THE LORD SUDDENLY SAID TO

MOSES, AARON AND MIRIAM, "GO OUT, ALL THREE OF YOU, TO THE TENT OF

MEETING!" AND ALL THREE WENT OUT. THE LORD DESCENDED IN A PILLAR OF CLOUD

AND STOOD AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE TENT. HE CALLED TO AARON AND MIRIAM, AND THEY

BOTH WENT OUT. SO MIRIAM WAS CONFINED OUTSIDE THE CAMP FOR SEVEN DAYS, AND THE

PEOPLE DID NOT TRAVEL UNTIL MIRIAM HAD BEEN GATHERED IN.

(Bamidbar 12:4,5,15)

If there is one among your friends whose obedience to God is greater than

yours, whose actions for His sake are purer, and his efforts to draw near to

Him stronger, the instinct will make you hate him, saying, "All the effort

this man shows in obedience to God constitutes a clear failure on your part!

Were it not for him, God, as well as man, would think you the most pious of

your generation. Therefore you should offend him, be jealous of him and angry

with him! Look for his faults and failures! Watch for his stumblings!

Observe where he is negligent, publicize it as much as you can, and revile him

for it. If it is possible to slander him for nothing, just to dishonor him in

people's eyes, go ahead and do it!" Your answer should be the following:

"How can I scorn somebody God loves and revile somebody he favors?"

(R. Bahya

Ibn Pakuda's Hovot Ha-Levavot, Sha'ar Yihud Ha-Ma'aseh 8. Pp. 300-1 in Mansoor's

translation)

We learned in a mishnah: A person sees all nega'im [afflictions that cause ritual impurity/flaws]

save his own. R.Meir says: He does not even see his

relatives' nega'im.

Who saw Miriam's nega? If you say that Moses saw it, [then we respond

that] a non-priest cannot diagnose a nega. If

you say it was Aaron [then we respond that] a relative does not see nega'im.

The Holy One blessed be He said: I am the priest – I am the one who secluded her,

I am the One who purified her. As it says, and the

people did not travel until Miriam had been gathered in (Bamidbar 12)

– if so, the people stayed with the Divine Presence, and the Divine Presence

waited for her.

(Vayikra Rabba 15:8)

…Miriam waited for Moses for

a single hour, as it is said and his sister stood at a distance (Shemot

1:2); therefore Israel delayed

itself for seven days in the wilderness, as it is said: and the people did

not travel until Miriam had been gathered in (Bamidbar 12).

(Mishnah Sota 1:9)

And Miriam Spoke

Aviel Warschawski

Dedicated

to the memory of my aunt

Elisabeth Nehama (Babette) Warschawski-Rohrlich, z"l,

a year after her passing.

It

seems that Israeli society today is overly forgiving of transgressions of the

prohibition on lashon hara

normal conversation into lashon hara. Lashon hara is a societal problem, a habit shared by that

majority of people who are directly influenced by the

common practices of the society in which they live. The influence also works in

the opposite direction: those who do not watch their mouth contribute to

society's lax atmosphere.

This

phenomenon appears in our parasha in one of the most

famous stories of crime and punishment to be found in Scripture. We shall

analyze the story's place in the parasha in order to

understand its educational significance.

Parashat Beha'alotkha may be divided into three major topics:

• The

  description, continuing from parashat Nasso, of the different functions served by those

  working in the Tabernacle.

• A

  general description of the panoply of the Israelite marches.

• A

  description of the people's sins.

The

third part includes three sins: the sin of the mitonenim

who craved meat], and the sin of Miriam and Aaron. Upon first reading the third

section, one might think that it is a collection of unrelated sins, but upon

deeper inspection of the verses it becomes clear that these failures occurred

in close sequence. Indeed, the Torah first gives the section a preface: The

cloud settled in the desert of Paran (Bamidbar

10:12). Later, before the story

of the mitonenim, the Torah repeats the fact

that they had journeyed from the Lord's mountain (10:33). Following Miriam's story – the last of the sequence – it is written: and

they camped in the Wilderness of Paran (12:16). From here it may be deduced that that all

three of the sins transpired in the course of the same march from the Wilderness

of Sinai to the Wilderness of Paran. The sequence of

events reflects the people's continuous deterioration.

A

similar sequence can be found following the crossing of the Red Sea: Moses

people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" (Shemot

15: 22-24). Here begins a

series of stumblings. The similarity to the words of

our parasha is clear: They traveled a distance of

traveled three days ahead of them to seek for them a place to settle…The

people took to complaining, and it was evil in the ears of the Lord (Bamidbar 10:33-11:1).

