Parshas Behar-Bechukosai - Customized Consequences

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Behar-Bechukosai

Customized Consequences

By: Daniel Listhaus

אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי בחוקותי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְו‍ֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם: וְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם וְנָתְנָה הָאָרֶץ יְבוּלָהּ וְעֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ

וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי לְעָם

“If you will go in My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them; then I will provide your rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit….I will walk among you….”

-Bechukosai 26:3-4;12

            After the Torah describes the great rewards which come to those who perform the mitzvos, Hashem tells us, “I will walk among you and will be a G-d to you and you will be a people unto Me.” Rashi[1] explains that this passuk (verse) is in allusion to the reward of Olam Habbah. Hashem is promising here that He will stroll in Gan Eden with those who keep the mitzvos.

            The obvious question on the passukim here, which the Kli Yakar[2] raises, is why is it that the reward of Olam Habbah is not stated explicitly anywhere in the Torah? The Kli Yakar offers seven answers which he compiled by the many earlier meforshim (commentaries) who were bothered by the same question.

            The first approach is that of the Rambam[3] who writes that the reason that the reward of Olam Habbah is not mentioned is because had the Torah described the incredible pleasures of Olam Habbah, we would be so inclined to do good that it would be impossible for us to do mitzvos l'shma (mitzvos for the sake of listening to Hashem alone) because we would be so focused on trying to attain the unbelievable reward.

           

            The second answer is from the R'av'a[4], who simply says that Olam Habbah is too great to be put into words that a person could comprehend on earth. Therefore, the Torah chose to only list the various mundane incentives and leave out the ikkur (main) rewards.

            Rabbeinu Bechayei and the Ramban have a very different perspective. They are of the opinion that it is indeed self evident that there is Olam Habbah because after all, most people in the world are smart enough to realize that there is something spiritual inside our body that is combined with the elements of dirt and water of which we are made. We have personality, ability to think and reason, and have the tremendous power of intelligent speech. There is an inherent sensation that the generator that keeps our bodies running and alive is something literally out of this world. Therefore, anyone who stops to think about this logically could easily come to the conclusion that just as our bodies, comprised of earth, are returned to dirt, so too the spiritual side of us must return to its place at the time of death. Furthermore, Olam Habbah is essentially discussed in Torah because for many serious aveiros (sins) that a person does, the punishment is kareis – which literally means that the person gets cut off. This implies that as long as one does not transgress on those sins that there must be at least a baseline level of a spiritual world for each individual's neshama to return. What is not so obvious, though, is that nature itself is actually fully controlled by Hashem, and is easily taken off its programmed cycles in order to correspond to how we are keeping the mitzvos. This is how Rabbeinu Bechayei and the Ramban reason that it was actually more important for the Torah to state what is the more mundane reward instead of explicitly describing Olam Habbah.

            The Kli Yakar proceeds to offer two more answers based on the Kuzari[5], which was focused on in a previous year's d'var Torah[6], as well as an answer based on the Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim[7]. However, let us focus on the seventh, final approach he brings. The Kli Yakar writes that the reason that the Torah was not able to mention the rewards of Olam Habbah becomes clear after taking a moment to think about the following. How is it that the Torah could say that if we keep the mitzvos then we will experience blessings but if we do not listen then we will no? What if one person is good and his neighbor is not so good? Will it rain over one of their fields and not the other? Rather, the way to understand the passukim is that whether berachos (blessings) or klalos (curses) come is dependent on what the majority of people are doing. If overall we are doing what we should, Hashem will reward us in many ways in this world as the Torah describes, and if we are generally not doing what is good in the eyes of Hashem, then we will suffer the consequences as a nation. Olam Habbah, however, runs on a completely different operating system. When it comes to one's reward in Olam Habbah, it is completely individual based. Each person experiences a completely different world of Olam Habbah depending on his accomplishments according to his level and life situation.

