Midrash for Numbers 12:1

(Lev. 14:2:) “This shall be the law of the leper.” This text is related (to Prov. 18:21), “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Everything depends on the tongue. [If] one is acquitted, he is acquitted for life; [if] one is not acquitted, he is condemned to death. [If] one is engaged in Torah with his tongue, he is acquitted for life, inasmuch as the Torah is a tree of life, as stated (in Prov. 3:18), “[Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of it.” It (i.e., the Torah) is also one's healing for the evil tongue (i.e., slander), as stated (in Prov. 15:4), “A healing tongue is a tree of life.” But if one is occupied with slander, his soul is condemned to death, since slander is more harmful than the shedding of blood. Thus whoever kills takes only one life, but the one who speaks slander kills three people: the one who tells it, the one who accepts it, and the one about whom it is told.⁹PRK 4:2; Lev. R. 26:2; Numb. R. 19:2; Deut. R. 5:10; M. Pss. 12:2; yPe’ah 1:1 (16a). Doeg spoke slander against Ahimelech; and he (i.e., Ahimelech) was killed, as stated (in I Sam. 22:16), “But the king said, ‘You shall surely die, Ahimelech.’” Saul also was killed, [as stated] (in I Chron. 10:13), “So Saul died for the treachery which he had committed against the Lord.” And thus did Saul say (in II Sam. 1:9, to a young man), “Please stand over me and slay me, for death throes have seized me.” [The young man was] the accuser¹⁰Gk.: kategoros. of Nob, the city of priests [against Saul]. Now death throes (shbts) can only denote priesthood, since it is stated (in Exod. 28:13 with reference to high-priestly dress), “And you shall make gold brocade (rt.: shbts).” Doeg also was uprooted (shrsh) from the life of this world and from all life in the world to come. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 52:7), “God will also tear you down for ever; He will seize you, tear you away from your tent, and uproot (shrsh) you from the land of the living. Selah,” [i.e., He will uproot you] from life in the world to come. Who is more severe? One who smites with the sword or [one who] smites with the dart? Say the one who smites with the dart. The one who smites with the sword is only able to kill his companion if he draws near to him and touches him; but in the case of one who smites with the dart, it is not so. Rather one throws the dart wherever he sees him. Therefore, one who speaks slander is comparable to the dart, as stated (in Jer. 9:7), “Their tongue is a sharpened dart; it speaks deceit.” It also says (in Ps. 57:5), “people, whose teeth are spears and darts, and whose tongue a sharp sword.” See how harmful slander is, in that it is more harmful than adultery, shedding blood and idolatry.¹¹M. Pss. 52:2. Of adultery it is written (in Gen. 39:9, where Joseph is addressing Potiphar's wife), “then how shall I do this great evil and sin against God?” Of shedding blood it is written (in Gen. 4:13), “My sin is greater than I can bear.” Of idolatry it is written (in Exod. 32:31, with reference to the golden calf), “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin.” But when it (i.e., Scripture) mentions slander, it does not say "great" (in the masculine singular, as in Gen. 4:13), or "great" (in the feminine singular, as in Gen. 39:9 and Exod. 32:31), but "great" (in the feminine plural). Thus it is written (in Ps. 12:4), “The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, [every] tongue speaking great things (in the feminine plural).” It is therefore stated (in Prov. 18:21), “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” [Another interpretation (of Prov. 18:21), “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”: Do not say, “Since I have license to speak, I am therefore speaking whatever I want.” See, the Torah has already warned you (in Ps. 34:14), “Keep your tongue from evil [and your lips from speaking deceit].” Perhaps you will say that you are suffering a loss. Are you not profiting instead? So the holy spirit proclaims (in Prov. 21:23), “The one who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from trouble (tsarot).” Do not read this as “from trouble.” Instead [read it as], "from leprosy (tsar'at).” Another interpretation (of Prov. 18:21), “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”: Slander is so harmful that one does not produce it from his mouth without denying the Holy One, blessed be He.¹²M. Ps. 52:2. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 12:5), “Those who say, ‘By our tongues we shall prevail; our lips are with us, who is to be our Lord?’” The Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, cried out against those who speak slander (in Ps. 94:16), “Who will stand for Me against evildoers…?” Who can stand against them? And who will stand against them? Geihinnom? But Geihinnom also cries out, “I am unable to stand against them.” [Then] the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I [will come at them] from above and you (Geihinnom), from below. I will hurl darts from above; and you will turn on them with burning coals from below.” Thus it is stated (in Ps. 120:4), “Sharp darts of the warrior along with burning coals of broom wood.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Do you want to be delivered from Geihinnom? Keep yourselves far away from the deceitful tongue. Then you will be acquitted in this world and in the world to come.” Thus it is stated (in Ps. 34:13), “Who is the one who desires life….” And it is [then] written (in vs. 14), “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit […].” Thus it is stated (in Lev. 14:2), “This shall be the law of the leper,” to teach you that one who speaks slander will have blemishes come to him, as it is stated, “This shall be the law of the leper (metsora'),” [i.e.] the one who proclaims evil (motsi' ra')¹³Above, 5:1; ySot. 2:1 (17d); ‘Arakh. 15b; Cf. Lev. R. 16:1. will find evil, in that he will have leprosy come upon him. See what is written about Miriam (in Numb. 12:1), “Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.” Therefore (in vs. 10), “then Aaron turned unto Miriam, and there was [Miriam] with leprosy like the snow.” What is written elsewhere (in Deut. 24:9)? “Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam […].” And is it not all the more so? For if Miriam had this happen, when she only spoke against her beloved brother when he was absent¹⁴I.e., she spoke privately to Aaron with no desire to be hostile to Moses. Cf. Sifre, Numb. 12:1 (99:2). and was only intending to return him to his wife, how much the more so in the case of one who utters slander against his colleague? What is written above on the matter (in Deut. 24:8)? “Take care with the plague of leprosy [to watch diligently and do according to all that the priests and Levites shall teach…].” So the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, also afflicted with it Aaron, who was high priest. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 12:9), “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, [i.e.] against Aaron and against Miriam.” Aaron, however, was healed immediately; but Miriam, after seven days, as stated (in Numb. 12:15), “So Miriam was shut up [outside of the camp] for seven days.” Ergo (in Lev. 14:2), “This shall be the law of the leper (metsora').” The one who proclaims evil (motsi' ra') is the one who finds evil (motse' ra'). And thus you find with the primeval serpent, because he spoke slander [to Eve] against his Creator, for that reason he became leprous.¹⁵Cf. Gen. R. 19:4. What did he say? R. Joshua ben Levi said (citing Gen. 3:5), “’For God knows that on the day that you eat from it, your eyes shall be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ He said to her, ‘Every artisan hates his fellow [artisan].¹⁶The saying is proverbial. See Gen. R. 32:2; M. Pss. 11:6. Now when [the Holy One, blessed be He,] wanted to create His world, He ate from this tree. So he created His world. You [two] also eat from it. Then you will be able to create like Him.’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said to [the serpent], ‘You have spoken slander. Your end is to be stricken with leprosy.’” It is so stated (in Gen. 3:14), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, “Because you have done this, more cursed shall you be than all the beasts of the field.” With what did he curse ('araroh) him? With leprosy. Now a curse can only be leprosy, since it is stated (in Lev. 13:52), “for it is a malignant (mam'eret) leprosy.”¹⁷The argument assumes that ‘arirah and mam’eret share the same root. So also Exod. R. 3:13. R. Huna said in the name of R. Joshua ben Levi, “The scales which are on the snake are his leprosy.”¹⁸Gen. R. 20:4. And not only that, but when all the deformed are cured in the world to come, the snake shall not be cured.¹⁹Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 11:9; Tanh., Gen. 11:8; Gen. R. 95:1. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 3:14), “more cursed shall you be than all the beasts.” From here [we learn] that they all shall be healed, but [the serpent] shall not be healed. People shall be healed, as stated (in Is. 35:5), “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened….” It is also [written about] the wild beasts and the cattle (in Is. 65:25), “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion like the ox shall eat straw, but the serpent's food shall be dust”; as he will never be healed, because he [was the one who] brought all mortals down to the dust. And what caused him to have [this punishment]? [It happened] because he had spoken slander.

R. Zutra b. Tubiah was once arranging Biblical passages before R. Juda. When he came upon the passage (Sam. 13, 1) And these are the last words of David, he said to him: "If these were the last, what were the first words of David?" R. Juda remained silent. But when Mar Zutra repeated the question, R. Juda said: "Art thou of the opinion that if one cannot explain this he is not a great man?" Mar Zutra understood that R. Juda was angry, and he rebuked himself for one day. But the question remains still unanswered. If these are the last then there must be the first. What are the first? They are (Ib. 22, 1) And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song, on the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. This means that the Holy One, praised be He! said unto David: "David, thou singest songs over the downfall of Saul; as thou livest if thou wert Saul and he were David, I would annihilate many a David for his sake." And therefore says the passages (Ps. 7, 1) A Shiggayon (an error) of David which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the affairs of Kush (the Ethiopian) the Benjamite. Was then his mane Kush? Behold it was Saul! But as an Ethiopian is distinguished from others by the color of his skin, so was also Saul distinguished from others by his good deeds. In a similar manner we may explain the following (Num. 12, 1) On account of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. Was then her name Ethiopian? Behold her name was Ziporah! This is to teach you that as an Ethiopian is distinguished by the color of his skin, so also was she distinguished by her kind deeds. Similarly we explain the following (Jer. 38, 7) And now when the slave of the king, the Ethiopian, heard it. Was then his name Ethiopian? Indeed his name was Zedekiah? But this is to teach you that as an Ethiopian is distinguished by the color of his skin, etc. In a like manner we may explain the following (Amos 9, 7) Are ye not like the children of the Ethiopians, O children of Israel? Was then their name Ethiopians? Behold Israel is their name! This teaches you that just as the Ethiopians differ from others in the color of their skin, so does Israel differ from all idolaters with their good deeds.

