Hello, and welcome back!
This week we read the portion Behaalotecha. A lot happens in this portion…like a lot a lot, so we’re going to just focus on one chunk of it. In the last portion, we see Miriam and Aaron speaking negatively about Moses. As a result, Miriam is punished with tzara’at, a skin disease that is commonly interpreted as leprosy (it was also brought up in parshat Tazria). Aaron pleads with Moses to ask G-d to not let Miriam suffer too terribly with tzara’at. Moses prays for her health and recovery. G-d says Miriam’s ailment will last only one week. However, she must remain outside of camp for the seven days until she’s fully recovered. So for this week, we want to focus on healing.
At the end of this portion Moses says, “O God, pray heal her!” Moses pleads with God to heal Miriam from the leprosy that has been inflicted upon her. These words appear in the Torah as:
The last five words of this line are, “el nah r’fa nah lah”. Do those words sound familiar? These powerful words of healing have been set to music, and you’ve probably heard them before. We want to share two particularly beautiful settings.
The first is written by Nava Tehila, an organization in Jerusalem whose focus is on Jewish renewal. They create, “musical and engaging prayer spaces where people feel comfortable to come as they are.” Their beautiful melody includes just four words, and a lot of healing power.
Another beautiful setting of Leviticus 12:13 is Heal Us Now by Cantor Leon Sher. This prayer has always been particularly meaningful and beautiful to Amanda.
Additional lyrics read,
Hoshia et amecha uvareich et nachalatecha, Ur’em v’nas’eim ad haolam.
Mi shebeirach avoteinu, mi shebeirach imoteinu, Ana Adonai hoshiah na.
We pray for healing of our people, we pray for healing of the land, And peace for every race and nation, Every child, every woman, every man.
We find these last verses particularly meaningful to us with all of the events of the last year. There have been so many instances of violence and hatred that this prayer helps give us hope that one day, even if we may not live to see it, there will be peace. Just like Miriam’s healing was not immediate, the world’s healing will not be immediate. It will take time, but when the time comes it will feel amazing.
To get the true beauty and meaning out of these pieces, we encourage you to listen to the videos we included. Their melodies add a sense of hope, peace, and love to the beautiful words written in Leviticus 12:13.
We are living through a time when we could all use some healing. (But then again, when aren’t we?) We are living through a global pandemic that turned our worlds upside down, multiple historic events all jam-packed into a single year/year-and-a-half, and the recent uptick in violence across the world relating to the Israeli/Palestinian crisis.
We aren’t experts on the situation and won’t go into much detail in this post, but we highly encourage you to research what has been going on, not only this year but in years past. The important thing to note is that there are so many innocent people who have been affected by the uptick in hatred and violence all over the world. We want all of them to find peace and healing. Now, we know this is no easy or simple task, and it takes more than “thoughts and prayers” to make a difference.
Healing takes a lot of hard work, and it isn’t instant. One thing that doesn’t help healing is sensationalism and spreading toxic messages. You might be quick to share that infographic or retweet that tweet, but don’t be so haste. Don’t feel pressured to say something to appear “woke” or because you feel like you have to right away. The spreading of misinformation can be damaging and detrimental to innocent people and you can cause more harm than help. It’s good to use your voice and speak out against injustice, but do your research. Put in work. Don’t just do what’s quick and easy. Nothing about this is quick and easy. A single comment can lead to suffering. Just look at Miriam in this portion. She made a single comment (as did Aaron) and she was punished for a week because of it.
Your actions and words are powerful, use them wisely. With the wide reach of social media, our words and actions have the potential to be more powerful than ever before. But remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
We believe that everyone has a right to land to call home. We condemn the violence that has caused so many innocent people to suffer on both sides. We also condemn the spread of hatred, misinformation, and antisemitism.
Healing takes time and effort. If you want to help people, do the work.
Until next time, wear a mask, wash your hands, and stay safe!
Love,
Amanda & Marissa
