Kommentar zu Bamidbar 11:16

אספה לי GATHER UNTO ME [SEVENTY MEN OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL] — "This" — the Lord said — “is the reply to your complaint which you uttered (v. 14) I am not able to bear all this people alone”’ (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 92). But where were the first elders, that God commanded him to gather elders anew? Had they not sat as judges together with them (with Moses and Aaron) in Egypt, as it is stated, (Exodus 3:16) “Go and gather the elders of Israel together”? But these had died by the consuming fire of Taberah (v. 3). They really had deserved this for their conduct at Sinai, as it is said, (Exodus 24:11) "And they beheld God” which means, that they comported themselves irreverently towards God — like a person who nibbles his bread and at the same time addresses the king — for this is the meaning of the words, “[And they saw God] and ate and drank”. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, did not wish to give any cause for mourning at the joyous event of the Lawgiving, and therefore punished them here (at Taberah) (Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 16).

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: GATHER UNTO ME SEVENTY MEN OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL. Our Rabbis have already mentioned that there are seventy nations¹⁹⁰Bereshith Rabbah 66:8. with seventy languages,¹⁹¹Sanhedrin 17 a. each one having a constellation in the heavens with a prince above it, as it is said in the Book of Daniel, and the prince of the kingdom of Persia,¹⁹²Daniel 10:13. See Ramban in Leviticus 18:25, and also Vol. I, pp. 349-350. and it is [further] written with reference to the kings of Greece, lo, the prince of Greece shall come;¹⁹³Daniel 10:20. and it is about this that Scripture states, And the Eternal will punish the host of the high heaven on high.¹⁹⁴Isaiah 24:21. The Rabbis have also said¹⁹⁵Succah 58 b. that the [seventy] bullocks [brought as offerings on the seven days] of the Festival of Tabernacles allude to them. [A similar reference to the seventy princes we find, in connection with the Tower of Babel] in the Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer:¹⁹⁶Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer. Chapter 24. “Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to the seventy kings that surround the throne of His Glory: ‘Let us come and confound their language.’”¹⁹⁷Genesis 11:7. It was for this reason that the number of those who went down to Egypt was seventy,¹⁹⁸Ibid., 46:27. and that He commanded that there should be this number of judges in Israel [as is stated in the verse before us], for this number includes all opinions [that are possible in a given case] since it comprises all powers, and there will not be anything too hard for them.¹⁹⁹Deuteronomy 17:8-9: If there arise a matter ‘too hard for thee’ in judgment … then shalt thou arise etc. — and go to the judges of the Great Sanhedrin and they will answer you. The point is thus clear: there will not be anything “too hard” for them. Similarly at the Giving of the Torah [special prominence was given to] seventy elders of Israel,²⁰⁰Exodus 24:1. and it is fitting that the Glory of the Divine Presence should rest upon [a group of] this perfect number, since it is [comparable to] the camp on high, for Israel are the hosts of the Eternal²⁰¹Ibid., 12:41. See also Vol. I, p. 393. on earth, just as the ark and its cover and the Tabernacle were all made in the likeness of those that minister [before Him] on high. So also were the [four] standards made in the image of the Divine Chariot which Ezekiel saw,²⁰²Ezekiel, Chapter I. in order that the Divine Presence should rest upon them on earth as it is present in the heavens.
Now Moses was above the seventy elders [in authority], thus alluding to Israel, a nation one in the earth.²⁰³II Samuel 7:23. And our Rabbis have received by tradition that every Sanhedrin (Great Court) that sits in G-d’s House in the place which He shall choose on which to rest His Presence, should consist of this number, seventy, with the head [of the Court] above them [in authority] like Moses our teacher, and thus they comprise [a Court] a seventy-one [judges, and with the Divine Presence in their midst they are seventy-two]. Similarly the letters in the Great Ineffable Divine Name are seventy-two, corresponding to the seventy princes [of the seventy nations, together with Israel, making seventy-one nations],²⁰⁴Abusaula, and so also in Beiur Ha’lvush to Ricanti. and the One G-d who is the sole Master over all. It is to this that Scripture hints in saying, G-d standeth in the congregation of G-d; in the midst of the judges He judgeth,²⁰⁵Psalms 82:1. for the Divine Presence is with them to assent to their judgment. And Scripture further states, How long will ye judge unjustly?,²⁰⁶Ibid., Verse 2. thus admonishing [and saying] that since the Glorious Name²⁰⁷Deuteronomy 28:58. is with them in giving judgment,²⁰⁸II Chronicles 19:6. how can you not be fearful of Him when you pervert justice, as in the expression, the people that provoke Me to My face continually.²⁰⁹Isaiah 65:3. And it states furthermore [in that psalm], “I said: Ye are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High,²¹⁰Psalms 82:6. for your number is the same as the number of the princes above and the One Master, and so I said that you will sit in the seat of G-d²¹¹Ezekiel 28:2. on earth. But ‘k’adam’ ye shall die²¹²Psalms 82:7. — like the first man [Adam] who was driven from his glorious place [in the Garden of Eden] and died, so will you [who judge unjustly] be driven out of the House of G-d and die. And like one of the princes²¹²Psalms 82:7. on high you were, but you fell from that high position.” I have already mentioned something of this matter in Seder V’eileh Hamishpatim.²¹³And these are the ordinances — Exodus 21:1. The verse referred to is ibid., 6.

