The story of Eldad and Medad that appears in Parashat Beha’alotecha – leaves much to the imagination. The Torah relates that Moshe gathered seventy elders who had received Godly spirit, but that two remained in the camp:
Then the LORD came down in a cloud and spoke to him; He drew upon the spirit that was on him and put it upon the seventy elders. And when the spirit rested upon them, they spoke in ecstasy, but did not continue.
Two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in camp; yet the spirit rested upon them—they were among those recorded, but they had not gone out to the Tent—and they spoke in ecstasy in the camp.
Bemidbar 11:25-26
From the very beginning, the relationship between the seventy elders and these two individuals is unclear. Were Eldad and Medad supposed to be members of that group? What is the process of prophecy and what was special about their prophecy in the camp?
Furthermore, while Yehoshua becomes upset and demands that Eldad and Medad be restrained, Moshe appears unperturbed and suggests: “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD put His spirit upon them!”
What is the point of disagreement between Moshe and Yehoshua? What was it that upset Yehoshua, and what did Moshe see that led him to wish it on everyone?
The rabbinic sages viewed Eldad and Medad in a positive light, suggesting that they were modest individuals who chose to remain in the camp rather than join the elders in receiving Godly spirit, believing themselves to be unworthy of such greatness.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Since you have made yourselves humble, I will add greatness to your greatness (Sanhedrin 17a).
Was their reluctance to participate solely due to their modesty – their belief that they were undeserving? The disagreement about the status of the prophecy of Eldad and Medad is closely connected with the content of that prophecy. The Gemara suggests three possible statements that made up their prophecy:
And what prophecy did they prophesy? They said: Moses will die, and Joshua will bring the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael.
Abba Ḥanin says in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: They prophesied about the matter of the quail that came afterward (Numbers 11:31–33), saying: Arise quail, arise quail, and then the quail came.
Rav Naḥman says: They were prophesying about the matter of Gog and Magog.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch discusses Rav Nahman’s statement in some detail. He suggests that the wars of Gog and Magog described in the books of Yehezkel and Zekharia are the final developments in world history. According to Yehezkel, the change that is expected at the end of times is the birth of a city that is based on the simplicity of the wisdom of the masses: “Here shall also be a city named Multitude. And thus the land shall be cleansed” (Yehezkel 39:16). The idea that at the end of days the simplicity of the wisdom of the masses will win out is also found in other of Yehezkel’s prophecies, such as “Thus will I manifest My greatness and My holiness, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations. And they shall know that I am the LORD” (Yehezkel 38:23). Torah will no longer be the sole possession of unique individuals, and a recognition of God will no longer belong to a narrow, elite group.
This clarifies why the rabbinic sages chose to connect God and Magog with Eldad and Medad, and why they were the ones chosen to share the prophecy of “spiritual privatization.” According to this midrash, Eldad and Medad refused to allow themselves to be appointed to a high position, one that carried with it power and influence. They preferred to remain within the camp. By means of their actions, they expressed the ideals of the utopian victory of the masses. The redemption that they promise will transfer power from the ruling elite to the people.
This idea can be used to explain the connection between the incident of Eldad and Medad and their prophecy that Moshe will die and Yehoshua will replace him. Their prophecy made clear that God resides in the midst of the Jewish people. This implies that the nation does not really need Moshe as leader – it can continue on its path even without him. No man is irreplaceable; the national destiny can be fulfilled under a different leader, as well (see Rav Hirsch).
The suggestion that the prophecy related to the quail can be understood in a similar manner. Eldad and Medad identified a communal need – the people felt they needed to eat meat. Rather than belittling the demand for daily, physical needs, they viewed this as an opportunity to raise and revive the national spirit – to express a Godly spiritual experience by means of the meat. In his Dover Tzedek, Rav Zadok HaKohen mi-Lublin expresses this idea as follows:
They began to speak against Moshe
For the holiness of the Land already was growing in them
As expressed by their desire for meat
Which is the antithesis of Moshe (Dover Tzedek p. 126).
Eldad and Medad disagreed with Moshe, who rejected the demand for meat as excessive. They recognized the unique holiness of the Land of Israel, where even the mundane becomes holy, which allowed them to see that the nation’s request for meat had merit to it. In this context, as well, we can see how their prophecy emphasized the special qualities of the common people, who recognized the powerful holy aspects of the mundane even before their leaders did. Incidentally, we can attribute to this the opposition to the centralization of the ruling power and the preservation of knowledge and authority within an elite group.
As an example, in the 16th century, the Shel”ah – Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz – used the example of Eldad and Medad to battle the elitist movement of “hilukim” in the yeshiva world. “Hilukim” were highly developed intellectual acrobatics (some would say – “show-off”) of questions and answers on rabbinic topics. The Shel”ah believed that they encompassed all manner of knowledge – to the exclusion of Torah study. Even as he railed against this method of study, he also fought against those who viewed this phenomenon as positive, and who feared what would happen if such study was abandoned. He writes as follows:
Regarding the Hilukim, which should be null and void, and if only they had never seen the light of day.
…I have heard some of the sages of our generation say,
That without Hiluk, what distinguishes us from others?
And that then many would demand places in the yeshiva.
On words like these we should tear our clothes in mourning, for they suggest that the honor of Heaven should be decreased in order to increase their own honor.
Furthermore: “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets!”
(Shel”ah, Shavu’ot, Perek Ner Mitzvah, 25)
The supporters of the “Hilukim” believed that they were useful to distinguish between the common people and those who were intellectually gifted and talented. Only by means of the challenges of “Hilukim” could we be sure that the Bet Midrash would be open to those with sharp intellect, and not to anyone who wanted to enter. The Shel”ah makes use of Moshe’s language “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets!” as a response.
One could suggest that Moshe’s leadership was one of several possible models that could have been appropriate for his time, but the role of God Who can interact directly with the people, without intermediaries, must be considered, as well. Rav Zadok HaKohen mi-Lublin connects the story of Eldad and Medad to the story that appears at the end of the Parasha, where Miriam and Aharon speak badly of their brother, Moshe. They say: “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” (Bemidbar 12:2). Rav Zadok writes:
They smelled from afar that in the future, a new reality would exist
“A woman shall go round a man” (Jeremiah 31:21)
And that the hidden will be revealed – that all that is concealed is from God, so that there will be full light and ultimate clarity (Dover Tzedek p. 126).
According to Rav Zadok, what Eldad and Medad experienced came before its time, and it offers information about what will be at the end of days. At that time, the burden of bringing Divine abundance to the nation and the entire world will rest not only on Moshe, but on the strength of Aharon and the strength of Miriam (“A woman shall go round a man” ), because God will exhibit Himself in a pure manner. “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets!”