At the end of this week’s parsha, we learn a powerful lesson about lashon hara. Miriam and Aharon questioned Moshe’s greatness and were punished severely. That is, Miriam got tzara’as and Hashem criticized Aharon as well. Our Sages stress that Miriam did not mean to say anything negative. In addition, she saved Moshe when he was an infant so she had tremendous merit. Still, the punishment was severe in this case. We can learn that lashon hara is even worse in other situations.

We can also learn this lesson with math. The Torah teaches that the lashon hara in this week’s parsha was limited to Miriam and Aharon. That is, the rest of the Jewish people did not hear it. We can learn that even when lashon hara does not spread, it is still destructive.

How fast can lashon hara spread today? Say someone says lashon hara to two friends. Then an hour later, they each say this lashon hara to two other friends. Then an hour later, each of those four people says this lashon hara to two other friends. Continuing in this way, how long would it take for the entire Jewish people to hear the lashon hara? The Jewish population today is about 15 million. (Hint: There is a trick for estimating 2 multiplied by itself a number of times. If you multiply ten 2s in a row you get a number very close to 1,000.)

Solution: The entire Jewish population would know in less than 24 hours. This is because two times itself 24 times is over 16 million.

Even though lashon hara can spread rapidly, our Sages teach that the power of good speech is even greater. For example, the Jews all stood together at Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments in an instant. Shabbat Shalom!

Ari Blinder is a math educator living in Highland Park. He is the owner of Math for the Masses, an innovative tutoring and consulting company. Please visit www.math4masses.com for fun activities and helpful worksheets. Ari can be reached at ari.m4m@gmail.com. Never think you are “not a math person.” You are very much one already, but no one has shown you how.