I fell down a rabbit hole again. Not literally, of course, but I found an interesting mention in the text of our
parashah, and (to mix my metaphors here...) I pulled on a tiny thread and an entire sweater unraveled! And I must tell you, it's probably one of my favorite things to do as an
exegete. (Side note: I'm not sure when one can 'officially' start calling her/himself an expounder of the Biblical text (i.e. an exegete), but as I approach my 650th blog post on the Torah text, I think I qualify. :-)) I love to find a word, phrase, expression, or strange reference in the Bible, and just see what happens if I look it up in all its various forms and locations. This week, we're hot on the trail of an obscure character in the Torah; a man named Chur (or Hur).
Weeks ago, his name came up in a most surprising place. As the Israelites set off on their journey into the desert, their trials and tribulations began almost instantly. One of their first battles was against the Amalekites (in Exodus, chapter 17), during which four people are mentioned by name. Joshua is the general who leads the troops into battle. Moses ascends a mountain, and whenever his arms are raised, the Israelites start winning... but when his arms fall back down, the Amalekites start to prevail. In order to help the Children of Israel keep winning, his one arm is held up by his brother, Aaron, and the other one is held up by... Chur (v. 12). Who's *this* dude?? It's like one of those children's puzzles - "one of these things is not like the others..." Three incredibly famous characters, both here and throughout the Bible... and then Chur. After this supportive role (literally), he mainly disappears into obscurity again.
And that's really the last we "Hur-d" (heard) of him until this week's Torah portion. Again, with no introduction or explanation, he shows up in a leadership role once again. As Moses and Joshua ascend Mount Sinai to receive God's Laws, Moses says to the 70 elders accompanying them, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And here are Aaron and Chur with you; let anyone who has a legal concern approach them.” (Ex. 24:14) Chur? A top leader on the same level as Aaron, and above Moses’ entourage of 70?? Who is this guy anyway?? Well, the medieval commentator, Rashi, wonders the same thing, and posits a most fascinating solution. Rashi finds a remote reference in the First Book of Chronicles (2:19), that mentions in passing that Chur is the son of Caleb (one of only two people - along with Joshua - to see both the start and end of the 40-year Exodus). Rashi also adds that Chur’s mother was… wait for it… Moses’ and Aaron’s sister, Miriam! Ooooh, so it's really just the ol’ boss’s nephew syndrome. Maybe *that's* how he rose the ranks...
Joking aside, this would definitely explain why he travels in such privileged circles. He’s part of the family! I love when the rabbis find obscure, remote links like this, and use them to tie narratives together. I actually found two additional, intriguing (but minor) references, but I'm running out of space in this blog post. Instead, I'll be mentioning them in services this weekend, though feel free to write a comment here or e-mail me if you'd like to learn more. My point in sharing all of this with you is to demonstrate both the depth of the Biblical text - with all these peripheral characters and seemingly far-flung connections - and also to show you the brilliance of the rabbinic exegetical process. They sometimes scour Scripture and midrashic texts to find possible links and solutions, and the result is a rich tapestry of interwoven stories that link together across stories, distance, and millennia. It starts with something that appears insignificant, e.g. the name of a character mentioned in passing. But you start to pull on that thread, or dig deeper into that hole, and suddenly the rabbit's entire sweater has come undone! Ok, I mixed my metaphors again, but hopefully you get the picture. Or should I say "pict-Hur"?
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