WEBVTT - Miriam's Rebellion 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.279 Previously on the chosen people. 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.520 How can we trust that you won't run again. When 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:10.080 you killed that Egyptian all those years ago, Pharaoh's grip 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:11.080 became harder. 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:14.880 I have been met by one who alters the wind's course. 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.720 I have seen his wonders before my eyes. I know 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:23.799 there's nowhere I can run to where he will not 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.920 find me. It is love and fear that binds me 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:32.080 to you and to these people. 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:41.400 Welcome home, brother, I will follow you. It's these foreigners 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.599 that travel with us, the Kushites, med Jays, Libyans, Asiatics, 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:49.360 whoever they are, the heathens that are leading our people astray. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.960 They complain about the lack of variety and the blendness 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:56.040 of our food, disregarding our meager resources. 0:00:56.400 --> 0:00:58.600 And now you will have people clamoring to kill our 0:00:58.640 --> 0:00:59.600 livestock for meat. 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:03.160 I blame the rabble of foreigners for bringing this upon us. 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:05.520 They've tempted our good people into sin. 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:14.199 Enough enough enough of this blame game. Throwing insults around 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.240 isn't going to correct the flimsy faith of our people. 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.560 They don't need an excuse for their lack of faith. 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.600 Why have you brought such trouble on me? You must 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:28.520 be angry with me. Why else would you burden me 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:32.080 with all these people? Am I their mother? Did I 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:33.560 carry them in my womb? 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:34.040 No? 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.080 Then, wordless I endure their infantile cries day and night. 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.319 Ah, What am I going to do? 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:46.920 Where can I get meet to give all these people? 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:50.360 I can't carry all these people by myself. They're too 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:53.480 much for me. If you are going to treat me 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:57.000 like this, just kill me right now. If I found 0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:00.120 favor with you, and don't let me see my misery any. 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:05.880 Bring me seventy elders from Israel. Take them to the 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.800 tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:11.880 I will take some of the spirit who is on 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.680 you and put the spirit on them. They will help 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:18.520 you bear the burden of the people, so you do 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:24.320 not have to bear it alone. 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:28.080 When even the righteous are tempted by enevy, the wilderness 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:32.280 becomes a battle ground of the soul. Shallo my friends 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.160 from here in the Holy Land. I'm ya el Extein 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:39.680 with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome to the 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:43.600 Chosen People. The wilderness has a way of bringing things 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:46.400 to the surface, doesn't it. It's a place of trial 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.640 where the human heart is tested and the crucible of sand, 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:55.800 sky and survival. And here we find our ancestors, wandering, wading, 0:02:56.000 --> 0:02:58.840 and ready to break. But it's not the trials of 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:02.000 hunger or thirst that will break them this time. It's 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.160 something deeper, something closer to home. 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:06.919 Jealousy. 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:11.440 Miriam and Aaron, two pillars of leadership, rise up against 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:16.000 their brother Moses, not in an open rebellion of armies 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:20.280 or swords, but in a whispered defiance. Why would those 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.600 closest to Moses his own flesh and blood turn against him? 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:28.360 What is it about authority that causes even the faithful 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.680 to question? What is it about our human nature that 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:36.200 turns siblings in trivals? This is where we find ourselves, 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:39.240 my friends, standing at the edge of rebellion, where the hearts, 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:43.920 hidden motives are about to be laid bare before God himself. 