The end of the parsha concerns Miriam and her punishment of tzaraas because she spoke negative about her brother Moshe to Ahron.
This parsha of Miriam and Ahron speaking Lashon Harah about Moshe is very difficult to understand. They were נביאי אמת and their hearts were in their control. So from where did this shortcoming come from? Some interpret that they were unaware that it was Hashem who told Moshe to separate from his wife. (Devarim 6,2)
לך אמור להם שובו לכם לאהליכם ואתה פה עמד עמדי "Go tell Yisrael to return back to living with their wives which were until now prohibited to them. However, Moshe you remain with me" upon which Rashi comments to remain separated from your wife. The Beair Moshe writes that even though Ahron and Miriam possessed ruach hakodesh, nevertheless Hashem concealed this information from them because He wanted an opportunity to demonstrate how severe and damaging is the aveirah of Lashon Harah. This is supported by the juxtaposition of Miriam's Tzaraas and the sending of the Meraglim to Eretz Yisrael. For the Medrash Shlach 15 says that the story of the Meraglim came after Miriam's tzaraas in order to show the severity of Lashon Harah and therefore they will be unable to claim we were uninformed of such grave repercussions (see Rashi 13,1).
Using this same theme we suggest another interpretation that Hashem concealed from them the supernatural madraigah of Moshe Rabbeinu's nevuah as the passuk itself says פה אל פה אדבר בו that Hashem chastised Miriam and Ahron by telling them that Moshe's nevuah was a world of a difference from theirs, and therefore demands superior purity and conduct (Bamidbar 12,8.)
Let us elaborate on Moshe's פה אל פה madraigah We first must understand the role of Moshe Rabbeinu in Klal Yisrael. Moshe Rabeinu possessed the highest degree of Nevuah that ever was. He spoke to Hashem אדברבו פה אל פה (Bamidbar 12,8). Chazal say (Zohar Pinchas) that when Moshe spoke it was really the voice of the Shechinah that was speaking. This is hinted in the word בו in him, and not אלי וto him. One can only attain such a madraiga if he possesses Tikkun Hadibur perfect spiritual speech. For the purpose of Man in creation is to find the מלכות of Hashem in the world which the Zohar calls פה - through his speech, for dibbur it is the medium between thought and the body.
הויה is called מקום for Hashem is the place and space of the world. We must have this consciousness always that there is no existence void of Hashem's will. The gematriah of מקום הויה is דבור . Hashem created the world through Ten Sayings. We therefore must perfect our dibbur and use it for kedusha and not tumah and realize that every מקום in the world is from Hashem's dibbur.
The chait of the Aitz Hadaas came about through listening to the Lashon Harah of the Nachash a negative dysfunction of Dibbur. This concept is hinted in the word for mouth פה (peh) which can also be read as poh here. Our existence in this world here and now, is only to use our peh for learning Torah, fulfilling mitzvos, tefillah, chesed, chizuk, singing to Hashem etc, thereby revealing Hashem's concealed Kingdom in the world and to its inhabitants. This is why the word פה עה"כ itself is gematriah אלהים which the sefarim say is gematria הטבע nature, behind where Hashem is semi hiding. If we deliberately seek to find Him, we will.
Moshe whose relationship with Hashem פה אל פה gave us the Torah thereby accessing for us to make a dwelling place for Hashem on earth particularly in Man. This is hinted in the gematriah פה אל פה including the three words equaling דר to dwell. Moshe reached that shelaimus that Hashem dwelled in him which expressed itself by a פה אל פה and שכינה מדברת בתוך גרונו relationship. With this we can understand a deeper level when Hashem told Moshe on Har Sinai as he was about to take the Luchos down the mountain, that the Yidden were worshiping the Aigel Hazahav, Hashem said לך רד that by doing so, the opportunity for Me to dwell within Man on earth just went away.
Interestingly to know is that when we finish a Mesechta one reads the names of the ten sons of רב פפא. What is the intent of mentioning these children of Rav Papa at the Siyum? The Meforshim explain that the letters of פפא is the acronym of the maala of Moshe Rabbeinu who spoke with Hashem פה אל פה .
Because of this madraigah of the highest level of פה and דבור, it required Moshe to separate from his wife. This is hinted to in the passuk above ואתה פה עמד עמדי . For we can read the word poh to mean peh. Because you Moshe possess פה אל פה ושכינה מדברת מתוך גרונך you must separate from your wife to attain the highest degree of kedusha.
We can also choose to learn that Hashem did not deliberately conceal from Miriam his madraigah of nevuah. Miriam did not know his level how high it really was. Nevertheless, she still thought it was inappropriate for Moshe to separate from his wife from a different reason. She found herself successful in convincing the Gadol Hador her father not to keep separated from his wife and to bear more children. Then her advice was given a stamp of approval and support with the prophecy that now with their remarriage they will be zoche to give birth to the redeemer and leader of Yisrael. How then could it be that Moshe who was born only because there was a reversal of the separation between his father and mother, now goes and separates his own wife and will not bear any more children. Hashem agreed with my nevuah!