            The Medrash[8] brings the following story. One time, Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta realized on erev Shabbos that he had no money to buy food for Shabbos. He went to the outskirts of the city and davened to Hashem for money to buy food for Shabbos. Hashem answered his tefilla and sent him a precious stone from shamayim (heaven). Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta immediately brought the stone to a jeweler and exchanged it for enough money to buy food. When he brought the money home to his wife, she demanded that he tell her where he got the money from. Rebbe Shimon told over what had occurred. However, she responded that she refuses to derive any benefit from it at all. Rebbe Shimon asked why, and she answered, “Do you want your table to be lacking in Olam Habbah?” In other words, she was telling him that she did not appreciate him giving up some of his reward in the next world for some money in this world. Rebbe Shimon went and told what had happened to Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi, who in turn told him to tell his wife that if indeed anything would be lacking from Rebbe Shimon's “table” in Olam Habbah, that he would personally replenish it from his own. When Rebbe Shimon relayed the message to his wife, she insisted that she go back with him to Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi. When they arrived she said to him, “How can you make such a promise? Does a person necessarily see his fellow in Olam Habbah?” When she made this argument Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi realized she was indeed correct.

            The Kochvei Ohr[9] comments that this response of Rebbe Shimon's wife is very mysterious. What does it mean that a person does not necessarily see his friend in Olam Habbah? He answers that she was saying as follows. The mishna in Avos[10] states that Ben Hey Hey used to say “l'phum tza'ara agra”. This literally means that one's reward is proportional to the amount of exertion required to put in. Unlike any job in the world where it is really irrelevant how much effort one puts in because one  will only get paid when the job gets done, one who tries learning Torah will receive reward in proportion to what is expected of him personally and the amount of effort he puts in.

            Although the conventional understanding of this mishna is that it is referring to the amount one must toil to learn Torah, the reality is that the concept applies to every mitzva. Each person's reward in Olam Habbbah is completely unique based on how hard it was for each individual to do the mitzvos. This, the Kochvei Ohr explains is exactly what the wife of Rebbe Shimon explained to Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi. Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi was extremely wealthy whereas Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta was very poor. Therefore, Rebbe Shimon had a constant struggle to spend his time learning and doing mitzvos because of his financial hardship. Therefore, his success as a tremendous Torah scholar was (possibly) worth much more than someone like say, Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi, who was wealthy and did not have to overcome the same problems in life. So, Rebbe Shimon's wife told Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi that he could not be so confident to ensure that nothing will be lacking from the table of Rebbe Shimon in Olam Habbah because it could very well be that Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi will not have the means to make such a commitment in the next world since the value of Rebbe Shimon's mitzvos was so high.

            This is precisely what the Kli Yakar is coming to explain as to why it is not possible for the Torah to describe Olam Habbah in our parsha – because it comes in so many different forms. Each person will experience a customized Olam Habbah based on his or her own life situation and what he was able to accomplish, taking into account the amount of exertion necessary for the particular individual.

            The Kochvei Ohr continues to explain that the same is true when it comes to aveiros (sins) as well. The Gemara[11] mentions one who refuses to wear the white strings of tzitzis (which is an extremely easy and inexpensive mitzva to do) will have more to answer to than the one who wears tzitzis, but without techeiles (the rare, expensive blue dye). As the Gemara explains, imagine a king who commanded one of his servants to fetch him some gold and the other he asks to get a cup of dirt. When they both come back later empty-handed, there is no doubt that the king will be much more upset with the servant he asked to get the cup of dirt. After all, his task was so easy to accomplish, there could be no valid excuse as to why he was unable to accomplish this command. So too when it comes to aveiros, the aveiros which are easiest to stay away from we get punished much more for, whereas for the aveiros with a high level of desire to do them, we are punished less.

            The problem with this approach, as the Kochvei Ohr points out, is that it is not true. There are some aveiros such a arayos (illicit relationships) and gezel (theft) which are often very hard for people to stay away from, yet the punishment for these serious aveiros are quite harsh. So how could we understand the reciprocal “l'phum tz'a'ra agra” when it comes to aveiros?