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:51.360 The wind scoured the wilderness, carrying with it the dry, 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:55.760 biting scent of dust and the faint traces of decay 0:03:55.880 --> 0:04:00.280 that still lingered from the quailed plague. Miriam stood at 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:04.760 the camp's edge, her figure stooped but proud, her face 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:09.920 weathered by time and sorrow. Seven days of isolation had 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.640 etched deeper lines into her features, but it was her 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:17.680 heart that bore the heaviest scars. The deaths of her 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:22.320 son Hor and her grandson Yuri haunted her. Hor had 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.960 fallen amid the chaos of the Golden Calf Rebellion, his 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:30.760 blood spilled by the mob's blind fury. Yuri had been 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.680 claimed by greed, choking in the very quail meat that 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:38.680 had rained from the heavens. A bitter irony, Miriam could 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:44.640 neither forgive nor forget. Her pain vested into anger, and 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:49.320 her anger found a target, the foreigners, among them the 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:55.320 so called mixed multitude. It was their influence, she told herself, 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:59.320 that had corrupted the Israelites. From her point of view, 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:03.120 there presence had brought the wrath of the Lord. They 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.840 were a shadow over the Chosen People, diluting their mission 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:11.000 and sowing weakness. And the one who permitted them to stay, 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.760 the man who held the staff of power, was her 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:20.560 brother Moses. As the sun dipped behind the jagged hills, 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:24.720 casting the land in deep purples and golds, Miriam prepared 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:28.600 for the final act of her purification. Her steps were 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:31.479 steady as she joined the line of the young teen, 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.719 those who had buried their dead in the plague's wake. 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:39.320 They awaited the priests at the CAB's border, where ashwater 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:45.120 would cleanse them of their impurity. Miriam's family accompanied her Bezamel, 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:50.120 her great grandson, the tabernacle's gifted architect, and her widowed 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:54.320 granddaughter in all. Yet even with their presence, she felt 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:58.120 the chill of isolation, a wall of anger and grief 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:03.200 separating her from them. At the border, Eliza and Ihamol, 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:09.360 Aaron's sons stood solemnly with the purification vessels deep and deliberate. 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:14.640 Eliza's voice carried over the crowd's murmurs. Oh, dear aunt Miriam, 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:16.280 we grieve with you. 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:19.120 Come forward, and you'll be made clean. 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:24.280 Miriam stepped forward, holding her head high, though the indignity 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:28.000 of her place in line burned in her chest. Eliza 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:32.359 sprinkled the ash water over her, droplets running like tears 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:35.760 down her cheeks. She clenched her jaw against the chill, 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:40.680 refusing to flinch. Eliza off with a respectful nod before 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:42.359 moving on to Besolo. 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:42.720 And the others. 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:49.200 As the ritual progressed, Miriam's mind churned. Moses and Aaron 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:53.159 were exempt from this the law shielded them, keeping them 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:56.440 apart from death and mourning, but also from the people 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.760 they claimed to serve. She had stood alongside them at 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:03.080 the ri at Sea, raising her voice in songs of triumph, 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.880 and yet now her brothers acted like she was a relic, 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:11.360 a symbol of honor with no real influence. That sting 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:15.840 of rejection fanned her anger into resolve. She would confront 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:21.120 them later. As the camp settled into the stillness of evening, 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:26.360 Miriam approached the central tents, where power resided. She stopped 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.480 short when she saw Eldad and Medad, two of the 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:33.800 seventy elders appointed to aid Moses. Their faces lit up 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:38.000 with reverence as they greeted her. Miriam managed a curt smile. 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:43.480 Your condolences are noted, But tell me what business brings 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.920 you here. Your tribes are assigned to the west, are 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:46.240 they not. 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:50.800 From behind a cluster of tents, Ho Shia emerged, his 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:55.840 movements quick and purposeful. His gaze flickered nervously to Miriam 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:57.200 as he approached. 0:07:57.000 --> 0:08:00.400 My lords, the elders are gathering in Lord Moses' tent. 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:01.560 Oh guide you. 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:06.040 The elders departed with ho Sheer, leaving Miriam to stew 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:10.640 in her isolation, her anger simmered. The power her brothers 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:15.000 wielded once shared with her, now felt distant and unreachable. 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:21.360 She clenched her fists and strode toward Moses's tent. Inside 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:26.040 the tent, Moses and Aaron sat in quiet discussion. Miriam 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.960 entered without preamble, her presence as sharp as a blade. 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.240 Brother, I require a word with you, Miriam. 