Question:
It says in Beha'aloscha, that both Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moshe regarding the Cushite woman he had married (12.1). Then later it says that Miriam was afflicted with tzaraas (12.10).
From what I understand, if a person speaks loshen hara, three people are affected: the speaker, the listener, and the person being spoken about. If both Miriam and Aaron spoke loshon hara, why wasn't Aaron also afflicted?
Answer:
According Rabbi Akiva[i] and others[ii], Aharon, too, was smitten
with leprosy as a result of his participating in the discussion about Moshe.
Also, as a woman, Miriam
felt more passionately about the plight of Moshe’s wife, and therefore initiated
the conversation[iii].
The Torah therefore focuses primarily on the consequences that Miriam had to contend
with while only alluding to those experienced by Ahraon.
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