We communicate with each other and with God through our voices. Voices create relationship. This notion of voice, or lack of voice, plays a central role in the first of this week's Torah readings, Parashat Hukkat. Not only does voice give us insight into Moses and Aaron's personalities, but more importantly, it gives us a window into the role of Torah and ourselves.

In Numbers 20, God tells Moses and Aaron to ascend Mount Hor so that Aaron will die there. Moses obeys. He climbs the mountain with Aaron and Aaron's son, Eleazar, strips Aaron of his priestly garments, and places them on Eleazar. Very matter-of-factly the Torah concludes, "Aaron dies there on the summit of the mountain." Though elegant in its simplicity, the narrative leaves us thirsty for the voices of all those involved in this drama. Midrash, rabbinic commentary sparked by sensitive readings of the text, gives voice to the initial silence. A tender midrash (Yalkut, Hukkat 764) envisions the scenario in which Moses "broke the news" to his brother.

In this rabbinic legend, God first tells Moses of Aaron's impending death and asks Moses to inform his brother: