(1) ותדבר מרים ואהרן MIRIAM AND AHARON SPOKE — ...How did Miriam know that Moshe had separated himself from his wife? R. Natan answered: “Miriam was next to Tzipporah when Moshe was told, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp’ (Bam. 11:27). When Tzipporah heard this, she said, "Oy for their wives, if they have anything to do with prophecy. For they will separate from their wives just has my husband has separated from me!” ...(Sifrei Bamidbar 99).

(26) 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. (27) A youth ran out and told Moshe, saying, “Eldad and Medad are acting the prophet in the camp!”

הלא גם בנו HAS HA-SHEM NOT [SPOKEN] THROUGH US, and yet we have not separated from our spouses! (Sifrei Bamidbar 100).

(3) ענו means, humble and patient.

(4) פתאם SUDDENLY — ha-Shem was revealed to them suddenly just when they were unclean as a result of marital intercourse, so that they cried: “Water, water!” (for purification). ha-Shem did this to give them to understand that Moshe had acted rightly in that he had separated from his wife, since the Shechinah used to reveal Herself to him at all times, and there was no definite time fixed for the Divine communication (Midrash Tanchuma 3:2:13).

(4) צאו שלשתכם GO OUT YOU THREE [TO THE APPOINTED TENT] — This tells us that the names of all three of them were mentioned as one utterance, something that is impossible for a human mouth to articulate and a human ear to catch (Sifrei Bamidbar 102).

(8) פה אל פה MOUTH TO MOUTH [I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIM] — I have Myself told him to separate from his wife. And where did I tell him this? On Sinai, when I said to him, (Deuteronomy 5:27 Deuteronomy 5:28) “Go, say to them (to the people), ‘Get you into your tents (rejoin your wives). But as for you, remain here by Me, [and I will speak with you]’” (Shabbat 87a; cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 103).

(11) ha-Shem would speak to Moshe face to face, as one person speaks to another. And he would then return to the camp [from the "other" Ohel Moed outside the camp -- see verses 7ff]; but his attendant, Joshua son of Nun, a youth, would not stir out of the tent.

(10) והענן סר AND THE CLOUD DEPARTED, and only afterwards, ומרים מצרעת כשלג BEHOLD, MIRIAM BECAME LEPROUS, WHITE AS SNOW. A parable! This may be compared to a king who said to his son’s tutor, “Chastise my son, but do not do so until I go away from you, because I feel pity for him” (Sifrei Bamidbar 105).

(18) “Come, let us reach an understanding, —says ha-Shem. Even if your sins are like crimson, they can turn white-like-snow; if they are red as dyed wool, they can become like [white] fleece.”

(12) Did I [Moshe] conceive all this people? did I bear them? Yet You say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You have promised on oath to their forebears?

(11) נואלנו — Understand this as the Targum does: we have acted foolishly [because we had not resolved our difficulties amongst ourselves].

The correct understanding is that Moshe Rabbeinu was standing at that holy spot in his communion [with ha-Shem], and therefore did not respond when Aharon cried out, "O my lord!..." Therefore Aharon rebuked him for not responding because of his state of communion [with ha-Shem], by saying, "Let you not be as one dead!" Meaning, "My lord, Moshe, now is not the appropriate time for your communion [with ha-Shem]. You are [acting as one who is] like the dead, that is born dead, that was never in the midst of life."

This is why [the verse] says, "who emerges from his mother's womb...." Thus you are now like the dead, without emotion in this manner. "Let you not be" -- thus at this very moment, pray for her (Miriam's) sake! For we need your prayer.

[And do not be concerned with the grammatical gender, for it occurs in other places in Torah]. When Moshe heard Aharon's words, and saw that Miriam was leprous, he prayed to ha-Shem, "Please heal her!"

(12) אל נא תהי LET NOT our sister BE —

(13) כמת AS ONE WHO IS DEAD — Aharon said this because a leper may be regarded as dead. How is it in the case of a corpse? It makes one unclean through entering a room in which it lies. So too, does the leper make a person unclean through his entering the place where he is (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 105).

(14) אשר בצאתו מרחם אמו It ought to have stated “אמנו” “of our mother’s womb”, only that Scripture modified the expression.

(7) He shall then sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the eruption and cleanse him; and he shall set the live bird [tzippor] free in the open country.

(13) אל נא רפא נא לה HEAL HER NOW, O GOD, I BESEECH YOU — Scripture intends to teach you by this form of prayer the correct attitude in social life — that if one is asking a favour of his fellow man he should first say two or three words of supplication and then solicit the favour (Sifrei Bamidbar 105).

(13) רפא נא לה HEAL HER, I PRAY THEE — Why did Moshe not pray at length? In order that Israel should not say: His sister is in trouble, and he stands and offers long prayers! (Sifrei Bamidbar 105). — Another explanation is: He did not pray at length so that Israel should not say: On behalf of his sister he prays long, but on our behalf he would offer no long prayer.

(14) ואביה ירק ירק בפניה IF HER FATHER SPAT IN HER FACE — i.e. if he had shown her an angry face (if he was offended with her), הלא תכלם שבעת ימים WOULD SHE NOT COMPLETE HER SEVEN DAYS [OUTSIDE OF THE CAMP]? — All the more so with respect to the Shekhinah [than with her father] that she ought to complete fourteen days! ...(Bava Kamma 25a).

(49) if the suspected leprosy in the cloth or the skin, in the warp or the woof, or in any article of skin, is streaky green [yirak-rak] or red, it is an eruptive affection. It shall be shown to the priest; (50) and the kohen, after examining the affection, shall isolate the affected article for [an initial] seven days....(54) the kohen shall order the affected article washed, and he shall isolate it for another seven days.

The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase: “Imprison them [kela’em]” (Bamidbar 11:28)? The Gemara answers: Joshua said to him: Place responsibility for the needs of the public upon them, so that they will be occupied like the other Elders of Israel and they will complete [kalim] prophesying, on their own. Due to the burden of public responsibility they would not be able to be prophets.

(28) And Yehoshua son of Nun, Moshe’s attendant from his youth, spoke up and said, “My master Moshe, imprison them! [or make them complete it!]”

"They will complete it from their own motivation" -- the interpretation is that their prophecy would be completed, for the Shechinah does not descend in the midst of sadness, but rather in the midst of joy.

AND THE PEOPLE, THEY DID NOT TRAVEL. The determination [of when to proceed] depended on the people. For the text does not say, "and traveled not the people," in order to make it known that it was the people who gave their approval to halting until Miriam was again gathered [into their midst]. And of course the travel also depended on the movement of the Cloud, so the Torah bears witness that because of Miriam's merit, it was the people who desired to remain there out of respect for her....