War of the Words - An Ongoing Battle: Parasha Tazria-Metzora, Rosh Chodesh Iyar, Numbers 28:9-15, Leviticus 12:1-15:23 and Isaiah 66:1-24

This week we are in Parasha Tazria-Metzora, two parshiyot we mostly read as one here in the book Leviticus.  In general they present the modern reader once again with a challenge, whether from the Kohenim who make rulings that are medical related, or the need to burn garments or disassemble stones of homes if they are affected with an external rash.  Then of course there are the impurity issues between men and women that differ, not to mention the duration of a mothers impurity after child birth regarding a boy baby verses a girl baby. We once again are confronted with the archaic nature of understanding those who wrote this text, but yet we read it every year so they are valued. Therefore regarding this idea of a tza'ra'at, or infection, Jewish tradition has equated it to the misuse of the tongue regarding the nature of spoken words, reminding us that there is a war of words in our communication as part of the ongoing human battle.  

The Chofez Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, tells the story of a man who owned a perfume factory and ventured into a factory that produced leather goods.  Once inside the odor was so strong that he was affected by terrible headaches and swore he would never enter that leather factory again, but that would change.  When it became necessary to liquidate his perfume factory he was left only with the leather factory, so he made the choice to contend with the terrible headaches. The early days were a challenge for him, needing to learn how to painfully tolerate the smell of the leather hides.  Finally as time passed the merchant grew accustomed, or immune to the odors, until one day it was as if he had been born to be a leather manufacturer.  In the same way we can become immune to thinking before we speak and not considering the harmful  words we use with another person.

In particular this parasha addresses what is called negah hatza-ra’at, an affliction that is usually translated as leprosy, which is found not only on the body but more curiously found upon garments of wool, linen, leather and everyday utensils (cf. Lev. 13:47-49), not to mention it can be found inside walls of a house (cf. Lev. 14:33ff). Regarding tza'ra'at we must ask what does human skin, garments, utensils and a house have in common and why does it matter?  I think it has to do with the various dimensions of life in general.  Here we are aware of our bodies, the cloths we wear, the tools of living that we use to eat and work as well as our dwelling places.  Regarding those various dimensions of life Rabbi Jonathan Sacks would say that the impact on a person’s skin, cloths, utensils or homes in effect is as if God is saying that a person cannot hide impurity, both inside and out.

In this case the dimension in question has become the idea of l'shon hara, or the impurity of malicious speech, which Maimonides teaches shares the same space as murder (Mishnah Torah, Hilchot De’ot 7:3).  In other words, Judaism would say that the physical maladies of Tazria-Metzora gave way to interpretations about evil speech.  In the Talmud (Arachin 15b) evil speech and its result get its foundation from this part of Leviticus, with Rashi saying that “impurity” is the same as l’shon hara, or malicious speech (cf. Lev. 14:4).  Likewise with the offering of “cedarwood” the Mishnah Tanchuma teaches that the cedar tree, which is tall and beautiful, serves as a reminder that a person should not consider themselves to be “high” and “glorious,” Rashi therefore writes that “cedarwood” is about “haughtiness.”  When we pray daily “My God, the soul You have given me is pure,” we remember that the souls within us are pure and the words of our mouth represent that very purity, thus haughtiness is in contradiction to holiness and must be avoided. The Jewish interpretation of Leviticus tells us that the haughtiness will lead to malicious speech, which is a reflection of corrupt middot, or human character.

In the book, Orchot Tzaddikim, The Ways of the Righteous, a result of malicious speech is bushah, or shame. Last week we talked about kosher laws in terms of separation that was assisted by building a fence around the commandment according to Pirkei Avot as away to safeguard it; likewise to protect both self and others from unwise speech Pirkei Avot 3:17  teaches that in this case  “a fence to wisdom is silence.”  In Talmud (Berachot 28b) Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai taught, “May it be God's will that the fear of heaven be upon you as the fear of flesh and blood,” perhaps better understood to mean that as people we need a sense of awe for the sacred that will guide us not to speak ill of others even if we think they may deserve it. Toward the end of Tazria-Metzora in Leviticus 15:31 it says, “you shall separate the people of Israel from their impurity,” but how?  Sometimes it’s not so easy. Consider Leviticus 13:50, 57, if a Kohen has a piece of clothing that has a tza'ra'at, infection, it must be isolated and burned in fire, and in Leviticus 14:38, 42 when the stones are infected the house must be deemed uninhabitable until the impacted stones are replaced with clean ones.  In the same way, the words that come out of our mouths at times must be burned with fire or replaced with cleaner words before damage has been done.

So even if we really cannot know the social or religious thinking that produced Tazria-Metzora, it is a pretty safe bet that the framers of this text given that it is about tahor (purity) and tamai (impurity) would be just fine that Judaism connects them with the purity of speech.  You do not have to look too far to see how words have become weapons today in ways that they have not for decades.  The lack of redemptive speech has become normal even at the expense of hurting others unjustly in the process, something we daily read about in the news, hear at the work place and even worse witness in our houses of worship.  Tazria-Metzora is asking us to consider the personal maladies that have gotten in the way, maladies that we must stop from becoming habitual, a war of words that seems to be an ongoing battle.  Even more so in this new month of Iyar our tradition teaches it is about strengthening the ways of our faith, which has to do with our speech as well, thus we read in Proverbs 10:19; "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise."   

Shabbat Shalom and Rosh Chodesh Tov,
Rabbi Adam