Parshat Ki Seitzei 5784
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week’s parsha (Chapter 24, Pasuk 8), השמר בנגע הצרעת לשמר מאד ולעשות. Rashi teaches that the pasuk is a warning against removing signs of Tzara’as. The very next pasuk teaches us to remember what happened to Miriam in the desert, זכור את אשר עשה ד' אלוקיך למרים בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים. Rashi explains that this pasuk is teaching us that we need to remember what happened to Miriam, that when she spoke Lashon Hara she was punished with Tzara’as. Miriam was a Tazadekes who was Moser Nefesh for her brother and didn’t carry any ill feeling towards him. Nonetheless, she was punished. Therefore, we, who are not of such pure motive, if we want to ensure that we remain free from Tzara’as, we remember what happened to Miriam and refrain from speaking Lashon Hara.
The Ramban teaches that this mitzvah is a command to not speak Lashon Hara. He counts among the 613 mitzvos the command of זכור את אשר עשה ד' אלוקיך למרים; to articulate verbally these words as part of the obligation to not speak Lashon Hara. This is how he learns these two pasukim, and he argues on the Rambam at the end of the positive commands in Sefer Hamitzvos, mitzvah 7.
The Sfas Emes asks on this pasuk, why does it conclude with בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים? This event did not occur upon their departure from Mitzrayim. Rather, it occurred many years later, towards the end of their sojourn through the desert. Why is the Torah emphasizing that it happened after they left Egypt?
He answers that one of the significant outcomes of Yetzias Mitzrayim for Bnei Yisrael was that the Koach HaPeh, the ability of proper speech, resulted from leaving Mitzrayim. The Sefarim teach, based on the Zohar Hakadosh, that in Mitzrayim, speech was in “Galus”. There was a disconnect between the mouth and heart, creating an inability to properly express one’s self. The ability to speak was part of the redemption from Mitzrayim, hence the Chag is called Pesach, which stands for “Peh Sach”, the mouth speaks.
This is why when the Torah teaches us to remember what happened to Miriam, that she spoke Lashon Hara and was punished, it mentions this event in the context of Yetzias Mitzrayim. This is to remind us that when we left Egypt we learned how to speak, and speaking includes not to speak Lashon Hara. Even though man’s speech was established at creation, as the pasuk says in Bereishis (Chapter 2, Pasuk 7), ויהי האדם לנפש חיה; man became a living soul. And the Targum Onkelos explains, והות באדם לרוח ממללא; man received the ability to speak. Speaking can potentially express the greatness and the uniqueness of man, but this is only when man speaks properly. But if one were to use his speech to hurt others or speak improperly about others, if one uses his speech in order to promote sin or immorality, it would be better for man not to speak at all. The Gemara in Yevamos 61A teaches, אתם קרויין אדם, ואין העובדי כוכבים קרויין אדם. You’re called אדם, but you have to act like a Jew in order to fulfill the potential of ויהי האדם לנפש חיה.
The Sfas Emes teaches that when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, they became like a new nation. As the Gemara in Yevamos 21A teaches, גר שנתגייר כקטן שנולד דמי; it was as if Bnei Yisrael were born again. We became a reborn nation. And the Gemara in Succah 42A teaches, that when a child begins to speak, his father is obligated to teach him Torah. After Bnei Yisrael began this new role as the nation of Hashem, they needed to learn how to speak properly. As a result, soon after Yetzias Mitzrayim, Bnei Yisrael received the Torah. And the Torah teaches us how to act and how to speak.
One of the ideas we need to remember from what happened to Miriam is the uniqueness of the Jewish soul. We cannot spiritually, and even physically, tolerate Lashon Hara. When we speak Lashon Hara, there is an automatic response of Negaim. The Rambam in the end of Hilchos Tumas Tzara’as describes how the Tzara’as begins on the walls of our houses, spreads to your vessels and clothing, and ultimately, if we don’t repent, ends up on our skin. It is in a sense, as Rashi teaches in parshat Metzora (Chapter 14, Pasuk 34), a Besorah Tovah; it is a positive development in that it enables us to check ourselves and be aware of our misdeeds and repent.
It is very appropriate that the Ramban learns that this is a positive command to not only remember what happened to Miriam, but to actually speak the words. After all, this sin results from improper speech. Surely, we need to use our speech to rectify our behavior and remember that being a member of the Jewish nation is a great responsibility. Though every man speaks, only we have a particular mode of speech which is meant to separate us and maintain us as the nation of Hashem that came out from Mitzrayim. אתם קרויין אדם, ואין העובדי כוכבים קרויין אדם.
Good Shabbos
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