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.360 We were just about to begin deliberations about moving forward. 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:41.440 A word, Moses, Ah, speak your mind, sister? 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:45.920 What has changed? You used to seek my counsel? Include 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:50.000 me in decisions? Do I not prophesy? Do I not advise? 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.559 Was it not my hand that God used to protect 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.560 you and lead you back to our people? Have I 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.560 not stood faithfully by you since your return? 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:00.640 Yet? 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:05.480 Now you appoint new elders and leave me out. You 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.760 call the spirit of God upon these men who are 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:14.920 not your kin? What makes them so deserving? You're so 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.160 absorbed in your duties that you don't even think of 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:23.360 your family anymore. Have you become so holy that you're 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:26.840 no longer one of us? Is that why you've abandoned me? 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:27.920 Miriam? 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.000 No, what you have to understand is. 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:35.320 No what I see is you both edging me out. 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:39.560 He's edged. Don't you too erin? Or have you not noticed? 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:43.000 The High Priest cannot even bury his own children. He 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.199 cannot grieve as a father should. 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.800 Miriam and you, we've both agreed. 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:52.720 Does the Lord only speak through you? You would rule 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:57.199 over us like a pharaoh. You would appoint elders and captains, 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:01.959 and cast your own family aside, me to the outskirts 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:07.280 and Aaron to the tabernacle. You surround yourself with people 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:12.800 you can control. Are you so intimidated that we too 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:18.440 might have something to say? That we too maybe merited leaders. 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.600 Miriam was only picking up speed, the flames of her 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:25.920 rage only kicking off as she drew breath. The shock 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:29.040 on her brother's faces at her words did not even 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:33.520 face her as she plowed forward, unleashing her rage at last. 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:39.520 Hah, and you are not so perfect, brother. Our people 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:44.920 are dying, and yet you stand by your precious foreigners. 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.439 Your years living in the house of our enemies undermine 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:52.840 your loyalty to us. Your love for your cushite wife 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:57.920 and her family has elevated their status among us. Did 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:02.160 not the Lord command us not to make treaties? With foreigners, 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.800 saying they will become a snare among us. And yet 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:09.960 you welcome your wife's father and invite his people to 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:13.600 join us, and you do not send those who came 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:15.199 with us from Egypt away. 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:19.240 You know that my in laws hail from Miliana. Their 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.400 bloodline can be traced back to Abraham himself. 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:26.400 Midianite Cushite. It makes no difference. Would you marry a 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:30.280 Cushite woman next? There are plenty of them here, but 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:34.560 they are not the chosen people. They did not come 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:36.720 through the promised son Isaac. 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:41.280 She knew that her words had stung Moses. Zippora was 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.480 a woman. She socialized with a new world. She cared 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:47.760 for her sons as well. But Miriam could no longer 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:51.480 ignore the troubles and missteps of the people. She needed 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:55.120 someone to blame. They had risked too much and had 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:56.080 come so far. 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.960 In her grief, hatred had formed, and in her hatred 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:05.520 a villain emerged the others, anyone who was not like them, 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:07.640 anyone who would block them. 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.240 From taking the land. Though he had been promised, Moses 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.880 took a steadying breath when she could tell he was 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:16.560 trying to get a grip on his anger. It was 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:20.520 always there, just beneath the surface. He could hide it 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.720 from most, perhaps even from himself, as he had grown 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.160 wisened and burdened by responsibility. But she saw him plain 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:34.240 Moses hands were shaking in anger. His sister's words cut 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:38.280 him to the core. Setting aside her callous words about 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:42.000 his wife, the nagging voice from deep within himself that 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:45.520 told him he didn't belong, that he didn't belong anywhere 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:50.040 was starting to awaken. It shifted and coiled inside of him, 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:54.040 readying to rise and consume him. He knew Miriam was 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.679 allowing her grief to overrun her. This was not Miriam, 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.240 This was not the clever, reasonable, wise woman he had 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.120 come to know. He clung to that truth as the 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:07.280 lies of his own inner demons threatened to take over. 