            The Kochvei Ohr answers that there is another level to the system when it comes to aveiros. One's punishment for the aveiros he does is measured not only based on how easy it was to stay away from the aveirah, but also how much benefit he received from doing the particular aveirah. The sequence of the axis – how hard it was to control myself along with how much benefit was realized creates a combination with a customized punishment.

            Hashem gave us the Torah with its mitzvos to keep. It is our job to learn the Torah and keep these mitzvos and there is really no excuse – some of us may be meizidim (sin purposely), some shogegim (sin based on lack of knowledge – not fully on purpose), and some on'sim (complete accident) but there is a category that each of us fall under and will have to answer to. This is a chesbon (calculation) that each person has to make for himself. The answer to what is expected of any individual is not to look to what the people around you are doing because everyone's situation is completely different and their punishment and reward system is unique to them.

            Although the mitzvos in the Torah could often seem daunting and hard, we have an obligation to keep them nonetheless, because being hard is not an excuse to not do a mitzva, rather only a reason to receive more reward.             May Hashem help us be honest with ourselves to understand where we are supposed to be so that the quality of our customized consequences could indeed be priceless.

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[1]    Vayikra 26:12

[2]    Ibid.

[3]    Hilchos Teshuva 9:5

[4]    R'av'a Devarim 32:39

[5]    Kuzari 1:104-106

[6]    See Thoughts On Parsha, Parshas Bechukosai – Recognizing Real Rewards (2011)

[7]    Moreh Nevuchim 3

[8]    Shemos Rabbah Parshas Pekudei

[9]    Kochvei Ohr 8

[10]  Avos 5:26 (though actual number mishna may vary per edition, it is the last mishna in the 5^th perek)

[11]  Menachos 43b

Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim

American Idol

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹקיכֶם:

“Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I, Hashem, your G-d.”

-Kedoshim 19:1-2

            Rashi[1] comments that Moshe gathered together every single individual of Klal Yisroel and commanded them to be holy. Ultimate kedusha (holiness) refers to a complete separation from physicality. We declare ein kadosh ka'Hashem (there is no one holy like Hashem) as well as announce what the malachim (angels) praise: “Holy, holy, holy, is Hashem Master of Legions...”[2] If we stop and think about this commandment for a moment it seems completely unachievable. How is it even possible that we could have a commandment to be the same as how we and the melachim praise Hashem?

            The Mesillas Yesharim[3] describes at length what it means for man to achieve a level of kedusha, and the steps one must first accomplish before finding oneself there. He writes that unlike p'rishus, which is the complete separation of physical pleasures, kedusha is the level at which a person could identify the true reason for things being created and utilize them in those ways alone.

            Kedusha is tapping into the same exact physical resources, which everyone has at their disposable, but instead of misusing them like the majority of the population, to instead use them to attach oneself to the spiritual world.

            In many places where we find physical pleasures we find warnings to stay away and instead be holy. Yet, ironically, we also find that when doing the same activities, albeit in a different manner, we find the word kedusha actually associated closely with them. For example, Rashi[4] states that the first usage of the word kedoshim in the opening of this week's parsha refers to the necessity to stay far removed from arayos (illicit relations). Rashi then continues to explain his interpretation that wherever you find a restriction of promiscuity you find kedusha. However, as true as that is, it is interesting to note that despite this, it is no mistake that the first stage of a halachik marriage is called the “kedushin”. Also, regarding eating and drinking too much – plunging into physical pleasures we find that there is a time to eat in a holy manner and eat a meal of hekdesh. Also, of course, we recite kiddush before eating our Shabbos and Yom Tov meals. Additionally, the starkest contrast is obviously between avodas Hashem and worshiping avodah zarrah, which is also referred to as the opposite of kedushah.