אספה לי שבעים איש, "gather for Me seventy men, etc." G'd did not say: "gather the seventy elders for Me." This is proof of what Bamidbar Rabbah 15,21 stated that the elders who had accompanied Moses on the way from Egypt had all been killed at the same time as Chur the son of Miriam. This is why G'd instructed Moses to appoint others in their place from amongst the elders of Israel. G'd added the word לי "for Me," to tell Moses that he must have in mind that these elders would perform a task for G'd so that he would not be misled by Satan to appoint someone not qualified. Once Moses had the right intention in appointing them he would be protected by the principle that people in the process of performing a good deed will not be thwarted in their intention.

אשר ידעת כי הם זקני העם ושומריו, “whom you know to be the elders of the people and its officers.” Ibn Ezra writes that there are elders who are not qualified to perform both the tasks G’d describes here.

The reply to your complaint. For if not so, what is the relevance of this passage here being juxtaposed to the passage of the complaints.

V. 16. אספה לי שבעים איש. Wie in den späteren Jahrhunderten des Verfalls das Erscheinen einer so glänzenden Reihe von Männern der Prophetie und der heiligen Begeisterung bekundet, wie denn doch mitten im Volke sich ein großer geistig und sittlich reiner Kreis von Familien erhalten haben müsse, aus deren Schoß solche Männer hervorgehen konnten, so ist diese Aufgabe, aus Israels Ältesten siebzig Männer auszuwählen, die der Begeistigung Gottes und des Mitwirkens an der Gottesarbeit im Volke gewürdigt werden sollen, in einem Momente, der uns soeben "העם" das Volk, in so wenig gehobenem Lichte erblicken lässt, eine Tatsache, die uns doch bekundet, welche tiefe Wurzel die Erkenntnis und die Hingebung an Gott und an seine Absichten mit Israel denn doch bereits in einem großen edlen Kreis mitten in der erst noch zu gleicher Höhe heranzuerziehenden Menge geschlagen haben müsse.

אספה לי שבעים איש, “assemble seventy men for Me.” Why did G–d say: “for Me,” and why did He say: איש, “man,” singular mode, instead of אנשים, “men,”? In both instances the wording implies that the men selected were to be especially outstanding people. G–d Himself is described by Moses in his song of gratitude for the Israelites’ deliverance from the armies of Pharaoh as איש מלחמה, “man of war.” (Exodus 15,3) and when the Torah wishes to compliment his humility, it does so by calling him: והאיש משה עניו מאד, “and the man Moses, was exceedingly humble.” We did not need to be told that Moses was a man; the Torah wished to add this word as a mark of Moses’ outstanding distinction. The Talmud, in tractate Sanhedrin, folio 36, understands Numbers 11,16: והתיצבו שם עמך, “so that they may stand there with you,” as meaning that these men should be of a stature similar to that of Moses. [The word עמך in that verse was not really necessary, as it would have been understood automatically that these men were to stand there alongside Moses. Ed.] An alternate interpretation: the word לי, refers to the fact that the whole universe belongs to Hashem. The function of the seventy men to be selected by Moses is to ensure that the universe and its people created by G–d will endure, i.e. that His rules for it should be observed. We have a verse in Amos 9,6: הבונה בשמים מעלותו ואגודתו על ארץ יסדה, “He Who builds His chambers in the heavens, and founded His vault on the earth.” The prophet means that G–d’s creative work regarding the earth, was conditioned on people helping Him to keep it in shape. If earth were to collapse due to man’s failings, G–d would have no reason to keep the heavens going either. Bamidbar Rabbah, on Numbers 15,24 illustrates this by the following parable. When palaces have been built on the decks of ships, as long as these palaces are connected to their bases, the ships, all is well, once the palaces have been detached from the ships, these ships have no reason for further existence.

