Parashas Beha'alosecha - The ultimate power to control current world events

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Refua Shelema: Eliyahu ben Emily
May you have health, happiness, and success!
(If you would like to sponsor a Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)
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[Note: I did not send the wrong Parasha. Due to Shavuos, Israel and America are on different Parasha Schedules. This week in Israel is Parashas Beha'alosecha while in America they are reading Parashas Naso. I recommend Americans to read this Dvar Torah by Seudat Shelishit.]

In this week's Parasha, we see a phenomenal thing in Judaism. We see how all Jews are connected and that everyone takes responsibility for each other's actions.

Towards the end of the Parasha, Miriam (Moshe's sister) got punished with leprosy. If you remember in Parashas Tazria-Metzora, we mentioned there are different reasons for getting leprosy. One reason is for speaking lashon hara.

Miriam told her brother Aharon that Moshe was not having marital relations with his wife, and was completely separated from her. She reasoned that Moshe should be involved with the mitzva of having kids and didn't know why he was so different than the other prophets (including Miriam and Aharon). "We don't separate from our spouses," she said.

She didn't have intentions of speaking negative about Moshe, yet she still got punished. [The reason for Moshe's separation was because he needed to stay pure at all times so that Hashem, at any given moment, could converse with him.]

Since Miriam was stricken with leprosy, she and Bnei Yisroel weren't able to travel for seven days. Every Jew was refrained from traveling into Eretz Yisroel because of one person. One person's action effected the whole Jewish nation! If we were all effected by Miriam's words, which weren't said maliciously, and were said in front of him, can you imagine what can happen when we speak bad of someone intentionally?

There's a whole sefer dedicated to the laws of refraining from speaking evil. It's called Sefer Chofetz Chaim. Highly recommended! Once you read it, you will be more aware of what you should and shouldn't say.

Every time we hear of something bad happening in the world - the Twin Towers in America, or a suicide bomber in Israel - our first reaction is to daven for those who are hurt. We all get together and say Tehillim for people we don't even know! Why is that? The answer is, because we are all connected and responsible for each other.

We have the power to change current world events depending on what we say. It's in our choice of words, so why not make the right decision?

Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Nisso