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.
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