Komentarz do Liczb 12:12

אל נא תהי LET NOT our sister BE —

אל נא תהי כמת אשר בצאתו מרחם אמו ויאכל חצי בשרו, when a fetus is dead, having prematurely been aborted so that half its flesh looks as if it had already wasted away by the time it is expelled from its mother’s womb, even though it then appears in better condition than it was while still within its mother’s womb. When such a fetus leaves this world (mother’s womb) and enters the world of real life, perfect life, it still adds a negative dimension by being born, seeing that half of its flesh is consumed. Aaron asks Moses (whom he addresses here) not to leave his sister behind “dead” in the desert, whereas he will go on to the Holy Land, seeing that this would appear in retrospect as if he had left half of his own flesh (and blood) behind him in the desert.

אל נא תהי כמת, for reasons of your own honour and dignity do not allow yourself to become as if dead, for when someone who has been born from the same womb as your mother would be dead it is as if half of your own flesh is already dead.

אל נא תהי כמת, “please let her not be like a corpse;” Moses drew a comparison with a prematurely aborted fetus, which due to its inadequately developed body is similar in appearance to someone suffering from tzoraat. Rashi offers an alternate interpretation in which he quotes Moses as saying: “if You do not heal her as a result of my prayer, who will be able to declare her as definitely stricken with this disease so that she requires to be isolated; and who would be able to declare her as cured when the time came and the symptoms had disappeared?” The latter words of Rashi “who could declare her as ritually pure,” i.e. as cured, are very difficult! Instead of this being a problem it should be part of the solution seeing that no priest had declared her as ritually impure, for no one had examined her! [The assumption underlying Rashi’s question is that a priest who is related to the person suspected of having been stricken with tzoraat is unable to conduct the examination and to testify as to the result. Seeing that the three priests that were alive at that time were all related to Miriam, either as brother or as nephews, how could she have undergone the procedures necessary? Ed.] If you were to answer that she could have become ritually unclean without the testimony of the priest and that nonetheless her purification would require the services of a priest, why would she not also be able to become purified without the services of a priest? What did Rashi have in mind when he quoted Moses as saying to G’d that He must heal her by means of his prayer? If we were to apply the more stringent halachic yardstick, even if G’d were to heal her (the symptoms) she would still not become ritually pure again so that she could resume living within the camp! Who had had the authority to declare her as purified? I have seen a version of this commentary in the Sifrey according to which Aaron asked Moses: “what did you find wrong with my sister that you neither permitted me to declare her ritually impure for temporary or absolute isolation, nor to declare her as ritually pure?” According to this version the second problem we raised is not a problem, and it is even possible to argue that the first problem we raised with Rashi’s alternate explanation is not problematic either, for granted that she could have been declared ritually unclean only by a priest as far as the tzoraat is concerned, this would not however prevent people from keeping a physical distance from her due to her appearance! As a result she would remain condemned to be visibly afflicted for the rest of her life, all because there was no priest at hand to declare her cured. Moses’ prayer for G’d to heal her so that she had never become definitely impure was justified therefore.

אל תהי נא כמת, “do not let her be like a dead person!” Aaron told Moses: “I am not qualified to rule on when her affliction is healed seeing that I am her relative. There is no other priest in the world at this time who is qualified to rule on this; therefore, unless you pray on her behalf she will remain thus afflicted indefinitively” (compare Tanchuma Tzav 13). This is why Aaron used the words: “like one who leaves his mother’s womb with half his flesh consumed.” Aaron meant that people born in a state of tzoraat are not subject to being healed ever. Aaron concluded that due to such considerations Moses had to pray on Miriam’s behalf so that his sister would not suffer from the same status as a baby born with this affliction.

Just as the dead cause ritual defilement when entering. For it is written, “anything that comes into the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be defiled” (Bamidbar 19:14) and concerning the leper it is written, “that which comes into the house for all of the days of its confinement shall be defiled” (Vayikra 14:46).

V. 12. מצורע חשוב כמת .אל נא תהי כמת (siehe Wajikra 13, 46). מה (ספרי) המת מטמא באהל אף מצורע מטמא בביאה, durch das נגע trägt sie das Zeichen des Ausschlusses aus aller sozialen Gemeinsamkeit, und da wie im ספרי bemerkt wird, außer Aharon und seinen Söhnen, kein כהן da war, der sie der gesetzlichen Behandlung לסוגרה לטמאה ולטהרה unterziehen und sie so der טהרה wieder entgegenbringen konnte, weil קרובים פסולים לראות נגעים, eben darum aber auch, wie man glauben sollte, ihre טומאה und in deren Folge ihre Absonderung gar nicht hätte eintreten können, die ja ebenfalls nur in Folge des Ausspruchs eines כהן in Wirksamkeit tritt (siehe Wajikra 13, 3): so dürfte hier in dem gegebenen Falle der טמא-Charakter des נגע schon durch Gott bekundet gewesen sein, ohne dass es noch des Ausspruchs des כהן bedurft hätte, und konnte ihre wieder zu erlangende טהרה ebenfalls nur unmittelbar durch Gottesausspruch geschehen, da ein כהן המטהר nicht vorhanden war. So auch הב׳׳ה :ספרי הב׳׳ה הסגירה והב׳׳ה טימאה והב׳׳ה טיהרה (siehe Sebachim 102a). — אשר בצאתו מרחם אמו. Das Pronomen in בצאתו bezieht sich auf מת, das in אמו und בשרו auf אדני, und spricht in der dritten Person von dem Angeredeten im Ausdruck ehrerbietiger Unterwürfigkeit, יעבר נא אדני ,אדני ידע (Bereschit 33, 14 u.f.) und wechselt in solchen Anreden die dritte und zweite Person häufig (vergl. Sam. 11. 14, 11). יזכר נא המלך את ד׳ אלדיך ebenso im weitere n Verfolg daselbst ויאכל חצי בשרו, wie אחינו בשרנו הוא (Bereschit 37, 27. ספרי). Der Deutlichkeit willen haben wir אמו und בשרו in der zweiten Person übersetzt. Aharon appelliert an Mosche Brudergefühl, sie sei ja seine leibliche Schwester. Verbliebe sie in diesem leichenhaften Zustand der Abgestorbenheit, so wäre ja sein eigen Fleisch verwest!