אספה לי שבעים איש, “gather for me seventy men;” the number 70 is symbolic of the original seventy Israelites that left the land of Canaan to go to Egypt, as well as the seventy elders that were the leaders of the people at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai. (Exodus 24,1) It also symbolises the seventy families mentioned in the census reported in Numbers chapter 26, as well as the members of the Supreme Court, Sanhedrin, excluding its president, in later Jewish history.

אשר ידעת כי הם וגו׳ WHOM THOU KNOWEST TO BE [THE ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE, AND BAILIFFS OVER THEM] — i.e. them whom thou knowest to have been appointed officers (שמרים) over them (the Israelites) in Egypt in connection with the rigorous labour imposed on them, but they pitied them and were smitten by the Egyptian taskmasters on their account — as it is said, (Exodus 5:14) “and the officers of (שמד) the children of Israel were smitten”. Now they were to become officers in their greatness (now when the Israelites had become great) just as they had suffered when they (the Israelites) were in distress (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 92).

Like someone munching on his loaf while speaking. Likewise they were eating and drinking while gazing at the Divine Presence.

Another meaning of the word לי is that G'd would confirm the appointments and the authority of these elders would be derived directly from G'd rather than merely from Moses. G'd also used this word to encourage people to accept this position as they might have been afraid remembering the fate that had befallen the first set of elders who had been murdered by the mob. By describing the appointment of these elders with the word אסיפה, a term used for death, G'd made clear that He considered the elders who had been killed as having died in the service of the Lord. Compare Psalms 44,23 כי עליך הורגנו כל היום, "for it is for Your sake that we are getting killed all day long."

מזקני ישראל. Es waren auch bis jetzt schon und von den geschichtlichen Anfängen des Volkes Israel her "זקנים", "Älteste", in ihm vorhanden und nahmen eine hervorragende, maßgebende Stellung im Volke ein, (siehe Schmot 3, 16 und folgendes Kapitel sowie Wajikra 9, 1); ja, wie wir sogleich hören, hatten sie bereits eine amtliche Wirksamkeit, waren שוטריו, das Pflichtleben des Volkes überwachende Aufseher. Aus diesen Ältesten, die bereits einen aus freiem, natürlichem Vertrauen hervorgegangenen Einfluss im Volke besaßen, somit eine solche Vater und Mutter gleiche Stellung zum Volke hatten, deren Mangel Mosche V. 12 für sich beklagte, sollten siebzig zur Mitarbeit an Mosche Erziehungswerk am Volke berufen und dieser Beruf ihnen öffentlich von Gott erteilt werden.

אשר ידעת כי הם זקני העם, “whom you have known to be the elders of the people;” they allowed themselves to be beaten rather than to impose more hardships on their fellow Jews. Compare Exodus 5,14, regarding this. We have a tradition that anyone who deliberately suffers in order to spare fellow Jews suffering, will eventually be rewarded by being appointed to an important position, and will be granted a measure of Holy Spirit.

ולקחת אתם AND TAKE THEM [UNTO THE APPOINTED TENT] — win them over with fine words: “Happy are you that you are appointed chiefs over the children of the Omnipresent God” (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 92).

Officers over them in Egypt. For if this were not so, since they were already officers over the people why would he have to appoint them now?

זקני העם ושוטריו, the elders of the people and its officers." They should be people who could command the respect and obedience of the people. All this is implied in the word ושוטריו.

אספה לי, nicht אספה allgemein, nicht אספה לך zur Befriedigung deines dir persönlich fühlbar gewordenen Bedürfnisses, sondern: אספה לי, es soll damit eine bleibende, für die Verwirklichung meines ewigen Zweckes im Volke für immer bestimmte Institution begründet werden. Es war dies die Begründung des großen Volksrates, der aus siebzig mit deren Präses, wie hier die siebzig Ältesten mit Mosche, bestehenden Sanhedrin, die für alle Folgezeit sich nur als die Mosche unter- und beigeordneten Gehilfen zur Ausführung und Vollendung der durch Mosche überbrachten Aufgabe des Volkes zu betrachten haben.

והתיצבו שם עמך AND LET THEM PLACE THEMSELVES THERE WITH THEE, in order that the Israelites may see it and do them high esteem and honour, saying, “Beloved indeed must these be since they may enter together with Moses to hear Divine utterance from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He!” (Sifrei Bamidbar 92).