In a Midrash (Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael 20:15:1) commenting on the events at Mt Sinai R’Yishmael teaches that those who were present that day “saw what was visible and heard what was audible [whereas] R. Akiva says: They saw (what was audible) and heard what was visible.” How can that be, they “saw” what was “audible” and “heard” what was “visible?” Here in this parasha, Va’et’chanan, we read the words of our central prayer, the Shema, that says, שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖יוֹםּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֶחָד, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone,” but we must always remember, hearing is just as much about seeing. Therefore, on Tisha B’Av we not only recall the ill effects of words heard, but we see their outcomes.
On this day of Tisha B’Av we remember what is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a day that laments the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. Yet the day itself become associated with the remembrance of other major calamities that have befallen the Jewish people such as the spies who rejected God's land, the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans, expulsions, massacres during the Crusades, and of course the Holocaust; a tragedy that has its own day given the degree of loss and evil on a different level. But the sadness of Tisha B’Av is mainly a collective memory, something that we read about in books as most have not encountered such pain, yet this day still has a direct impact in the lives of Jews and on the Jewish community in general. But what does Tisha B'Av have to do with words, or davarim, seen or heard?
Regarding words last week we were reminded by the Sages in Pirkei Avot to “be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile" (Avot 1:11). Of the tragedy of both Temples in Jerusalem being destroyed, while the first was said to be destroyed because of idolatry, the second was destroyed because of negative words, or lashon hara that resulted in exile. We read in the Talmud (Yoma 9b) that the reason why the Second Temple was destroyed was because of sinat chinam, gratuitous hatred, between one Jew and another. Yet the Chafetz Chaim teaches that the real cause was not just sinat chinam but lashon hara, malicious slander and gossip, which came from their baseless hatred. A well-known teaching that also comes from Talmud (Arachin 15b) says:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21)." Actually, a person's tongue is more powerful than his sword. A sword can kill somebody who is nearby; a tongue can cause the death of someone who is faraway...
We learn that in the same way one hears what they see and sees what is audible (ala R’Akiva above), lashon hara can kill even the one who is faraway and never heard the words spoken elsewhere, thus this Talmud continues;
“Lashon hara kills three people: the speaker, the listener, and the subject... Regarding one who speaks lashon hara, God says, "I cannot dwell with him," as it says (Psalms 101:60). One who slanders his neighbor... him I cannot tolerate.”
Parashat Va’et’chanan also speaks about the power of words and their ill effects. Last week it was about the tragedy of the spies and this week it is about a negative embrace of nature that can lure people away form the morality of the creator (Deut. 4:15ff). Nature is audible, it has words although they cannot be heard, the Psalmist writes, "the heavens declare the glory of God, the sky proclaims God's handiwork. Day to day makes utterance, night to night speaks out " (Psalm 19:2-3). Since lashon hara can cause harm whether seen or heard, so we should reflect on the fact that words can rob us of the hope we deserve. This is why our Rabbis chose this verse from the Prophet Isaiah on this Shabbat that says, “Comfort, comfort My people . . . Announce to Jerusalem that her period of exile has been fulfilled and that her sins have been forgiven.”
Tisha B’Av is a day of grief that is followed by the seven Shabbats of Consolation to help prepare us for the sweetness of Rosh Hashanah, a new year meant to rekindle the flames of our hope and renew our dreams, reminding us of the possibilities of what can be. Conversely, exile is a loss of hope, but it’s just not from a physical place. In this case the negative results from hurtful words, based on the rhetoric of sinat chinam and lashon hara, have the ability to send both self and others into exile whereas words of renewal and acceptance will create hope and newness.
Tisha B’Av reminds us that we must always be rebuilding or fixing what has been broken by human hands, albeit as an individual or a nation; the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that we do not have to be in exile to words that hurt and divide; and the Shabbats of Consolation remind us that despite what we can not control we can look forward to the sweetness of a new year that has the ability to restore and renew our tomorrows. That time begins today.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam
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