We live in a world of words. Speaking words is a big deal in Judaism. I’d like to focus on two outstanding issues regarding words that we hear everyday. The first is our march toward the November elections. While my intention here is not to pick sides, what I will say is that most of what I hear/read today is not a bipartisan approach to the important issues that we face as Americans. More often what I tend to read is about failed human characteristics and personal attacks. Beneath such words there can be truth, absolutely, and that must guide us come November. But for Judaism the truth does not get to dictate how words are used if they produce hate inspired words that seek to assassinate another person. The second is the mainstream words of the anti-Israel rhetoric that permeates our news. Is it all lies? No, of course not, but a lot of it is not full-truths either, leaving many people with less than factual information both about the Israel-Gaza war and our own governmental policies toward the Jewish state. So while these points should be an important matter as Jews and Jewish communities, what does this have to do with this week's parasha, Tazria?
In his book, Shemirat HaLashon, guarding of the tongue, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan - the Chofetz Chaim (pursuer of life) - writes about what he calls מִדָּה בְּמִדָּה (mida bimedia) or “measure for measure.” Putting it another way he is talking about the karma of bad deeds that will impact the future which are tied into spoken words. The Chofetz Chaim connects מִדָּה בְּמִדָּה (or karma) to what our tradition calls Lashon hara, or evil speech. The idea of lashon hara comes from this week's parasha, Tazria, where a skin affliction called a tzaraat is understood to be leprosy, which our tradition interprets as the affliction of the tongue. The Chofetz Chaim intends to show how lashon hara can have an impact not just at that moment but down the road, and he does that by looking at the story of Judah and Joseph. In this case although Judah stood up for the life of his brother he opted to sell him into slavery instead. As such Judah’s hate was the basis for selling Joseph into slavery and lying to his father about Joseph dying at the hands of an animal. For the Chofetz Chaim the long term impact of Judah's words were felt much later in the story of Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon, who was a descendant of Judah. In this case Rehoboam was approached by the people who asked him to remove the heavy burden of taxation and other such concerns upon the nation. Unfortunately, not only did Rehoboam refuse the request, but said that his rule would be harsher than his father King Solomon. As a result of Rehoboam’s choices Israel was split into the Northern and Southern Kingdom that led to being exiled into Babylon and the destruction of the first temple. The Chofetz Chaim teaches that the latter was based on Judah’s unwillingness to forgive, which began a chain of events that he calls מִדָּה בְּמִדָּה (measure for measure), in turn creating bad karma for the generations that followed.
Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah (Human Dispositions 7) writes, “There is a much more serious sin than [gossip] … that is lashon hara.” Gossip according to Judaism “causes unforeseen negative consequences.'' Although it is normally unintended to be harmful gossip - hey did you hear about so and so they are having an affair - there is plenty of harm in that statement! Lashon hara by design is intended to do harm, which is why it is more serious than gossip. Maimonides therefore also teaches that refraining from lashon hara has a “prohibition relating to deprecating facts about a colleague, even if they are true.” Lashon hara is just not about words designed to harm the target of those words, but by default, also those who embrace the words of the one who is attacked. We read in the Talmud (Arachin 15b) a well known teaching about how lashon hara impacts the “one who speaks malicious speech, and the one who accepts the malicious speech when he hears it, and the one about whom the malicious speech is said.” More than that we also learn in this Talmud that unless lashon hara is “destroyed” it will “kill” even if not a physical death. Lashon hara is never okay, never just a passive thought or a good suggestion to embrace.
Again, how do the things we hear today impact us as a Jewish community in connection with this parasha? Remember that the Book of Leviticus is asking a lot of us in terms of our character and behavior, it can be a hard book to digest because of that. Later on we read in Leviticus 19:2, “You shall be holy, for I, your God יהוה, am holy,” but what does that mean? While I will save that for another time, you can be sure of this one thing: it has everything to do with how we conduct ourselves in life, which very much includes how we use our words. How many families have been torn apart by powerful words of hate and disagreement over today's climate of politics? What about the misuse of words designed to hurt Israel that have been given the power to create problems, not just now, but for generations to follow who will no longer support Israel because of words that are not true? Whether about America's attitude toward Israel or the election, I wonder if the Chofetz Chaim would give the same warning, מִדָּה בְּמִדָּה, the karma of our words could have a negative affect tomorrow.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
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