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שבת שלום - פרשת בהעלותך
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Video Shiur
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Click play to watch the video shiur by
Rabbi Scott Kahn about ברכת החמה |
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News and Notes
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This week, the final
week of the zman, many
students completed individual
learning projects, and
the yeshiva was pleased
to host five different
siyumim over the past
three days. Shloimie
Spitzer completed Masechet
Kiddushin on Tuesday,
Shimshon Seligson and
Dov Adler completed Seder
Moed on Wednesday, Dov
Muchnick and Aryeh Sklar
completed Masechet Beitzah
on Wednesday, Yaakov
Merkin completed Sefer
Yechezkel on Thursday,
and Harold Hershman and
Dov Muchnick completed
Masechet Taanit on Thursday.
The yeshiva as a whole
will be mesayeim Masechet
Berachot this Sunday
at the annual yeshiva
banquet.
This
Shabbat is an in-Shabbat,
hosted by Rav Scott Kahn
and his family. The
oneg will be hosted by
Rav Pesach Wolicki and
his family, at their
house near the yeshiva.
Rav Kahn will be teaching
several shiurim, including,
"Making the Most of the
Moment" and "The Meraglim
and Amalek".
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Tzara'at, Miriam, and the Meraglim
By Rabbi Scott Kahn
At the conclusion of Parashat Beha'alotcha, Miriam speaks derisively with Aharon about their brother, Moshe. Rashi explains that they were speaking disrespectfully about Moshe's separation from his wife, which he did in order to be constantly prepared to receive the Divine word. Miriam and Aharon asked each other rhetorically, "Does Hashem only speak with Moshe? Behold, He speaks with us, as well." (Bamidbar 12:2) As a result of this lashon hara, Miriam was stricken with tzara'at, and, accordingly, was forced to remain outside the camp for seven days.
In a well-known comment, Rashi explains the juxtaposition of this event with that which immediately follows it, the command to send spies to the Land of Cana'an:
"Why is the story of the spies juxtaposed with the story of Miriam? Because she was punished in relation to the matter of the evil report that she spoke against her brother; and these wicked men saw it, and did not learn the proper lesson." (Rashi on Bamidbar 13:2) In other words, the spies should have understood the gravity of giving an evil report, given that Miriam was punished for exactly that transgression immediately before they were sent to the Land of Cana'an.
The Midrash, however, explains the juxtaposition in a slightly different manner:
"Why did Hashem say, "Send the men" immediately after the situation with Miriam? Because the Holy One, Blessed is He, foresaw that they would speak lashon hara about the Land. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said, 'They should not be able to say, We did not know the punishment for lashon hara.' Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed is He, juxtaposed the two events with each other. For Miriam spoke about her brother, and was punished with tzara'at, so that everyone would know the punishment for lashon hara. If they would consider speaking lashon hara, they would look at what happened to Miriam. Nevertheless, they did not want to learn..." (Bamidbar Rabba 17:5)
Despite their clear similarities, the Midrash and Rashi offer very different reasons for the juxtaposition. According to Rashi, the spies should have learned of the gravity of lashon hara from the story of Miriam, while according to the Midrash, they should have paid greater attention to her punishment. Still, this Midrash is puzzling. Although the Midrash explains that the spies should have recognized that tzara'at is the consequence of lashon hara, they all received an altogether different punishment: the spies died, and the rest of Bnei Yisrael were denied entry to the Land for forty years, during which time the entire generation died. Even though they knew the consequences in advance, the punishment they received was completely dissimilar. "The Holy One, Blessed is He, said, 'They should not be able to say, We did not know the punishment for lashon hara.' Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed is He, juxtaposed the two events with each other." Yet they still could have claimed that they did not know the extent of the punishment, given that forty years of wandering is completely different from tzara'at!
The answer is that the consequence of the spies' evil report, and Bnei Yisrael's acceptance of the lashon hara, is in actuality identical to the nature of tzara'at. Aharon, when he pleads with Moshe to pray for Miriam, states, "Let her not be like one who is dead." (Bamidbar 12:12) Indeed, Rashi explains that, "One with tzara'at is considered like one who is dead." Immediately after Moshe prays for Miriam, Hashem states, "She should sit in isolation for seven days outside of the camp, and only afterwards be allowed back in." (Bamidbar 12:14) Thus, the Torah testifies that tzara'at itself has two negative aspects: that the person suffering from it is considered dead, and that the sufferer must be exiled. The spies died, and Bnei Yisrael remained outside Israel, and died before being allowed into the Land. Consequently, their punishment was not at all dissimilar to tzara'at, but was actually a form of tzara'at by a different name.
Chazal tell us that because Bnei Yisrael cried on that night - Tisha B'Av - for no reason, Hashem decreed that the same night would be a night of crying for generations to come. (Taanit 29a) It seems that Chazal are saying that the future destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the subsequent exiles are, in a sense, a repetition of the original punishment meted out to our ancestors in the desert. The experience of exile is, then, the experience of tzara'at.
We are blessed to have the ability to remove ourselves from this state of tzara'at by coming to the Land of Israel. Today, no one is forced to remain outside of the camp; anyone can be readmitted, either temporarily or permanently. Let us renew our commitment to visiting Israel, or perhaps even living in the Land. By doing so, we remove the tzara'at from our lives. And when those with tzara'at are readmitted to the camp, the entire nation can begin its real journey to greatness: "The nation did not travel until Miriam returned." (Bamidbar 12:15) Let us travel together, toward new greatness as a people, living together in the Land of Israel.
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