The eleventh grade is studying Bemidbar perek 12, the lashon hara that Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe, and the question arose: isn't learning this story itself lashon hara - about Miriam and Aharon? How about learning the story of Noach's drunkenness in this week's parashah? Or of Adam and Chava's sin? Why are we allowed to discuss and analyze negative stories about biblical figures?
One possible answer (offered, on different occasions, by the aunt-and-niece team of Mrs. and Yael Herzog) is that God Himself gives the "heter" to speak the lashon hara by including the story in the Torah. Both Tzipi Shteingart and Mrs. Cohen suggested that just as speaking negatively about someone is permissible "le-to'elet,"(for a halakhically permitted purpose, such as to protect someone from financial loss) the stories of our founders' sins are included "le-to'elet" - so that we may learn from them. Indeed, Mrs. Kraft pointed out, it puts the responsiblity on us to make sure that we study these stories with that goal in mind, to ask ourselves: what genuinely applicable lesson can we take from this?
Mrs. Herzog also cited the Kuzari - what other religion dares to be so open about the flaws of its founders and leaders? Just as the greatest people in our history made mistakes yet were able to overcome them and develop a relationship with Hashem, so may we strive to do the same.
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