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:10.319 He would have to try and appeal to that reason. 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:14.000 You're twisting the words of the Lord to suit your 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.640 own prejudice. You know, those who came with us were 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.160 escaping the oppressors of Egypt, the same as us. You 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:25.240 would have us become the oppressors in your bigotry. The 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:28.360 Lord warns us from being swayed or taken with the 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:32.480 pagan customs of the peoples we encounter here in the desert. 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.240 The ones who come with us or treat us well, 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.400 can benefit from the blessing of the Lord. You know this, 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:42.120 The blessing of the Lord is not a resource to hoard. 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:45.480 Your anger is making you legalistic. 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:48.520 And that is why you find me unfit to rule 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:49.480 at your side. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.880 Moses's heart lurched. They had come to it at last. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.160 Her hurt was not so different from his own. The 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:02.960 wounds of isolation and rejection cut deep. The brokenness in 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:06.920 her voice softened his heart, and the raging fires dwindled. 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.080 He was about to comfort her when he felt the 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.360 presence of the Lord in his mind, stir warning him 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.920 not to let down his guard. Moses looked to his 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:21.760 brother Aaron, who had despondently observed this exchange. He had 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:25.320 been upholding his duties and his faith, but he seemed 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:29.200 far away. Moses knew he was still grieving as well. 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:33.400 They had all suffered so much loss in these short 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:34.920 years since Egypt. 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:40.160 And you, brother, do you share the same belief that 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.400 I've fallen short as your leader. 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:46.320 Miriam's head whipped to Aaron, and she pinned him with 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:51.200 a meaningful stare. Moses's heart lurched again. They had spoken 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:54.440 of this before. Between the two of them, there was 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:59.280 an unmistakable understanding between them. Moses' bride stung with the 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:01.640 feeling of being cut out again. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:05.680 Brother, No one will deny that you're a prophet, but 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.680 Miriam speaks the truth. You are not the only one 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:13.040 among us. The Lord speaks through. We think your pride 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:14.320 has gotten the best of you. 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:20.520 Moses was stunned his pride when they both so clearly 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.480 pined for power. They were both unsatisfied with the rolls 0:15:24.520 --> 0:15:28.120 they had been given. Moses had never wanted this, he 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.800 didn't choose it. It had forged a humility in him 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:36.720 that he was constantly reckoning with at every turn. The losses, 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:40.920 the failures, the missteps. The power of the Lord stood 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:45.760 above it all, and somehow Moses was still there, still 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:49.120 asked to lead. Pride had nothing to do with it, 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.760 with all that he had to endure. Perhaps he was 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:55.080 the most humble man on the face of the earth, 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.400 for his fears and his ego would have made him 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.120 give up long ago. It was only through his humility 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:06.200 that he could maintain the faithfulness to keep to his mission. 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:10.280 But suddenly he felt the anger of the Lord mounting. 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:13.560 He had felt this before. It shook him out of 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.920 his own in a turmoil. His stomach dropped out. He 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.720 knew where this was headed, but he could not deny 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:21.080 the promptings of the Lord. 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.160 We are being summoned to stand. 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:24.520 Before the Lord. 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.360 Aaron's knees trembled as he stood before the Lord, the 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:33.280 towering d of Cowd swirling above them at the tenth entrance. 