Words on the Wind

B'haalot'cha

Num. 8:1 - 12:16

Précis: The parasha begins with a description of the making of the seven-branched menorah, a central Jewish symbol. Next, the Levites are given specific directions for their duties. The parasha returns to narrative with a recounting of a second Passover celebration (required because some of the Israelites had been ritually impure when the first anniversary of Passover was celebrated). Next comes a discussion of the making of silver trumpets. The cloud of God’s Presence lifts, and the march of the People through the wilderness from Sinai begins, led by the Ark of the Covenant. The people begin to murmur, this time about a lack of meat. God provides, but the People are struck with a plague. This time, even Miriam and Aaron seem to have complaints about Moses, cast in terms of their critique about his “Cushite woman.” Moses is stressed by the demands of leadership.

Num. 12:1-2 “And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses about the Cushite wife whom he had taken, because he had taken a Cushite wife. And they said, ‘Has Adonai only spoken through Moses? Has not Adonai also spoken through us?’”

            We find in this parasha a fairly unusual occurrence: God imposes punishment immediately on Miriam (a prophet in her own right!) following her criticism of her brother Moses. (Interestingly, Aaron does not seem to be on the receiving end of God’s wrath, but that is a d’var for another occasion.) God seems angry with both of them for gossiping about Moses, or perhaps because they are voicing a complaint also made by Korah about the uniqueness of Moses’ leadership and authority. As punishment, Miriam's skin turns leprous. Aaron seeks the intervention of Moses, who utters one of the few prayers reported in the Five Books: "O God, pray heal her." Miriam is healed.

            Traditional commentators state that Miriam’s punishment was the result of gossip (lashon hara). The Sages believe that this sin is one of the worst which can be committed, and demand that gossip be avoided, even if true. (There may be exceptions if a person has a legitimate need to know about the matter, or for the safety of others.)

            A well-known Chassidic tale highlights this traditional aversion to lashon hara. A man had the habit of bad-mouthing his local rabbi. One day, the man approached the rabbi, having recognized his sins and begging for forgiveness. The rabbi told the man to take a feather pillow out into the field on a particularly windy day, beat it, and release all of the feathers. The man complied with the rabbi’s strange request, and returned to him, whereupon the rabbi insisted that he return to the field collect all of the wind-tossed feathers. When the man protested that this recovery task was impossible, the rabbi responded by telling him that it was just as impossible to repair the damage to the rabbi’s reputation caused by words of gossip which spread like the feathers in the windy field.

            We can learn from this episode an important lesson. All of us from time to time come into possession of knowledge about others which, if spread about, would cause terrible harm. We act appropriately when we refuse to engage in conversations with anyone which contain gossip. In these days of social media omnipresence, it is more important than ever to watch our words.