            Avodah zarrah, sh'fichas damim and giluy arayos are known as the three cardinal aveiros for they shake the fundamentals of Judaism by denying G-d, having no care for life, and living with pure selfishness. Yet, the drives themselves are ones which could sustain the world; for example, by using one's enthusiasm to serve Hashem, one's ability of strong emotions to love people and do chesed (acts of kindness), and using ones desire to marry and live a life of caring for someone else and giving birth to the next generation in an atmosphere of peace and loyalty. It is in these ways that the level of kedusha is exponentially greater than that of p'rishus. P'rishus is merely staying far away from mundane physical matters altogether whereas kedusha taps into the elements which could be utilized purposefully and direct them in order to achieve levels of ruchniyus and kedusha.

            Let us focus for a moment, though, on avodah zarrah. The Torah[5] commands us, “Do not turn to the idols, and molten gods you shall not make for yourselves – I am Hashem, your G-d.” Rashi[6] comments that although the passuk (verse) only says that one cannot make an idol for oneself, it is equally forbidden for one to make an idol for someone else or worship an idol which someone else made for you. Rashi continues to prove this from the passuk[7] which says, “There shall not be to you gods of others....” We learn from here that one is not to have idols of any sort whether they be your own or from someone else.

            This Rashi is ludicrous. Anyone who could understand that one is forbidden to make an idol for himself should be able to easily conclude that making one for someone else would be assur (forbidden) as well, based on lifnei iver (putting a proverbial stumbling block in front of a blind person), and that once the Torah made avodah zarrah assur, it no longer matters if one would decide to worship his own avodah zarrah or someone else's, both are equally forbidden. Imagine someone who knows and understands that the Torah forbids cooking milk and meat together. Would there be any doubt that perhaps if a friend does it that it should be suddenly be mutar (permitted) to eat? Of course not! So why does Rashi feel it necessary to make this comment? And why is one passuk not enough as a commandment not to serve avodah zarrah?

           

            Later in the parsha we find a very similar difficulty. The Torah[8] warns us not to give our children over to the avodah zarrah – molech. Rashi[9] comments that even though the Torah[10] mentions the severe punishment of the person who gives his children to molech, one should not think that it is not just as serious to give over one's grandchildren. Both are equally assur. Rashi then again continues to offer various proofs from different passukim demonstrating that to give over various types of children to avodah zarrah are all assur. Again, why is this Rashi necessary? Is it not obvious that if the Torah commands us not to give over children to molech that it does not matter if the kid is a boy, girl, child, or grandchild? Avodah zarrah is avodah zarrah. Period. Why does Rashi, and really the Torah, feel it necessary to have so many seemingly redundant passukim to explicitly warn against every combination and form of avodah zarrah?

            At the beginning of the parsha, Rashi[11] comments that the word the Torah uses here for idols is “elilim” – which comes from the root word “al”, meaning “not”, because an idol is considered as a non-entity. After all, as we say in Hallel, “Their (idols) fingers are made of silver and gold, the creations of man. They have a mouth but cannot speak, have eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear, a nose but cannot smell, hands but cannot feel, feet but cannot walk...”[12] Indeed, with such a description it is hard for us to fathom what it would mean to want to bow down to idols. It seems like a foreign stupidity. Who wakes up one morning and says to himself, “Today I would like to bow down to an idol and serve it food and sacrifice things for it to eat”?

            However, perhaps we could relate to a different type of avodah zarrah. No one wakes up one morning and decides to be an alcoholic. No one wakes up one morning and decides to start smoking. No one wakes up one morning and decides to start using drugs. No one wakes up one morning and decides to stop keeping Shabbos. Rather, these are points which are reached from any number of causes. Perhaps there is a high level of tension in one's home or work. Perhaps one is not comfortable with oneself and is trying to find the right crowd of people who will appreciate him to fit in with.  Perhaps one has fully absorbed himself with technology in harmful ways. Perhaps one is trying to prove something to himself, his family, or rabbeim. Perhaps one has trouble believing the essentials of Judaism but is too afraid, too uncomfortable, or does not care enough to ask. Perhaps one is just angry at life. Any number of reasons could be the primary, secondary, or subconscious causes of various addictions, behavior changes, insecurity, or going off the “derech”.

