth day of Sivan

.ויחנו במדבר פארן, “they made camp in the desert around Paran.” This is a reference to Kadesh Barnea, (as we know, the place from which the spies were dispatched) The sequence of events was as follows: on the 20th of Iyar the people arrived at Kivrot hataavah, after having journeyed from Mount Sinai on that day. G-d had not told them to sanctify themselves until the following day, until the 22nd of the month. Concerning this period the Torah had written: “they journeyed from Mount Sinai a distance of three days.” The reason we need to know all this is in order to know that when the spies returned with a devastating report, resulting in a whole generation being condemned to die in the desert, the date was the 9th of Av, a date to become infamous for many tragic events in Jewish history. The episode of the quails lasted exactly a whole month the last day being included, so that it ended on the 22nd of Sivan. On that day the people arrived at Chatzerot. They remained there until Miriam had been healed, on the seventh day, i.e. the 29th day of Sivan. On the following day the first day of Tammuz, the spies were sent of, as stated in the Talmud, tractate Taanit folio 29.