These two passages are similar to one another

in many ways. They both begin with points of climax: the crossing of the Red

Sea and the completion of the Tabernacle. In both, Moses gives this climax a

literary expression: the "Song of the Sea" and "When the Ark

traveled". In both cases, the march begins at the climax and leads the

people to stumble time after time after time.

The third failure in our parasha

– the story of Miriam – is unique in that the other stories involve failures of

the entire community, while Miriam's story appears to be about her as an

individual. It is difficult to understand the connection between Aaron and

Miriam's sin and the other negative incidents that are arranged together by the

Torah in a continuous series. Miriam's punishment gives rise to an additional

problem: So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the

people did not travel until Miriam had entered (Bamidbar 12:15). This seems odd; if Miriam sinned,

why must the people wait for her?

I think that here the Torah teaches us an

important lesson by including the private story of Miriam and Aaron amidst the

public stories of the People Israel. The Torah teaches us that lashon hara is a

public, rather than a private, phenomenon, though it expresses itself in

relationships among individuals. We could have thought, mistakenly, that the

individual is free of responsibility for lashon

hara since it is a widespread problem that

encompasses the entire community. Miriam's punishment teaches us that the

individual cannot escape responsibility just because everyone acts as he does –

he himself corrupts society.

Miriam's sin thus points to the people's

deep-rooted problem of gossip, a problem which ultimately results in Korah's controversy, of which we shall read in two weeks. There

the people are sent into a tumult by the most serious crisis of leadership of

the wilderness period. Korah and his supporters make

strong claims against Moses, using language that sounds remarkably familiar: "You

assembly?" (Bamidbar

16:3) This charge is quite similar to what Aaron and Miriam had said: "Has

the Lord spoken only to Moses? Hasn't He spoken to us too?" (12:2). From it we can

deduce that Korah's complaints sprang from the

general phenomenon of gossip amongst the people.

Usually, stories about a group leave out the

individual aspect. The affair of Korah and his

supporters did not begin as a spontaneous uprising on the part of a large

section of the people. Rather, it resulted from a pre-existing mood already found

among the people. Miriam and Aaron were subject to severe punishment because

the responsibility was entirely their own.

Widespread Lashon

hara begins with individuals, with their ordinary

conversations at the Shabbat table, on line at the supermarket or outside the

synagogue after services. All of these influence social norms and the public

atmosphere.

The Torah teaches us that the solution to societal

problems must begin with individuals.

We have not ceased to feel Babette's absence since her passing a year ago. When her

daughter Talia comes by, when we visit grandmother on

Shabbat, or on any other occasion, her memory is always with us. One of Babette's remarkable qualities was the purity of her

speech. I think of the conversations we had during kiddush on Shabbat morning and I cannot recall her

even once saying anything bad. Her beaming smile welcomed everyone. We live in

a society that is usually busy with assigning blame, with hatred of and

isolation from the other, but Babette always sought

the love and the good in people. She did not let a mistaken social norm disturb

her judgment.

I think that this variation on lashon hara has

been a central problem of our society from biblical times to our own day. This

problem is not necessary, and each of us can begin to effect the change

because all of us build our society together.

Aviel Warschawski is a student at

Yeshivat HaKibbutz HaDati Ma'alei Gilboa

Love Disregards the Rules

And so did Aaron do – this is said in

praise of Aaron, for not deviating [from the Lord's instructions].

(Rashi

Bamidbar 8:3)

Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibozh (a

Chassidic master, grandson of the BeShT) was asked:

When God told Aaron through Moses how to light up the

lamps, the Torah says And so did Aaron do.

Rashi explains that this is said in praise of Aaron,

for his not having deviated from His instructions. What does this come to teach

us? Can we even imagine for a moment that Aaron – sanctified of the Lord – would

deviate from His command!? Why, then, the special commendation for faithful

execution?

Replied the Rebbi: …It is told

of a holy person who served in the synagogue, that when he set up the lamps and

poured in the oil, because of his great enthusiasm he was unable to fulfill his

task properly, and some of the oil was poured outside the lamp. Therefore, it was

said in praise of Aaron that with all his whole-hearted devotion to the Creator,

he arranged the lamps and lit them as prescribed.

(Or Haganuz, Mordecai Buber).

It is not enough for someone to have enthusiasm and good

will; in order to do a job properly there is also need for patience and

exactness.