            Although we have a lot of difficulty understanding how one could do horrible aveiros in the name of avodah zarrah, we could perhaps understand the person who does horrible aveiros in the name of personal, psychological, emotional, or theological complexities and hardships.

            However as bad as doing various aveiros or getting stuck in various addictions is, it is exponentially worse and much more dangerous when the line between still knowing that what was done was wrong and completely rationalizing one’s actions gets crossed. That is the most dangerous step one takes because after that point there is added depression and despair and it could chas v’shalom becomes a point of no return.

            In the early 1970's, a fellow by the name of Marshall Applewhite started a religion known as Heaven's Gate. The religion was short-lived, coming to an immediate end when 39 of the most religious members committed mass suicide in order to leave this world and transport onto their awaiting alien space craft. The scariest part of the story, though, is that although some of the members did have some emotional issues most of them were normal business men, fathers, mothers, and students. Yet, they connected on some level of desperately seeking spiritual meaning and were willing to kill themselves to achieve this hope.

            If it is possible for “normal” people to be convinced to commit suicide to be lifted to an alien space ship in order to try to live a life of higher meaning, one could also imagine how far people's desires could drive them to do things in the name of an avodah zarrah which allows for it. The various avodah zarrah's that people used to do were all in order to rationalize doing things that people wanted to do. Want to steal what belongs to others? Make a religion for it. Want to marry whoever you want? Make a religion that allows for it. Want to kill people? Start a religion which proclaims jihads and crusades. Many causes and religions have been started as facades in order for its founders and followers to be able to fulfill whatever desires the wanted.

            Perhaps with this idea we could return to answer our question. Granted, we could simply understand the reason for redundancy in the Torah and Rashi regarding the issurim of avodah zarrah based on the severity of the aveira. However, the reason why it is necessary to explicitly teach even the obvious laws which would have been just as easily understood implicitly, is because when people are being driven to follow their desires, all logic is out of the picture. If a person has had enough and is ready to worship idols but he is still religious enough that the fact that the Torah says it is a severe aveirah scares him off a bit, he will find the non-existent loophole and rationalize it to be permitted to worship someone else's idol even though logic would dictate there is no difference. Similarly the person teetering on the edge of going off the derech or sinking lower into an addiction with despair will find some fake loophole or rationalization to make the first breach comfortable before ultimately crossing that line and making it much harder to return. Even the most obvious and logical deductions and known facts will be rationalized and turned into blurry gray areas until the person could convince himself that there is a loophole for what he is doing. Therefore the Torah and Rashi take the time and spend the ink to make very clear to the person who is about to cross the line and looking for even the stupidest arguments to rationalize his or her actions, that no it is not okay to offer your grandchildren even though the Torah only says child, and no, it is not okay to use someone elses's avodah zarrah even though the Torah here only says not to make your own.

            In our times, there are so many issues plaguing the world and many have seeped into even the most secluded frum communities. May Hashem help us and those who feel lost, those absorbed in addictions, and those going off the derech realize that at times when we have ulterior motives and emotions and difficulties controlling our decisions, we cannot trust our logic and need to take a step back and have even the most obvious facts said explicitly to us in order to secure ourselves before making the breach through the last wall.

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[1]    Vayikra 19:1

[2]    We recite this multiple times throughout davening, and is from Yeshaiya 6:3.

[3]    B'yur Midas Hakedusha

[4]    Vayikra 19:2

[5]    Vayikra 19:4

[6]    Rashi Ibid.

