From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 3:06 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Beha'aloscha, 5766





                                                      
                                                  Keep It Short

                     By Rabbi Joshua (laconically known as The Hoffer ) Hoffman


  At the end of this week's parsha, we learn of the conversation that Aharon and Miriam had about Moshe, in which they criticized him for  acting inappropriately in regard to his wife, saying that his status as a prophet did not give him license to act as he did. After all, they said, Moshe is not the only one to whom God spoke. Moshe was in the tent at the time and able to hear what they said. However, he did not respond. The Torah itself then notes that Moshe was the most humble man on earth. At that point, God Himself tells all three of them to leave the tent, and then calls on Aharon and Miriam to step forward to hear His message. He then proceeds to defend Moshe, relating his praises and saying that, because of Moshe's unique level of prophecy, different rules applied to him, and he always had to be ready to receive a communication from God. That is why he was justified to act as he did in regard to his wife. Why did God separate Aharon and Miriam from Moshe before He spoke about him ? Rashi cites a midrash which says that this is because one is not supposed to speak all of the praises of a person in his presence, but only when he is not present. As an aside, we may add the comment of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt"l, that, in the presence of a person, one is not only permitted to mention some of his praises, but actually is supposed to do so, in order to encourage him to continue in his admirable path. In any case, God wished to relate all of Moshe’s praise to Aharon and Miriam, and, therefore, told them to remove themselves from his presence. However, when one looks at the verses which record what God actually said to Aharon and Miriam, we do not find that He enumerated all of the special qualities of Moshe. He did not even tell them that Moshe was exceedingly humble, as the Torah testified about him. Rather, he only said that his level of prophecy was greater than theirs, and described what that level of prophecy entailed. Why is this considered to be 'all of the praises of Moshe' ?


  Rabbi Shimshon Pincus, zt"l, in his Tiferes Torah to parshas Beha'aloscha, explains that Moshe's essence was his desire to be close to God. This kind of desire was best expressed by King Dovid, when he said, As for me, the closeness of God is good" (Tehillim 73:28). Rabbi Pincus also cites the remarks of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, in his Mesilas Yeshorim, chapter one, that closeness to God is the only real good in the world, and whatever else man strives for in this world is, in an ultimate sense, empty and meaningless. In his Derech HaShem, Rabbi Luzzatto further explains this idea, saying that God is perfect, and one who strives to be close to Him is, therefore, striving for perfection, to the extent that it is attainable for a human being. Thus, Moshe's quest for this kind of closeness was really an expression of his desire for human perfection, and, in effect, constituted the greatest praise that God could give him.


  After God rebuked Aharon and Miriam for speaking against Moshe, He punished Miriam by afflicting her with tzora'as. Moshe then prays for her, uttering the shortest prayer recorded in the Torah, consisting of six Hebrew words, which translate as, "Please God, cure her now" (Bamidbar 12:13). Rabbi Pincus points out that this translation is based on Targum Onkeles. In the Hebrew, Rabbi Pincus explains, the word 'na' appears twice. The first time it appears, after the word for 'God,' It means 'please,' but the second time it appears, between the words 'refah' - cure - and 'la' - her - it means 'now.' However, according to the Targum attributed (wrongfully) to Yonasan ben Uziel, the second time the word appears, it also means please. Thus, according to this translation, the verse should be translated, "Please God, please cure her." Why did Moshe say 'please' twice ? Rabbi Pincus explains that for someone who truly seeks closeness to God, every time he prays, even if his prayer is a request for a specific item, his main purpose in praying is to achieve closeness to God. Thus, when Moshe began his prayer, he first asked for closeness to God, and then requested that God, who was so close to Him, heal Miriam of her tzora'as. Rabbi Binyomin Yudin, in a discussion we had about Rabbi Pincus' remarks, suggested that Moshe may also have been asking that God restore His closeness to Miriam, as well, by curing her of her tzor'as. If so, this would have come out of an awareness that closeness to God is the ultimate good, and his request for Miriam's cure was a means to help her recover that ultimate good which she had lost as a result of the punishment she had received for her sin.


  Based on Rabbi Pincus' explanation of Moshe's prayer for Miriam, we can say that there is an added dimension to the Torah's recording of Miriam's punishment and Moshe's prayer for her recovery. At first blush, this incident would appear to be the nothing more than a recording of Miriam’s punishment and the way in which it was eventually ended. On another level, we can see it as a demonstration of Moshe’s humility, disregarding the fact that Miriam had spoken badly about him, and praying for her recovery. Following Rabbi Pincus’ approach, however, there is yet another level of meaning which we can discern. The entire incident, mentioned directly after God's praise of Moshe for being close to God, is a demonstration of Moshe's understanding of the importance of such closeness, and, therefore, a proof to what God told Aharon and Miriam about him.



  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

  To subscribe to Netvort, send a message with subject line subscribe, to Netvort@aol.com. To unsubscribe, send message with subject line unsubscribe, to the same address.