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:38.040 He knew his siblings would notice his fear. Speaking aloud 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:41.600 the doubts he and Miriam shared about Moses now felt 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:46.240 like a grave error. Yet, seeing Miriam's desperation, he couldn't 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:50.320 falter in supporting her, and deep down he couldn't deny 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.720 the doubt that had been growing in his heart for 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.880 a long time. For who had suffered more than Aaron. 0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:01.360 He had sacrificed his first borns and relinquished leadership to Moses. 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:05.760 Perhaps that had been the true mistake, But standing now 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:09.159 before their Lord, he had a sinking feeling that it 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.440 had been a bigger mistake to say it aloud. 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:15.359 Listen to what I say. If there is a prophet 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:19.280 among you from the Lord, I make myself known to 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:23.960 him in a vision. I speak with him in a dream. 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:28.680 Not so with my servant Moses. He is the most 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:35.879 faithful in all my household. I speak with him directly, openly, 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:44.280 not in riddles. He alone sees my very form. 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:49.080 Aaron could not stop trembling. Drawing breath was difficult, as 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:51.760 the words of the Lord pomed over them in a 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.240 lightning building within the cloud punctuated every word. 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:59.320 Why were you not afraid to speak against my servant 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.720 Moses and the jealousy and resentment you harbor in your 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:07.399 hearts towards him. You must have known I would not 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:08.520 let it stand. 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:13.960 Aaron's knees finally gave out, and he fell. He sobbed 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:17.679 as his heart broke, and he relented. In his heart, 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.080 he begged for forgiveness of his own pride and scheming. 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:26.320 Please, Lord, you've forgiven me before, Please do so again. 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:31.359 I know I don't deserve it, but please forgive me now. 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:36.520 Aaron fell face down before the war weeping. Miriam stood 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:41.359 beside him, tears streaming silently, though defiance still burned in 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:46.400 her eyes. Suddenly the cloud withdrew and her scream pierced 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:50.160 the air. Aaron flinched feeling she had been struck down 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.480 like his son's. But as Moses rushed to her, he 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:57.840 gasped in horror. Miriam's skin had turned white and diseased, 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:02.280 flaking and peeling like snow. From where Aaron knelt, he 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:06.760 watched as the sows spread rapidly, the skin fluttering away 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:10.840 like dust. Her cries shifted from shock to the sharp 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:15.479 yelps of pain as numbness crept through her limbs. Aaron 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:20.840 remained frozen, paralyzed by fear, unable to help. Moses, however, 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:24.760 dropped to his knees, facing the most holy place and 0:19:24.880 --> 0:19:26.800 pleaded desperately for her healing. 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:32.160 Ugh no, no, my God, Please please, please don't hold 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:35.000 against us, this said, We've so foolishly committed. 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:36.920 Please heal her. 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:42.520 Miriam's cries became whimpers of despair. Aaron could barely stand 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.199 to look at her in her agony. For a moment, 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:49.400 there was nothing but Miriam's broken cries and the intensity 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:52.639 of Moses pleased hanging in the air between them and 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:57.160 the holy veil of the tabernacle. The Lord finally responded, 0:19:57.520 --> 0:19:59.440 and his anger seemed diminished. 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:03.840 Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days, 0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:10.080 after that she may be brought back in relief. 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:14.720 Flooded through both brothers, Miriam cried out as well, knowing 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:18.640 she had been spared by her brother's intervention. Aaron let 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:22.040 out a shuddering breath, eternally grateful he did not have 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:26.280 to watch another execution in the holy place. Moses gently 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:29.200 approached Aaron and placed his hand on his shoulder. 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:36.439 Needs a purifire, so her diseased skin can in here, Oh, 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.359 your son, and he his art to do it, I 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:40.320 will help him. 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:45.159 With trembling hands, Aaron called for Elieza to perform the 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:50.040 ritual for cleansing skin diseases. As high priest, Aaron couldn't 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:54.240 risk becoming ritually and pure, even for his sister. He 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:58.800 stood a few paces back, watching helplessly as Miriam knelt 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:02.639 on the ground. Two birds were brought forward like the 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:06.680 goats on Atonement day, one for sacrifice and the other 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:12.800 to be set free. Miriam, defeated and contrite, accepted her penance, 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:17.040 weeping out apologies as they helped cleanse her and shave 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:21.520 her hair according to custom. Moses and Aaron then sent 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:24.800 her into the wilderness for the seven days of purification. 