[7]    Shemos 20:3

[8]    Vayikra 20:2

[9]    Rashi Vayikra 20:3

[10]  Vayikra 20:3

[11]  Vayikra 19:4

[12]  Tehillim 115:4-7

Cover Pic from www.openroadmedia.com

Parshas Tazria-Metzora - A Time to Tweet: Don’t Kill Two Birds with One Tone

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Tazria-Metzora

A Time to Tweet:

Don’t Kill Two Birds with One Tone

By: Daniel Listhaus

וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְלָקַח לַמִּטַּהֵר שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים חַיּוֹת טְהֹרוֹת וְעֵץ אֶרֶז וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת וְאֵזֹב

“The Kohen shall command; and for the person being purified there shall be taken two live, pure birds, cedarwood, a crimson [tongue of] wool, and hyssop.”

-Metzorah 14:4

                                                                                     

After having detailed the characteristics of the various tzara’as afflictions that could appear on one’s body and clothing in Parshas Tazria, Parshas Metzorah opens with a description of the process for the metzorah (person with tzara’as) to become tahor (pure). Rashi[1] explains that each of the items required as part of the tahara process had a specific role and symbolization.

The first component listed in the passuk (verse) is the pair of birds. Rashi[2] comments that the reason why the Torah demands that the metzorah brings a karbon (offering) of birds is for the following reason: “Since the afflictions of tzara’as come about because of malicious talk, which is an act of verbal twittering, therefore, as part of the afflicted one’s purification, he is required to bring birds that constantly twitter with the sound of their chirping.”

The problem with this Rashi is that Rashi seems to conveniently leave out two important facts about this bird sacrifice. First, there were two birds required as part of the purification process; Rashi’s explanation only answers why the Torah requires the metzora to bring a bird as a karbon but falls short of clarifying why two birds are necessary. Why is it that the metzora needs to bring two birds as part of becoming tahor?

Second, the offering of these two birds is very different from all other karbanos. The passuk describes that only one bird was slaughtered as part of the karbon while the other bird was kept alive and set free over an open field to fly away. What is the purpose of catching a bird just to set it free? What does it represent? Furthermore, given Rashi’s explanation as to why the metzora was commanded to bring birds as his karbon, how could we understand this ritual of setting the bird free? If the whole purpose of bringing the birds was to serve as a final reminder to the metzora to think before he starts chirping like a bird with non-stop tweeting, then why was he commanded to set the second bird free? Wouldn’t that offset the role of slaughtering the first bird?

The Orchos Tzaddikim[3] writes[4] that the aveirah (sin) of lashon harrah (evil speech) is compared to the three cardinal aveiros: avodah zarrah (idol worship), shefichus damim (murder), and giluy araiyos (immoral relationships). At first glance it seems like quite an exaggerated comparison. After all, how could speaking badly about someone possibly compare to committing such horrific crimes? Yet, as the Orchos Tzaddikim explains, the comparison is not as extreme as it would appear in the overall scheme of things for a number of reasons. Besides for the gravity of the actual aveira of lashon harrah because of the tremendous damage it is capable of, it is also a very difficult aveirah to do teshuva for. First of all, like by all aveiros which are in the category of bein adom l’chaveiro (between man and his friend), it is not enough to go through the teshuva (repentance) process and ask forgiveness from Hashem. Hashem does not forgive aveiros bein adom l’chaveiro until one has first achieved mechilla (forgiveness) from the one who the person hurt. This makes doing a complete teshuva particularly difficult in the case of speaking lashon harrah because, being a “light mitzvah” which is transgressed by many on a constant basis, it is near impossible to remember everyone one ever spoke badly about – whether true or not – to be able to ask forgiveness from each one individually. Furthermore, unlike committing murder or many other aveiros which have immediate consequences and clear cause and effect chains and are therefore easier to regret right away, lashon harrah takes the form of merely speaking badly about another who is not necessarily even there when the initial lashon harrah is being said. All these factors put into perspective the seriousness of lashon harrah from a teshuva standpoint let alone all the global and perennial damage that the lashon harrah itself could do to a person’s reputation for generations.