(Abraham Stahl: Shabbat BeShabbato, Vol. II, p. 183)

…That is to say, Aaron did all that he was commanded not

as one who acts with enthusiasm and wonder, but as one who directs his

consciousness and awareness to the daily service of God. The great significance

of the service of God lies not in man's giving release to his religious

enthusiasm – indeed it is doubtful whether such behavior is pure, uninterested,

service of God. Perhaps it is but satisfaction of man's psychological needs.

(Y. Leibowitz:

Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashiyot

ha'Shavu'a, p. 648)

And You Shall Purify Them – The Holy Service can be One's

Downfall

It repeats the warning about ritual purity, for just as the Holy Service

can raise up one's heart in God's paths, so too it can

trip one up through pride over other people and through desecration of the Holy

Name via even a minor transgression – against these we must be warned. Also,

the greater someone is compared to his fellows, the greater is his inclination

to sin in unusual ways. So we find that proximity to holiness causes impurity,

as the prophet Haggai said, whatever they bring near is defiled (2:14)… Later this actually happened to Korah and his followers from among the Levites – their

greatness was their downfall – that is why they are warned after serving in the

Tent of Meeting, so that they will be careful about purity in accordance with

their rank.

(Ha-Amek

Davar Bamidbar 8:15)

Who were the Asafsuf?

Who were the asafsuf ["riff-raff"]?

Rabbi Shimon bar Abba and Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya [spoke of this]. One said: They were the converts

who rose up with them from Egypt, for it is said, Moreover, a mixed

multitude went up with them (Shemot 12:8).

And one said: The asafsuf are the

Sanhedrin, for it is said, collect [esfa] for me

seventy men (Bamidbar 11:16). What is [also] written there? A fire of the Lord broke out against

them, ravaging the outskirts [beketzei] of the camp

(11:1) – the kotzim

ascended Mount Sinai were burned? For it is said, a fire blazed in their

party [edah] (Psalms 106:18), and edah can only mean the Sanhedrin,

for it is said, if this was done through the inadvertence of the edah [elders] (Bamidbar 15:24).

(Bamidbar

Rabba 15:24)

Advance, O Lord! May Your Enemies Be Scattered, and May Your Foes

Flee Before You! Who is being referred to?

Moses recognized that this Torah from its very entry into the world would

have to expect enemies, opponents, and foes, that people would hate it. Its

demands for justice and love are so very much in opposition to the dictates of

force and selfishness, the curse of which is felt so keenly by the weak and

needy. Those in power unite in an alliance to impose these dictates. They are

the enemies of the Torah who form a tacitly united front, opponents of the

Torah who bar the entry of its influence into the world. Its demands for

self-control and sanctification of morals are so much in conflict with the

allures of ignoble passion that one finds among all classes not only those who

oppose it but also those who incite against it, not only hate but also persecution…

(R. Shimshon

Raphael Hirsch on Bamidbar 10:35-36, Levy

translation)

"Moses

was a very humble man"

Awe

and Humility

This

was the convert's claim in the chapter of Bameh

Madlikin and the reason for Shammai's

rejection of him. Shammai had reached the level of yira – of awe – which is accompanied by gevura – courage, and by kapdanut

– strictness – which was the level of our father Isaac, peace be upon him,

from whom Israel evolved. Therefore, he (Shammai)

rebuffed converts, as related in the chapter Bameh

Madlikin… Hillel's humility brought them near,

like Moses our teacher may peace be upon him, who was very humble, and who

therefore brought close the erev rav – the non-Israelites who joined the Israelites in

the Exodus… And so our father Abraham, may peace be

upon him, was humble, as is written in Tractate Berakhot

"Woe [upon the passing of] this humble person, disciple of our father Abraham,

may peace be upon him. Therefore he was the father of converts, as we

learned in Bikkurim. Humility includes the

appreciation of one's deficiency as compared with the greatness of The Holy

One, Blessed Be He, and therefore leaves no place for belittling the convert

who has come with his staff and pouch, for He who told oil to burn can tell

vinegar to burn and it will burn, and he can put fire into vinegar, as in [the

verse] God, created within me a pure heart, and creation is ex

nihilo.

(Rabbi Tzadok HaCohen

of Lublin, Or Zarua LaTzaddik)

Elisabeth Nehama Warschawski – "Babette" – was born in Strasbourg on Shabbat, the

Shimon Warschawski

1982 she joined the staff of the Centre

brothers, sisters, and many others who loved her.

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