The answer to Miriam's complaint was that Hashem revealed to her that Moshe was on a light year different madraiga than a regular Navi like herself. His relationship with Hashem is פה. This quality of אל פה ושכינה מדברת מתוך גרונו Nevuah warrants a higher avodah of ruchniyus and kedusha and cannot work in any other way.
With all of the above we can understand the allusion to Miriam's Tzaraas episode found right in the middle of the story when she was seven years old and she watched over Moshe her brother who his mother placed him in a floating basket from fear of being killed by the Egyptian decree to drown all male children. The Torah describes Miriam's observation with ותתצב אחותו the wordsמרחוק his sister stood from a distance. The Chazal explain (Sotah 12b) that Miriam prophesized "My mother is destined to give birth to a son who will save the Jewish nation". Once Moshe was born the house was completely filled with light. Her father said to her "My daughter your prophecy has been fulfilled". However, once that cast Moshe into the river her father proceeded to tap her on her head and said "My daughter where is your prophecy now? How can he save the Yidden if he will die in the river?" This is what the passuk means when it says ותתצב אחותומרחוק His sister positioned herself at a distanceלידע מה יעשה לו to know what would transpire with him. She wanted to know what would happen with her prophecy.
Chazal say (Sotah 9b) that Miriam waited for Moshe one hour therefore Yisrael waited seven days for her in the desert during her period of recovery from her Tzaraas. That is one connection between the two. A second allusion to the bond between the two stories is the gematriah of אחתו מרחק which equals בצרעת עה"כ. We suggest even further that this is hinting to the time that Miriam had tzaraas and she was מרחוק separated from the rest of Klal Yisrael as prescribed by the din of one who has tzaraas. Here again we see a connection between of Miriam's episode of Tzaraas with the saving of Moshe Rabbeinu.
One may ask why is Miriam's tzaraas alluded to during Moshe's floating in a basket being over watched by his sister. We can answer the following. Miriam advised her father to remarry his wife after he divorced her during the decree of all Jewish males children must be killed. It was after the remarriage that she prophesized of her mother giving birth to the redeemer of Am Yisrael in Mitzrayim. When it was necessary to place Moshe in the basket by the river because of the danger she watched to see her prophecy come true as the daughter of Pharaoh Basya took Moshe to the palace to raise him like her own child. It was then that Miriam realized that her advice to her father to remarry and live with her mother was incredible since it brought to Am YIsrael their redeemer, and the individual who would give us the Torah. Her prophecy fostered support to her advice. This caused Miriam to speak Lashon Harah about Moshe for leaving his wife as we explained. What Miriam didn't realize was that Moshe was so distant in his level of Nevuah from Miriam, that her allegation against Moshe was not applicable and void.
This can now bring a new interpretation to these same words .ותתצב אחותו מרחוק That Miriam his sister, was so far removed from Moshe's level of Nevuah that her negative words about Moshe's caused her be punished with צרעת which is the same gematriahאחותו of מרחוק. Had she had known his true madraiga of פה אל פה she never would have said those words about him. The hint of her punishment originates with her seeing the fulfillment of her own nevuah about her brother Moshe and of her parents following her council to get remarried.
When Moshe davened on her behalf he said אל נא רפה נא לה. Notice that אל נא is gematriah with its four lettersפה . The gematriah of נא לה equals פה with the word. Moshe's tefillah conveyed two gematrias of פה symbolizes the פה אל פה relationship. This was her tikkun that she now realizes her mistake.
Another reference to the פה in Moshe's tefillah is the Chazal that states (Avos DeReb Nosson 9,43)
באותה שעה עג משה עוגה קטנה ועמד בתוכה וביקש רחמים עליה ואמר איני זז מכאן עד שתתרפא מרים אחותי שנאמר אל נא רפה נא לה
Moshe Rabbeinu made a small circle around himself and declared I am not moving from here until You Hashem will send to her a healing. Making the circle also symbolizes the tikkun that Miriam needed which pointed to the severity of her chait that she damaged her mouth which brought into the world the Moshe Rabbeinu through whose mouth the Shechina spoke (Bamidbar 12,8). This is alluded to in the word עוגה which is gematriah פה (with the word).
We lead our lives judging and assessing actions and conducts of others and deem them wrong and improper and we spread our beliefs and judgments to others. Could it be that we really don't know and perceive what is going on in their lives. Can one say for sure that he has definitely all the pieces of the puzzle before him? Make sure when you suddenly become an instant self made שופט you don't make a טפש out of yourself and cause irrevocable harm to others.
Rav Brazil,
Gut Shabbos
