Humble positions[1]
ותדבר מרים ואהרן במשה על אדות האשה וגו’
Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe, regarding [his separating from his] wife[2]
Our Sages tell us that Moshe separated from his wife once he became a prophet. He felt he needed an extra level of purity to retain his constant connection to Hashem, preventing his earthly relationship with his wife from continuing. Miriam thought this was inappropriate, and consulted with Aharon what to do to rectify this. Rashi informs us how Miriam found out about this fact about Moshe’s private life. Hashem told Moshe to gather seventy elders to form the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court. There were 72 candidates, and all of them received some form of prophecy. Two of them, Eldad and Meidad, retained their prophecy, long after the others stopped. Tziporra, Moshe’s wife, commented to Miriam that, “Woe to the wives of these two, for when my husband became a prophet he separated from me”. Why did Tziporra specify Eldad and Meidad? All of the seventy elders received some form of prophecy…