Question Vayera
Question
When speaking about the children of Amrom the Torah writes
(כו) "הוּא אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה אֲשֶׁר אָמַר ה' לָהֶם הוֹצִיאוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם עַל צִבְאֹתָם".
This is Aharon and Moshe who Hashem spoke to, to take Am Yisrael out of Egypt.
Rashi points out that the reason why sometimes the Torah mentions Moshe before Aharon and sometimes Aharon before Moshe is to show that they were both equal.
This is a quote from Rashi;
"יש מקומות שמקדים אהרן למשה ויש מקומות שמקדים משה לאהרן, לומר לך ששקולין כאחד".
The question is: We believe that Moshe was the “father” of all the nevi’im, and this is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith that we believe with all our heart: that the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, was true, and that he was the father of all the nevi’im who came before him and who came after him.
We also find in the passuk when Hashem eulogy’s Mosheh Rabbinu, it is written:
(דברים פרק לד פסוק י) "וְלֹא קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה".
There was no prophet like Moshe
We need to understand: how does Rashi say that they were equal, when part of our fundamental belief is that there was no other navi like Moshe, and this is even one of our 13 Ani Maamin’s?
Answer
The Sheloh HaKadosh (Perek Torah Or) asks this question and explains that there is a difference between before Matan Torah and after Matan Torah. Before Matan Torah, Moshe and Aharon were equal in their leadership and nevuah. However, after Matan Torah, when Moshe ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah, that is when Moshe became the Av LaNeviim.
There is a very interesting and important question on this topic which I would like to share. It is brought in the Kovetz He’arot.
The Rambam, Hilchos Tumat Tzaraat, Perek 16, writes about the severity of lashon hara, and I quote:
רמב״ם הלכות טומאת צרעת פרק טז
הרי הוא אומר: התבוננו מה אירע למרים הנביאה שדיברה באחיה, שהיתה גדולה ממנו בשנים וגידלתו על ברכיה וסכנה בעצמה להצילו מן הים, והיא לא דיברה בגנותו אלא טעתה שהשוותו לשאר נביאים, והוא לא הקפיד על כל הדברים האלו, שנאמר: והאיש משה ענו מאד. ואף על פי כן מיד נענשה בצרעת. קל וחומר לבני אדם הרשעים הטפשים שמרבים לדבר גדולות ונפלאות. לפיכך ראוי למי שרוצה לכוין אורחותיו להתרחק מישיבתן ומלדבר עמהן, כדי שלא יתפס אדם ברשת רשעים וסכלותם.
Consider what happened to Miriam the prophetess, who spoke about her brother. She was older than him, raised him, and even risked her life to save him from the sea. She did not speak negatively about him at all. Rather, she made a mistake by equating him with other prophets. And he was not at all angry about this, as it says, “And Moshe was exceedingly humble.”
Yet despite all this, she was immediately punished with tzaraat.
How much more so does this apply to wicked and foolish people, who constantly speak arrogantly and boastfully.
Therefore, anyone who wants to properly direct their ways should distance themselves from sitting with such people and from speaking with them, so that a person does not become caught in the trap of the wicked and their foolishness.
Asks the Kovetz He’aros: the kal va’chomer does not add up, since Miriam did not just speak lashon hara. She said that Moshe was on the same level of prophecy as the other nevi’im. This is much more severe, since, as the Rambam writes in his Pirush HaMishnayot to Sanhedrin, Perek Chelek, one who says that Moshe is equal to other nevi’im is, Hashem yerachem, considered a “mumar le’chol haTorah, ve’ein lo chelek le’olam haba.” So how can we learn from Miriam’s punishment to the punishment of one who speaks lashon hara?
To explain this, the Kovetz He’aros says a big chidush: that only after Miriam spoke negatively about Moshe did Hashem say…
(במדבר פרק יב, ז-ח), (ז) "לֹא כֵן עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה, בְּכָל בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא".(ח) "פֶּה אֶל פֶּה אֲדַבֶּר בּוֹ, וּמַרְאֶה וְלֹא בְחִידֹת, וּתְמֻנַת ה' יַבִּיט, וּמַדּוּעַ לֹא יְרֵאתֶם לְדַבֵּר בְּעַבְדִּי בְמֹשֶׁה".
So, it was only at this time that it was established that Moshe’s prophecy was above all others. Therefore, at the time when Miriam spoke, it was considered lashon hara and not, chas ve’shalom, apikorsus.
Regarding the importance of saying Ani Ma’amin every day, Moreynu Hagaon Harav Amrom Fried shlit”a writes:
דבר גדול הוא לומר י"ג עיקרים כל יום כדי לחיות בתמידות עם יסודות האמונה.
ובספר מדרש פנחס (מקאריץ) כתב שהוא סגולה לפרנסה בשפע.
It is a great thing to say the Thirteen Principles of Faith every day, in order to live constantly with the fundamentals of our emunah.
It is brought in Midrash Pinchas (miKoritz) that it is a segulah for parnasah and for being blessed with great prosperity
