Behaaloscha
Behaaloscha
“Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe regarding the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. They said: “Was it only with Moshe that Hashem spoke? Did He not speak with us, as well?” And Hashem heard. Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth!” (12;1-3).
The question arises: From the fact that the Torah decided to tell us that Moshe was the humblest person specifically right after it told us that Mirriam spoke lashon hara against him means that there must be a connection between the two. What’s the connection between Miriam speaking lashon hara about Moshe and him being the humblest person in the world that the Torah waited until this point to tell us that fact?
Rabbi Yochanan Zweig explains that lashon hara not only causes damage to the person being spoken about (as people then view him in a negative light) but lashon hara also hurts the speaker giving them the feeling of death-as though they are so worthless that the only way they could make themselves feel better is through putting others down. Similarly, we find that Aharon told Moshe to pray for Miriam “to not be like a corpse” (12;12). Rashi (12;12) explains “one stricken with tzaaras is considered as a corpse.” Tzaaras in effect is a piece of dead flesh and therefore serves as a reminder to one who speaks lashon hara that they are really hurting themselves through speaking lashon hara. The Torah therefore wrote that Moshe was the humblest person on the face of the earth specifically after Miriam spoke lashon hara in order to teach us that even though he wasn’t effected by his sister’s words against him she was nevertheless still punished with tzaaras (a spiritual blemish) for her lashon hara as it is forbidden to speak lashon hara even if the person being spoken about doesn’t get hurt.
Jason Behar 