153 Torah Book & Portion, Book of Numbers, Behaalotecha (Numbers 8:1–12:16), Source Book Keys, AMEMEI NUMBERS | 11:29 all — NUM90 Each Jewish blessing … reflects this idea o... NUM90 Each Jewish blessing … reflects this idea of a personal relationship with God. The term Baruch Attah at the beginning of every blessing means blessed are you God, using the familiar "you" in a second person and not in the more distant third person. In the Torah, when the prophets Eldad and Medad were prophesying back in the camp without the knowledge of Moses, Joshua wanted to lock them up. Moses responded by commenting, "Would that all of Israel be prophets like these" [this verse]. Why did Joshua wish to lock them up and what was Moses' response? According to one explanation, Joshua thought that all contact with God had to go through Moses, much as does the Christian approach. There had to be a go-between for God to relate to the people. All contact with God in the past had been through Moses and, therefore, Joshua believed that any prophecy that was not sanctioned by Moses had to be false prophecy. Moses responded by saying that the prophecy situation was such that until now no one was worthy, but if all the people could communicate as prophets directly with God, that would be the highest level of all. Hence, we see from this episode that Judaism does indeed encourage a direct communication with God. In fact, in most traditional synagogues, the verse that is prominently displayed in the front of the chapel during prayer is "God is always before me" [Psalms 16:8], indicating that every person sees God before him or her. Share Print Source KeyAMEMEIVerse11:29Keyword(s)allSource Page(s)41 Switch article NUMBERS | 11:28 restrain — NUM89 Despite emphasizing the need to participate... Previous Article NUMBERS | 11:29 all — NUM91 Focus on the good someone is doing or has d... Next Article