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Why does the Torah (תורה) link Miriam's lashon hara about Moshe to the spies' negative report about the land? The shiur develops a fundamental insight: lashon hara isn't primarily about hurting others but about cynicism — having a negative default perspective instead of objectivity. Both Miriam and the spies suffered from this character flaw of assuming the worst rather than seeking truth.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a compelling question from Rashi (רש"י): how should the spies have learned from Miriam's punishment for speaking lashon hara about Moshe, when Miriam spoke about a person while the spies spoke about inanimate land? This leads to a profound analysis of what lashon hara fundamentally represents. The shiur begins by examining a fascinating question about the nature of lashon hara versus motzi shem ra (slander). While slander involves falsehood, lashon hara involves speaking truth. Yet the Torah (תורה) prohibition cited is "lo tisa shem ra shav" — don't carry a false report. This apparent contradiction reveals a crucial insight: lashon hara uses truth to create a lie. When someone relates a true negative fact about another person, they're not merely sharing information — they're implying "that's who this person is." This transforms truth into falsehood, because one negative action doesn't define a person's essence.
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Parshas Shelach 13:32, Parshas Beha'aloscha 12:1
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