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Why did Miriam get punished for speaking about Moshe if she had no intention to hurt him and he wasn't bothered? The shiur develops that lashon hara has two dimensions: harm to others and harm to oneself through cultivating a negative perspective. The Meraglim's sin exemplifies this — speaking badly about Eretz Yisrael harmed no victim but damaged their own spiritual health.
The shiur addresses fundamental questions about the juxtaposition of Parshas Shelach to the story of Miriam's lashon hara. Rashi (רש"י) explains that the Meraglim should have learned from Miriam's punishment not to speak lashon hara, but this raises difficulties: speaking about people should be more severe than speaking about land, and if the Meraglim wouldn't be deterred by the general severity of lashon hara, how would Miriam's story help? The analysis begins with the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s ruling that one who accepts lashon hara (mekabel) is worse than the speaker, raising the question of why Aharon wasn't punished more severely than Miriam. The Torah (תורה)'s language "Vatedaber Miriam v'Aharon" suggests both spoke, when it should say Miriam spoke to Aharon if he was merely listening.
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Parshas Shelach - Meraglim and Miriam's lashon hara
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