Parashat Beha’alotecha
Speaking Out for a Cause, or the Perils of Gossiping?
By Rick Abrams, Israel Programs Admissions Director, NJ and Eastern PA
As the Israelites finally start their travels in the wilderness/ba-midbar, a troubling event occurs: Moses’ own siblings speak out against him.
וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַהֲרֹן בְּמֹשֶׁה עַל־אֹדוֹת הָאִשָּׁה הַכֻּשִׁית אֲשֶׁר לָקָח כִּי־אִשָּׁה כֻשִׁית לָקָח׃
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: “He married a Cushite woman!”
וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֲרַק אַךְ־בְּמֹשֶׁה דִּבֶּר יְהוָה הֲלֹא גַּם־בָּנוּ דִבֵּר וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה׃
They said, “Has the Eternal spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” The Eternal heard it.
The commentators over the generations explain (not in the text): prior to this event, God told Moses to stay away from his wife, Tzipporah, to remain “pure” for the continued ordination of the Kohanim. Tzipporah basically kept this to herself, but Miriam hears her mention it, and she feels bad for her sister-in-law. Then, she confides this information with her older brother. That’s why the two of them speak out.
They had a reason, but was it a good one?
The fact the God gives Miriam a seven-day case with tzara-at (white scaley skin, mentioned in Levitius 12:1-15:33), lets you know the answer.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (z’l) taught about this interaction:
[Parashat Tazria and Metzora] are about a condition called tzora’at, sometimes translated as leprosy. The commentators were puzzled as to what this condition is and why it should be given such prominence in the Torah. They concluded that it was precisely because it was a punishment for lashon hara, derogatory speech.
Evidence for this is the story of Miriam (Numbers 12: 1) who spoke slightingly about her brother Moses “because of the Ethiopian wife he had taken.” God himself felt bound to defend Moses’ [honor] and as a punishment, turned Miriam leprous. Moses prayed for God to heal her. God mitigated the punishment to seven days but did not annul it entirely.
So, since God punished Miriam for speaking out, God must have thought that Miriam’s speech was gossip.
Needless to say, Alexander Muss High School in Israel takes this gossip/bullying very seriously. From their Code of Conduct:
Bullying is a deliberate attempt (either physical or verbal) of any action directed towards a person that causes the person to be hurt or humiliated. Bullying may have different forms and can include:
…-Verbal: teasing, name calling, threats, starting rumors, degrading, demeaning insulting or abusive (even when not bullying, verbal harm of this nature is unacceptable and verbal comments the student may face immediately expulsion)…
There are various types of bullying, but most have three things in common:
-It is deliberately hurtful behavior.
-It is repeated over time.
-There is often an imbalance of power, which makes it hard for those being bullied to defend themselves.
Bullying includes, but is not necessarily limited to name-calling, obscene gesturing, malicious teasing, rumors, slander, social exclusion, damaging someone’s belongings, threats, and physical violence.
Bullying must be reported to a member of the administration. A student who bullies may be immediately expelled.
When do you speak out for good reasons? With the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel coverage on social media, it’s hard to tell who is speaking out for good reasons, or simply for bullying purposes.
We can only hope that those who are unkind to their fellow humans in speech, behind their backs, or online learn that it’s wrong (and don’t get Tzra-at like Miriam).
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