Last night when I read the parsha I felt a connection. Unfortunately yesterday we lost two very monumental members of the pop culture community. Michael Jackson was an amazing performer who could sing and dance like no one business. Farrah Fawcett was a stupendous actress. Chukat losses to very important people of the Israelite community. I could relate.
The first Israelite was Miriam. She was Moses's sister and helped him figure out he was a Jew. She made sure he was safe when they sent him down the river. The people were very sad to see her go. I would compare Farrah to Miriam because they were both not healthy. Farrah was going to die of cancer and Miriam was not the youngest Israelites in the desert. Miriam was the first death and made people quite upset.
I do not know if this is still true about people, but the Israelites were quite cranky after her death. Does the human spirit know how to cope with death? Maybe the passing just opened their eyes because the Israelites realized they are in the desert. They will not live forever. They ordered Moses ands Aaron speed the process up. They did not believe in God.
As a punishment for their loss of faith, God would not allow the brothers to enter the promised land. This got me thinking, do we die from loss of our faith? Faith is always a priority for me.
I would compare Aaron to Michael Jackson because it was a little more spontaneous. Aaron was a bigger name to. Michael Jackson was the king of pop, Aaron spoke for Moses when he faced Pharaoh.
We all deal with death different ways, but however we do it is not the joyous event ever. Whether its an Aaron and a Michael or a Farrah and a Miriam, death is an experience that Judaism or just faith can heal and I think prevent.
To me, death is never easy to deal with whether it is a loved one or a celebrity. I try to always to take the good of the person and try to translate it into positive energy for the future.
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