Cytowanie Komentarza do Psalmów 120:3

And according to the opinion that they were missing a robe, it is known that the robe atones for evil speech (Arakhin 16a), and these [sons of Aaron] spoke evil about Moses and Aaron, saying, “When will these two old men die?” etc. They meant by this that they were not fit to be leaders except due to their old age, not because of their merit. Anyone who speaks evil speech brings forth a strange fire, “coals are kindled by it,” as it is written Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death (Proverbs 26:18). These are sparks of fire, for His arrow goes forth like lightning, and therefore his judgment is with fire, as it is written What shall be given to you, and what shall be done more to you, O deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of broom (Psalms 120:3-4). Therefore, they too were judged with fire. And if they had worn the robe, it would have atoned for them for their evil speech.
This comparison to fire also includes the attribute of arrogance, for every arrogant person wants to rise upward, like the nature of fire which rises upward, and therefore his judgment is with fire, as explained above in Parashat Tzav on our Sages’ teaching on It is the burnt offering on its altar flame — anyone who is prideful is judged with fire (Vayikra Rabbah 7:6). And the sons of Aaron were arrogant in this offering, which is the “strange fire.” This concept encompasses many opinions: the opinion that they were intoxicated with wine, meaning out of arrogance; the opinion that they did not marry women because of their extreme arrogance, thinking that no one on earth was their equal; the opinion that they did not consult with each other because of their great arrogance; the opinion that they ruled on a matter of law in front of Moses their teacher, for due to their arrogance they did not seek permission from Moses; and the opinion that [they said], “I and you will lead with authority,” etc.

למסעיהם על פי ה', “according to their journeys at the command of Hashem.” The Torah states: 1) the journeys themselves were all at the command of G’d; 2) Moses recorded them all at the express command of G’d. The purpose of these records was what we discussed already in our introduction. There was an additional purpose, namely to demonstrate the many acts of loving kindness performed by Hashem, who, though He had decreed that they were to travel through the desert (although alternate routes were available) did not subject them to the discomforts associated with travel through such inhospitable country. Moreover, by having listed all the places where the Israelites camped, we realise that the people did not move around in the desert constantly, like someone escaping from a pursuer, but that during the entire 40 years (counting from the crossing of the sea until the death of Moses) there were actually fewer than 40 stops, so that they usually could stay put in a camp for more than a year at a time.

And in Toldot Yitzchak it is written that because they spoke against God and Moses, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: “My part I forgive and pardon, but make for yourself a fiery serpent to counter what they did to you.” And Moses said the opposite: “My part is forgiven, but who can forgive the part against the Most High?” Therefore, he made a copper serpent. The root of this matter is also found in the Yalkut Parashat Shemot, an explanation for this interpretation: for evil speech burns and harms a person, Like the sharpened arrows of a warrior, with burning coals of broom wood (Psalms 120:4). Therefore, the fiery serpent came as a response to what they spoke against Moses. But regarding what they said against the Most High, What can He give you, and what can He add to you, O deceitful tongue? (Psalms 120:3). Therefore, He sent the serpents against them because they adopted the craft of the primordial serpent who spoke evil against his Creator, for the tongue falls upon the tongue [there is wordplay], as the serpent who sinned with its tongue falls upon those who misuse their tongues. And he looked at the copper serpent and lived — meaning he would see what happened to the primordial serpent and then not return to folly.

לא תלך רכיל THOU SHALT NOT GO ABOUT AS A TALE BEARER — I say that because all those who sow discord between people and all who speak slander go into their friends' houses in order to spy out what evil they can see there, or what evil they can hear there so that they may tell it in the streets —they are called הולכי רכיל which it the same as הולכי רגילה, "people who go about spying"; espiement in O. F. A proof of my statement is the fact that we do not find anywhere the term רגיל used in Scripture except in connection with the expression הלך "to go". Examples are: the phrase here, לא תלך רכיל; (Jeremiah 6:28) "[They are all] walking as spies: they are brass and iron". But as for any other expressions for “slander”, the verb הלך is not used with them. Examples are (Psalms 101:5) "whoso privily slandereth his neighbour”; (Psalms 120:2) "false tongue"; (Psalms 12:4) "the tongue that speaketh proud things (slander)". For this reason I say that this expression (הולך רכיל) means "going about ומרגל, and spying out” (רגל = רכל), because the כ may interchange with ,ג since all letters the pronounciation of which are of the same place in the organs of speech may interchange with each other e. g., בי"ת with גימ"ל ,פ"א with כ"ף or with נו"ן ;קו"ף with זי"ן ;למ"ד with צד"י. And in a similar sense we have, (II Samuel 19:28) "He spied against thy servant [to my lord]” which implies, "he spied me out with subtly in order to speak evil about me to my lord״ (and thus וירגל comes to mean "to slander”). Similar is (Psalms 15:8): לא רגל על לשונו which means, "he has not spied out in order to have evil on his tongue”. Similarly the רוכל, the trader, is one who goes round and searches for (spies out) all kinds of merchandise, and so also the seller of perfumes which women use to make themselves nice, because he constantly goes about in the villages, he is called רוכל, which has the same meaning as רוגל. And its translation in the Targum לא תיכול קורצין, has the same meaning as (Daniel 3:8) "and they slandered (אכלו קורציהון) the Jews”; and as (Berakhot 58a) "he slandered him (אכל ביה קורצא בי מלכא) to the king”. It seems to me that people had the custom to eat a little snack in the house of him who listened to their slanderous words, and this served as the final confirmation that his (the slanderer's) statements were well founded and that he would maintain the truth of them. This "snack” was called אכילת קורצין, the word קורצא being connected in meaning with the root קרץ in (Proverbs 6:13) "He winketh (קורץ) with his eyes”, for it is the manner of all who go about slandering to wink with their eyes and to suggest their slanderous statements by innuendos in order that others who happen to hear them should not understand them.

ויחנו ברתמה AND THEY ENCAMPED IN RITHMAH — It was so called with reference to the slanderous speech of the spies, uttered there, as it is said, (Psalms 120:3-4): “What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee, thou deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty with coals of juniper (רְתָמִים).