#734: The Worms Come In, the Worms Come Out. ..
Rashi on Parashat Shelah, Bamidbar/Numbers 14:37
וַיָּמֻתוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים מוֹצִאֵי דִבַּת־הָאָרֶץ רָעָה בַּמַּגֵּפָה לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה׃
those who spread such calumnies about the land died of plague, by the will of יהוה.
Gimme Some Torah #734
The Torah tells us that those who spoke ill of the Land of Israel were punished by plague. What kind of plague? Rashi tells us to look closely at the Hebrew word בַּמַּגֵּפָה (bamageifah), which means “by means of the plague”:
בַּמַּגֵּפָה—THE PLAGUE : By that death which was fitting for them — measure for measure. They had sinned with their tongue, therefore their tongue grew long extending right down to their navels, and worms came from their tongue and entered their navels.
This is the reason why the verse says they died by “the” plague (בַּמַּגֵּפָה, with a patah under the בּ), and not בְּמַגֵּפָה, by “a” plague. This, too, is the meaning of the words “before the Lord” (they died by the plague which was before the Lord) — by that plague which was fitting for them according to the methods of the Holy Blessed One, Who metes out punishment “measure for measure” (Sotah 35a).
The same midrash in the Talmud includes something that Rashi did not: This plague caused a kind of death known as מִיתָה מְשׁוּנָה (mitah meshunah), which means strange death.
What do we mean by strange death? Rashi’s comment on B. Taanit 11a (s.v. מִיתָה מְשׁוּנָה) gives us one definition:
A strange death is suffered by one who dies in battle or of starvation or any death that is not at the hands of the Angel of Death, in the usual manner on one’s deathbed.
I would add to this list anyone who dies under the age of 50 for any reason, anyone who dies as the result of violence, as well as anyone taken by suicide or rare and always fatal afflictions like prion diseases.
It makes no sense to pray that we live a given length of time. When our time is up, our time is up. It makes more sense to pray, “Please, God, give me the strength to make my life as meaningful and fulfilling as possible, however long it may be.”
It’s also reasonable to pray that we die normal deaths, ensconced in our beds and surrounded by loved ones.
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I am the rabbi of Temple Beth El in Somerset, New Jersey, and the author of The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary.