Halakhah do Liczb 12:8

(Tet) [But even] ‘before they called,’ their disgrace was revealed, as it is written, (Num. 11:10), “And [Moshe] heard the people weeping, each family apart” – meaning, about the sexual prohibitions [of blood-relatives] that had been forbidden to them. And behold in Gur Aryeh on Parashat Vayigash,³⁹Gur Aryeh on Genesis 46:10. [its author] asks that since Israel had the status of converts with the receiving of the Torah – as it is found in Yevamot 46a-46b, that they required circumcision, sprinkling and immersing like the law for converts – and it is established for us that a convert [may] marry his sister, since “a convert that converts is like a newly born infant”;⁴⁰Yevamot 22a. if so, it should have been appropriate to permit sexual relations between relatives in that generation. And he answers that we only say “a convert that converts is like a newly born infant” about a convert who converted on his own, from his own will – then he is as a newly born infant. But at the time of the giving of the Torah when they were forced to receive it – in that He overturned the mountain above them like a tub – they were accordingly not as a newly born infant. See there. Therefore “they cried for their families,” because of the affairs of the sexual prohibitions [of blood-relatives], since the manna had forced them to accept the Torah [and not have the leniency of the convert in this regard] – as I wrote in Paragraph Chet. Hence they were forbidden with their relatives. However if it had not been by force – but rather from [their own] will and from [their] choice – they would have been permitted with their relatives, as we elucidated. Yet behold in Yevamot 62b, Rabbi Yochanan and Resh Lakish disagree about a gentile who had children and [then] converted – as Rabbi Yochanan reasons that he fulfilled [the commandment of] “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28), as behold he has children; whereas Resh Lakish reasons that “a convert who converts is like a newly born infant,” and he [still] needs to fulfill “Be fruitful and multiply.” And at first glance you could ask [the following] difficulty: [In] that which they say there in the Talmud (Yevamot 61b-62a) in the argument between the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel, the School of Shammai reasons [that the requirement is] two male [offspring], and the School of Hillel reasons [that it is] a male and a female. And the reason of the School of Shammai there is that they learn from Moshe, as he had two sons and [then] separated from [his] wife; whereas the School of Hillel learns from the creation of the world, “male and female” (Gen. 1:27). And [the Talmud asks], “Let the School of Hillel learn from Moshe”; and answers, “Moshe separated on his own [and was not commanded by God], and [only afterward] did the Holy One, blessed be He, agree with him.” See there. But if so, according to the School of Shammai that learns from Moshe – granted that he fulfilled “Be fruitful and multiply” with two males; but behold, at the time of the giving of the Torah, they had the status of converts! And [though this is not a problem for Rabbi Yochanan], for Resh Lakish, [Moshe would still have] needed to fulfill “Be fruitful and multiply,” as he was like a newly born infant. However according to what is written in Gur Aryeh – that [when the conversion] is by force, the convert is not as a newly born infant – it is fine, even according to Resh Lakish. And with this, the question of Tosafot (at the beginning of Paragraph Chet) is resolved: As Aharon and Miriam did not speak against Moshe until after [they had been at] Kivrot-Hataavah; since before then, they had reasoned that [the principle of] “a convert that converts is like a newly born infant” [applied to them] – and [so Moshe] needed to fulfill, “Be fruitful and multiply,” even if he had sons from before. And if so, Moshe certainly would not have negated the commandment [by separating from his wife] on his own; and so it was the Holy One, blessed be He, who commanded him. However when they saw that sexual prohibitions [with blood-relatives] were forbidden to them at Kivrot-Hataavah – and that is from the reason that a forced convert is not as a newly born infant, as it is written in Gur Aryeh; and Moshe [accordingly] fulfilled “Be fruitful and multiply” with his earlier children – they found an opening to suspect [the correctness of his decision]. As he separated on his own, since he was not negating a commandment with this – as he fulfilled “Be fruitful and multiply’ with [his] two sons, even according to the School of Hillel, who only add that it is even sufficient with one male and one female according to the opinion of the Talmud Yerushalmi Yevamot 6:6, 7c. And hence they quarreled (Num. 12:2), “Has He not spoken through us as well?” [This was] until the Holy One, blessed be He, answered them (Num. 12:8), “I speak to him mouth to mouth” – I agreed to his words.

