A Thought for the Week with Rabbi Jay Kelman
Parshat Metzorah - The Power of Speech

Our Rabbis saw a link between the spiritual sin of lashon hara , slander and gossip, and the physical disease of tzara'a t. At the dawn of redemption from Egypt , Moshe was afflicted with this disease for speaking negatively about the Jewish people: "But they will not believe me"(Shmot 4:1) he mistakenly claimed. Nation building cannot take place when unsubstantiated, not to mention false, statements are made against the Jewish people. 

Not understanding the unique greatness of Moshe, Miriam was heard to be "speaking against Moshe because of the women he took. Is it to Moshe exclusively that G-d speaks? Doesn't He also speak to us?" (Bamidbar 12:1-2). She too was afflicted with tzara'at . 

One who speaks lashon hara drives a wedge between people causing untold communal damage. Thus the resulting punishment for speaking negatively, tzara'at, included banishment from the camp of Israel, where one would spend seven days in quarantine reflecting on the harm caused by their speech. 

In an ideal world the spiritual and the physical aspects of creation work in harmony. We elevate our physical beings by performing mitzvot, helping to bring holiness to the physical world.  Kedushah is attained primarily in our most physical of actions: our eating patterns and our sexual behaviour. Maimonides codifies these specific laws in his Sefer Kedushah (Book of Holiness) leaving such laws of Shabbat, Yom Kippur and brit milah for other books. 

Speech in many ways is the link between the spiritual and the physical. Unlike the other physical features of man, eating and procreation, for example, speech is unique to human beings. It is this quality that some explain is the meaning of our being created in the image of G-d.  Lashon hara , our Sages state, is tantamount to murder (Erchin 16b). In addition to the harm we cause our victim and ourselves, we are killing the Divine image within each of us. A close reading of the Biblical text reveals that G-d's anger with Adam for eating from the tree of knowledge stemmed from Adam's speaking lashon hara against his wife, blaming her for his own failing. 

Today we live in a period of hester panim where G-d's face is hidden.  We have no prophets and few true leaders. Thus we no longer see physical manifestations of our spiritual behaviour. People talk lashon hara seemingly without consequence, and surely without getting tzara'at . Similarly, it is hard to see the connection between the amount of rainfall in Israel and our observance of mitzvot (maybe not so hard if you look closely). Punishment of evildoers is often slow to come - if it comes at all in this world. But lashon hara is just as evil and dangerous as in Biblical times, only now those who refrain are doing so despite the knowledge that they can escape punishment in this world. Judaism has never subscribed to the notion that "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me".  And the negative effects of lashon hara are compounded when a whole group is targeted. 

The State of Israel , and by extension Jews throughout the world, are being targeted for delegitimization. Much of this battle is being fought in the media. Unfortunately the distortions, slander and outright lies that are parroted in the media take their toll on us, psychologically and emotionally. They also take their toll physically. The murder of innocent Jews is a direct result of incitement and lies directed against us. 

Furthermore, it is the failure of the free world to speak up, to determine the truth and to disseminate it, which allows the killings to continue. Tolerating lies leads them to be acted upon. Each one of us must speak up often and loud to our friends, our co-workers our media, and our politicians.