Another interpretation (of Numb. 13:2) “Send men.” What is written above the matter (in Numb. 12:1)? “And Miriam spoke to Aaron about Moses.” And afterwards, (in Numb. 12:2), “Send men.” This text is related (to Is. 44:18), “They neither know nor understand; for their eyes are stuck shut so that they cannot see […].” What is the reason for saying, “Send men,” after the episode of Miriam (in Numb. 12:1ff.)?¹¹Numb. R. 16:6. It is simply that it was anticipated by the Holy One, blessed be He, that they would come and utter evil speech against the land.¹²Sot. 34a. The Holy One, blessed be He, had said that they should not [be able to] say, “We did not know what the penalty for evil speech was.” For that reason the Holy One, blessed be He, put this [story] next to the one [in which Miriam was afflicted with leprosy, because she had spoken slander against her brother. [This was] so that everyone would know the punishment for evil speech. [It was a warning] so that if they came to speak slander, they would consider what happened to Miriam; but even so, they did not desire to learn. It is therefore stated (in Is. 44:18), “They neither know nor understand.” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, wrote [about] the sending out of the spies after the episode of Miriam. Ergo (in Is. 44:18), “They neither know nor understand; for their eyes are stuck shut so that they cannot see….” Another interpretation (of Numb. 13:2), “Send men for yourself”: Even though the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to Moses, “Send men for yourself,” it was not [the wish] of the Holy One, blessed be He, for them to go.¹³See Numb. R. 16:7. Why? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, had already told them [about] the superiority of the Land of Israel. It is so stated (in Deut. 8:7), “For the Lord your God is bringing you unto a good land.” Moreover, while they had been in Egypt, he had said to them (in Exod. 3:8), “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians [and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and spacious land].” And Scripture states (in Exod. 13:21), “And the Lord went in front of them by day.” So what is the point of [saying] (in Numb. 13:2), “Send men?” It is simply that they wanted these words. When they reached [Israel's] borders, Moses had said to them (in Deut. 1:21), “See, the Lord your God has set the land before you, go and possess….” At that time Israel approached Moses, as stated (in vs. 22), “Then you all drew near unto me [and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us’].” This is what Ezra¹⁴See Sanh. 93b, which also alludes to the book of Nehemiah under the name of Ezra. said (in Neh. 9:17), “So they refused to listen and were unmindful of Your] wonders.” Now it says (in Numb. 10:33), “and the ark of the covenant of the Lord traveled ahead of them […].” And [yet] they said (in Deut. 1:22), “Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us.” [It is simply] that they did not believe. And similarly David said (in Ps. 78:10), “and they refused to follow His Torah.” R. Joshua says, “To what were they comparable? To a king who secured for his son a beautiful wife, the daughter of good and wealthy parents. The king said to him, ‘I have secured you a beautiful wife, the daughter of good and wealthy parents. There is no one like her in the whole world.’ The son said to him, ‘Let me go to see her,’ for he did not trust his father. Immediately the situation became ever more difficult for his father and it was bad for him. His father said, ‘What shall I do? If I say to him, “I am not showing her to you,” then he will say, “She is ugly.”’ For that reason he did not want to show her. Finally he said to him, ‘Look at her, so that you may know that I have not deceived you. But because you did not trust me, I swear that you shall not see her in your house. Instead I am giving her to your son.’ Now similarly did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel, ‘The land is good,’ but they did not believe [Him]. They said (in Deut. 1:22), ‘Let us send men ahead of us.’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If I prevent them, they will say, “The land is no good. For that reason He has not shown it to us.” Rather, they will only see it, for I swear that not one of them shall enter within it, but rather [only] their children.’ Thus it is stated (in Numb. 14:23, 31), ‘Surely they shall not see the land […]. But it is your children, who you said would be carried off, who will go….’’’ When they said to Moses (in Deut. 1:22), “Let us send men ahead of us,” Moses began to wonder. He said, “It is impossible for me to do something before I consult with the Holy One, blessed be He.” He went and consulted. He said to him, “Your children want thus and so.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “This is not the first time for them. While they were in Egypt, they jeered at Me, as stated (in Hos. 7:16), ‘this was their derision in the land of Egypt.’ They are accustomed to such [behavior]. I do not need this; as see, it is written (in Dan. 2:22), ‘He knows what is in the darkness, [and the light dwells with Him]’; I know what they are saying. But if you want, you yourself, ‘Send men for yourself.’” Where is it shown? Where it is written (in Numb. 13:16), “These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land.”