(Reish) “Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai said, ‘If I had been at Sinai, I would have requested […] two mouths, one for words of the Torah and one for [worldly words. But when he saw the frequency of evil speech which comes out of one mouth…].’” This statement of the [Talmud] Yerushalmi (Berakhot 1:2, 8a) seems [to imply that] there is no great disgrace if one studies [Torah] with the mouth that speaks worldly things, except that one cannot write down the words of the oral Torah. And it is written in Tiferet Yisrael:⁷³Chapter 68 (p. 213 in London edition).
The Torah was related only to Israel. And through the oral Torah – which is literally in the mouth of a person and not on parchment, etc. – the Torah has a connection with Israel, etc. And this is [the meaning of] the statement of [the Sages], may their memory be blessed, in the chapter [entitled] HaNizakin (Gittin 60b), “The Holy One, Blessed be He, made a covenant with the Jewish people only for the sake of the matters that were oral (be’al peh), as it is stated (Exod. 34:27), ‘For on the basis of [al pi] these things, I have made a covenant with you, etc.’” As this thing is the covenant and the connection that connects two things together, etc. And if the oral Torah was also written, there would be no Torah that would be unique specifically to Israel. [See there.]
And according to this, the mouth is the parchment of the oral Torah. And just like the parchment of the written Torah requires processing specifically for the sake [of the commandment], and needs to be pure, and not impure – so too does the parchment of the oral Torah, which is the mouth. It [too] requires that it only be for its sake. And [so] it is proper that he requests two mouths – one for Torah and one for worldly things. And according to this, one must be careful not to speak things that are not from the service to God [with] the mouth. And it is written in Midrash Tehillim 17:5 (on Ps. 17:1), “‘Heed my song,’ that is the song of the Torah; ‘without false lips,’ that is the additional prayers (mussafin). Why ‘without false lips’? Because we [do] not stand in prayer [after] wasteful words, nor false lips; but rather [after] words of Torah and good deeds.” And [it] can be explained according to that which is written by Rabbi Menachem Azariah da Fano, [about the liturgical phrase], “the daily [sacrifices] according to their order, and the additional [sacrifices] according to their law”: “As the daily ones correspond to the written Torah and the additional ones correspond to the oral Torah. And that is why they said, ‘And the additional [sacrifices] according to their law’ – as [the oral Torah] is the law.” And more of a clean mouth is required for the Oral Torah than for the written Torah. As [the latter] is already written on a proper parchment, whereas the mouth of a man is the parchment [for the oral Torah). And this is [the meaning of] “‘Listen to my prayer’ […], that is the additional ones” – which correspond to the oral Torah – ‘without false lips,’ because we [do] not stand in prayer [after] wasteful words.” ‘One who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from anguish.’ And we have found that Aharon said to Moshe (Num. 12:11), “Please do not place upon us the sin that we sinned and that we blundered.” And it is [found] in the Yalkut (Yalkut Shimoni on the Torah 741), “If we are inadvertent (shogegin), forgive us as those who are volitional (mezidin).” And it seems to me that [it can be explained] according to that which Rashi explained in Parashat Behaalotecha (Num. 12:8), “‘Why were you not afraid to speak against My servant, Moshe’ – against My servant, even though he were not a Moshe; and against a Moshe, even though he were not My servant, etc. You should have said, ‘The King does not love him for nothing!’ And if you say that He is not cognizant of his doings (i.e. that I love him even though he does not deserve it, since I am not aware of his treatment of his wife), this [notion] is worse than your previous one.”⁷⁴Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 13; cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 103. To here [are his words]. As sometimes a man speaks about his brother and is mistaken about him; as he really holds that he is bad, as he says about him. But other times a man will be jealous of his neighbor and speak falsely about him in rebellion and sin, even though he knows the truth of the stature of his countryman. And behold, if Aharon and Miriam were inadvertent about Moshe’s stature, their sin would become smaller towards Moshe, but it would be become greater towards the Creator, may He be blessed – as [God] does not love him for nothing. “And if you say that He is not cognizant of his doings, this is worse than anything.” However if they were volitional against Moshe and knew of his stature, and were [just] mocking him, the sin towards the Holy One, blessed be He, would become smaller – as they would not be denying God’s stature at all. And [even though the sin towards Moshe would be greater], Moshe would certainly not be so exacting about his own honor. However the honor of God [would have been] in his heart, to be zealous for Him. And this is why Miriam and Aharon said to him, “If we were inadvertent against you, forgive us as those who are volitional against you – and let the sin not be so great towards the Heavens.”