אל נא תהיא כמת, “let her not be like someone dead!” anyone afflicted with the disease known as tzoraat is considered as dead if this affliction is visible already at birth. The reason is that in such instances the affliction will never heal. As opposed to this, when the affliction is due to the person having committed a sin, it can heal as a result of repentance and prayer. We find, for instance that Pharaoh who had been afflicted with that disease for trying to rape Sarah, was healed as soon as he restored her to her husband.

אל נא תהי כמת, “do not let her be like a dead person.” Anyone suffering from this skin disease is considered as if dead. (Talmud, tractate Nedarim folio 64) What Aaron meant was that his sister should not be like a newly born infant that displays signs of tzoraat, and therefore is considered as if stillborn. We have a statement: “when a youngster is born afflicted with the disease of tzoraat he will never attain ritual purity.” (B’chor shor) Seeing that this affliction is attributed to a specific sin, it may be healed as a result of a prayer, as we know from when Pharaoh was healed from this affliction in response to Avraham’s prayer. (Genesis 12,17) Rashi comments here that Moses implied that seeing that Miriam and he emerged from the same womb, how could he be expected to tolerate that his other half be “as dead?”

כמת AS ONE WHO IS DEAD — Aaron said this because a leper may be regarded as dead. How is it in the case of a corpse? It makes one unclean through entering a room in which it lies, So too, does the leper make a person unclean through his entering the place where he is (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 105).

אל נא תהי, do not become like a dead person The meaning of the words אל נא תהי as reflecting on the person addressed and not as the person who is the object of the conversation is also found in Proverbs 22,26, i.e.אל תהי בתוקעי כף, “do not be one of those who gives their hand, etc.” We also find this meaning in Proverbs 24,28 אל תהי עד חמס , “do not become a false witness.” [the author’s principal point is not to understand the word תהי as third person future feminine, but as second person, direct speech masculine. Ed.]

It is unconscionable for a brother. Meaning that even from its plain implication one can explain the verse without the need to say that the Torah uses euphemisms, by saying “his mother” instead of “our mother” and “his flesh” instead of “our flesh.” Thus their words were not directed towards their sister; rather he meant that generally any normal brother would not allow his sister to remain as if dead…

אשר בצאתו מרחם אמו It ought to have stated “אמנו” “of our mother’s womb”, only that Scripture modified the expression. Similarly חצי בשרו — it ought to have said חצי בשרנו “the half of our flesh is consumed”, only that Scripture modified the expression (Scripture uses these expressions with the suffix of the third person singular instead of the first person plural, because it wishes to avoid an ominous expression referring to Aaron and Moses). — The meaning is: Since she came forth from the womb of our own mother she in her present state is to us as though the half of our flesh were consumed. It is the same idea as is expressed in the words, (Genesis 37:27) “for he is our brother, our own flesh” (Sifrei Bamidbar 105). — And even according to what the text literally implies (without assuming any modification) it appears to have that meaning: "It is not right for a brother to allow his sister to remain as a dead person".

Who will confine her. Thus the explanation of “let her not be like the dead” is that she has no hope. Given that she came from our mother’s womb, who will be able to confine her? Consequently it will emerge that half of our flesh will be consumed, since her flesh which is one with our flesh is being consumed and there is no remedy for her ailment.

אשר בצאתו — since he (the dead person) also come out of the womb of the mother of this man who possessed the power to help him and does not help him, — then, indeed, the half of his own flesh becomes consumed if the other perishes, since one’s brother is one’s own flesh. — Another explanation of אל נא תהי כמת in the sense of “Do not let her remain a leper” is: If you (Moses) do not heal her by your prayer, who will put her in quarantine as a leper (cf. Leviticus 13:4) who will ultimately declare her clean? It is impossible for me to examine her as to the character of her leprosy, since I am a near relative and a near relative may not examine the leprous plagues of his kin, (Sifrei Bamidbar 105; cf. Mishnah Negaim 2:5) and there is no other priest in The world who is not her relative. This is alluded to in the words אשר כצאתו מרחם אמו — “since he (the only person who could declare her clean) has come out of the same womb".