            However, there is yet another aspect of lashon harrah which is often overlooked. If one stops for a moment and considers the aveiros that are done between man and a fellow man, there is more often than not a motive attached to the action done. Stealing, damaging, murdering, or committing any aveirah are often linked back to a flawed character trait. Perhaps there is jealousy or anger, perhaps lust or greed, but with little exception there is always something behind an action done. We must keep in mind though that it is a two-way street. Just as motives and flaws in one’s character lead to committing terrible aveiros, so too does giving in to these drives and turning them into actions further make the person more imperfect and increases the likelihood of repeating the aveiros in the future. As chazal teach us, “aveirah goreres avairah” (sins lead to more sins).

            This idea is in a way scarier when it comes to lashon harrah because oftentimes when lashon harrah is being said it is not necessarily done with any malicious intent. Sometimes people just start talking about other people and some things are good and some things are bad. There may be no surface jealousy, anger, or any reason per se` to be saying the lashon harrah other than for the sake of keeping a conversation interesting. Yet, it is important to bear in mind that the two-way relationship still exists and that as a result of merely speaking lashon harrah – an aveirah which at its core is an insensitivity to others and a general negativity – the one who speaks it or listens to it further becomes an insensitive person and one with a general negative outlook on the world. For example, the Orchos Tzaddikim relates a simple, but telling story of two people who were walking across a field and passed by a dead animal carcass. One person who was accustomed to speaking lashon harrah commented, “See how rotten and smelly this carcass is!” While the chochom (literally: wise one; here loosely means one who is more meticulous of mitzvos) who was with him observed, “Notice how white its teeth are!”

            One who accustoms himself to speaking and listening to lashon harrah simultaneously trains his head to be less sensitive to others and to see things in a more negative light. Such people enjoy searching for the dirt on people just as flies are attracted to filth and garbage.

            As easy as transgressing on lashon harrah has always been, it is now exponentially easier and has the potential to be much more harmful. Social media platforms and group chats are saturated with dumb comments, unflattering pictures, and destructive speech. However, perhaps the most astonishing fact is the amount of such content which is not posted by enemies or others looking to cause harm, but rather originated by one’s closest “friends” or perhaps even volunteered by the user himself. There is practically no filter of what people are willing to publicly post about themselves and their friends; not necessarily out of jealousy, anger, or anything other than fun, or more accurately – insensitivity to basic human respect and privacy. The more that is posted, the lower the standards drop and rubber-bands back to desensitize people even more to humiliating and debasing others.

Lashon harrah, like all speech, comes out through the mouth, but it really starts and ends in the head. One will say things based on his or her outlook, attitude, and mindset; and at the same time, what one says bounces back and reinforces the initial apathy towards debasing others while also setting a stronger foundation for one to have a negative perspective in general.

However, as is often the case, things that could be so destructive with one application could be powerfully constructive the other way as well. Words could be used in so many good ways to build self esteem and encourage others. The extent of goodness that that could reach has the potential to be just as great – spreading inspiration on a global scale as well as ripple effecting through generations. Perhaps this is the symbolism in the metzora’s tahara process. The requirement of bringing two birds – one to be slaughtered and the other to be set free, serves as a final reminder as the metzora prepares himself to rejoin k’lal Yisroel that we are tasked not just be extremely careful to stay away from lashon harrah, but even more – to try hard to say encouraging and nice things to people. In this way the former metzora could not just be a part of ensuring that society does not break down, but actually help in building it up and keeping it together and strong.

May Hashem help us during this time of y’mei sefiras ha’omeir, a time which reminds us year after year to work on our relationships bein adom l’chaveiro, to take the lesson of the metzora to heart and take at least a small step forward in being cognizant not just of what we say or spread about others but also what we say or spread about ourselves.

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[1] Vayikra 14:4-6

[2] Vayikra 14:4 See also Gemara Arachin 15b

[3] Sha’ar Lashon Harrah

[4] Based on Gemara Aruchin