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:29.480 Moses declared that the camp would not move until Miriam 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:31.600 was fully restored and clean. 0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:39.280 This strange Bible story is a bit unsettling, isn't it. 0:21:39.280 --> 0:21:42.000 It's unsettling to see Miriam and Aaron pillars of faith 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:45.359 fall into jealousy. The ones who stood alongside Moses, who 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:49.840 saw the miracles, who felt God's presence, even they whispered rebellion. 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:52.920 And I find this unsettling story. 0:21:52.600 --> 0:21:53.880 A bit hard to understand. 0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:57.560 When considering this story, many of the Jewish ages wonder 0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:01.160 why Miriam was punished for speaking ill of her brother Moses, 0:22:01.520 --> 0:22:05.919 since her intent was constructive. The sage is suggest that 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:08.440 the problem is what we call in Hebrew less shon 0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:13.240 harah negative speech. Don't we all do that sometimes, convince 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:17.320 ourselves that something negative we say is for constructive reasons, 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:19.960 and therefore it's okay. How do we know if that 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:24.399 negative speech is actually doing good? It's very hard. We can't. 0:22:24.440 --> 0:22:27.800 We might think it's productive, but it's not. And so 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:31.160 it's better to avoid any negative speech about others, since, 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:34.920 even if we don't mean to, we might be harming them. 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:37.159 The sages note that going all the way back to 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.280 the Garden of Eden, the very first incident of slander 0:22:40.440 --> 0:22:43.800 in the world was spoken by the serpent, who is 0:22:43.880 --> 0:22:46.120 speaking against God himself. 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:48.320 So I think we should all. 0:22:48.359 --> 0:22:51.440 Learn from this Bible story and work to avoid less 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:55.840 shon haarrah negative speech, and to stop speaking about one 0:22:55.880 --> 0:23:02.120 another altogether unless it's something really nice. Now, let's talk 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:05.280 about Miriam. Miriam, the same woman who had been with 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:08.240 Moses through everything, through the plagues and the parting of 0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:11.520 the sea. This same Miriam let a moment of pride 0:23:11.560 --> 0:23:15.600 and jealousy take over her. She spoke out against her 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:18.480 own brother, and for that she was struck with leprosy 0:23:18.880 --> 0:23:22.480 and cast out of the camp for seven days, seven 0:23:22.600 --> 0:23:26.760 days of silence. But here's the part that gets me. 0:23:27.240 --> 0:23:32.920 The entire nation, hundreds of thousands of Israelites paused, They 0:23:32.920 --> 0:23:36.199 didn't move on, They waited for her, And we have 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:40.480 this beautiful moment of kindness of grace. And why did 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:45.280 the chosen people wait for Miriam? Well, because decades earlier, 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:48.960 Miriam had stood by the Nile watching over baby Moses, 0:23:49.000 --> 0:23:52.440 making sure that he was safe in that basket. Now 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:56.880 hundreds of thousands of people showed the same compassion, waiting 0:23:57.280 --> 0:24:02.120 for her healing and also waiting there it's full circle. 0:24:02.680 --> 0:24:07.840 We have Miriam's brother, Moses, Moses, the man described in 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:11.200 numbers as more humble than anyone else on the face 0:24:11.240 --> 0:24:14.520 of the earth, the same Moses who had every right 0:24:14.600 --> 0:24:19.480 to be offended, to hold a grudge, but instead he 0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:23.280 prayed with all of his heart for his sister. He 0:24:23.320 --> 0:24:28.200 didn't seek revenge or punishment. He sought her healing. And 0:24:28.280 --> 0:24:33.000 this is the essence of leadership, humility. It reminds me 0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:37.200 of Mayaba, my father a by reel Ekstein of Blessed Memory. 0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:40.240 He once told me that real leadership is not about 0:24:40.320 --> 0:24:44.600 taking the spotlight. It's about stepping aside so that others 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:50.320 can shine, just like Moses did. True leaders lift others up, 0:24:50.520 --> 0:24:53.400 even when they've been hurt. How often do we show 0:24:53.440 --> 0:24:57.280 the same compassion that we've seen from Moses, from Miriam 0:24:57.720 --> 0:25:02.080 and from the Chosen people. Pride is a strange thing, 0:25:02.240 --> 0:25:05.240 isn't it. It sneaks in, almost unnoticed, even in the 0:25:05.280 --> 0:25:09.160 most well meaning hearts. Miriam wasn't a stranger to her 0:25:09.160 --> 0:25:13.520 brother's calling. She was his sister, his partner in the journey. 0:25:14.160 --> 0:25:17.080 She had watched over Moses as a baby, stood with 0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:19.639 him through the trials of Egypt, And yet in this 0:25:19.800 --> 0:25:26.480 moment she questions his authority. Why because pride is always 0:25:26.560 --> 0:25:29.600 there lurking, It whispers. 0:25:29.160 --> 0:25:29.760 Why not me? 0:25:29.960 --> 0:25:30.440 Why not? 0:25:30.520 --> 0:25:30.720 Now? 0:25:30.880 --> 0:25:34.359 Haven't I done enough? This is the same struggle that 0:25:34.400 --> 0:25:37.720 we've seen time and time again throughout this journey of 0:25:37.760 --> 0:25:42.320 the Chosen People, from the garden of Eden to the wilderness. 0:25:42.359 --> 0:25:47.119 Over and over again, our ancestors faced the challenge of pride, 0:25:47.720 --> 0:25:51.840