Behaalotecha - in The Liturgy

In The Liturgy

Some Jews read “at 50 years old one offers counsel,” reflecting the retirement age for Levites in Numbers 8:25, as they study Pirkei Avot chapter 6 on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah. (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals with an Interlinear Translation, 580. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-697-3.)

The laws of the Passover offering in Numbers 9:2 provide an application of the second of the Thirteen Rules for interpreting the Torah in the Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael that many Jews read as part of the readings before the Pesukei d’Zimrah prayer service. The second rule provides that similar words in different contexts invite the reader to find a connection between the two topics. The words “in its proper time” (בְּמוֹעֲדוֹ, bemoado) in Numbers 28:2 indicate that the priests needed to bring the daily offering “in its proper time,” even on a Sabbath. Applying the second rule, the same words in Numbers 9:2 mean that the priests needed to bring the Passover offering “in its proper time,” even on a Sabbath. (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 243.)

The Passover Haggadah, in the korech section of the Seder, quotes the words “they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs” from Numbers 9:11 to support Hillel’s practice of combining matzah and maror together in a sandwich. (Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 68. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9. Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 104. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.)

Jews sing the words “at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses” (עַל-פִּי יְהוָה בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה, al pi Adonai b’yad Moshe) from Numbers 9:23 while looking at the raised Torah during the lifting of the Torah (Hagbahah) after the Torah reading. (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 377, 485.)

Based on the command of Numbers 10:10 to remember the Festivals, on the new month (Rosh Chodesh) and intermediate days (Chol HaMoed) of Passover and Sukkot, Jews add a paragraph to the weekday afternoon (Minchah) Amidah prayer just before the prayer of thanksgiving (Modim). (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 40.)

Jews chant the description of how the Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant in Numbers 10:35 (קוּמָה יְהוָה, וְיָפֻצוּ אֹיְבֶיךָ, וְיָנֻסוּ מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ, מִפָּנֶיךָ, kumah Adonai, v’yafutzu oyvecha, v’yanusu m’sanecha, mipanecha) during the Torah service when the Ark containing the Torah is opened. And Jews chant the description of how the Israelites set the Ark of the Covenant down in Numbers 10:36 (וּבְנֻחֹה, יֹאמַר: שׁוּבָה יְהוָה, רִבְבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, uv’nuchoh yomar: shuvah Adonai, riv’vot alfei Yisrael) during the Torah service when the Torah is returned to the Ark. (Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, 139, 154. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8. Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 358, 399, 480, 487.)

The characterization of Moses as God’s “trusted servant” in Numbers 12:7 finds reflection shortly after the beginning of the Kedushah section in the Sabbath morning (Shacharit) Amidah prayer. (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 344.)

In the Yigdal hymn, the eighth verse, “God gave His people a Torah of truth, by means of His prophet, the most trusted of His household,” reflects Numbers 12:7–8. (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 16–17. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)

The 16th Century Safed Rabbi Eliezer Azikri quoted the words of the prayer of Moses “Please God” (אֵל, נָא, El nah) in Numbers 12:13 in his kabbalistic poem Yedid Nefesh (“Soul’s Beloved”), which in turn many congregations chant just before the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, at 14.)

The prayer of Moses for Miriam’s health in Numbers 12:13, “Heal her now, O God, I beseech You” (אֵל, נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ, El, nah r’fah nah lah) — just five simple words in Hebrew — demonstrates that it is not the length of a prayer that matters. (Reuven Hammer. Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service, 6. New York: Schocken, 1995. ISBN 0-8052-1022-9.)