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Talk on Tazria – Metzora

By
Cantor Jeff Wayne

Shabbat Shalom.

I have some things here that I imagine most of you will recognize.

(Hold up Trowel and Brick)

Now, I want to assure you that I haven’t taken leave of my senses and I’m not
suggesting we start, tonight, to build a new building for Etz Rimon. I really do
have a purpose in holding these up and I promise I will get back to these items in a
few moments and even relate them.... and what follows to this weeks Torah
portion, Tazria-Metzora.

But first let us begin with some very important beginnings:

(Chant First Line of Bershit then read the English).

I believe that all of you know that ‘beginning.’

Let’s go to another one:

“When in the Course of human Events it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the
Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers
of the Earth the separate & equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God
entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare
the causes which impel them to the Separation.”

Another beginning – Can someone tell me what that began? That’s right - The
Declaration of Independence. The very beginning of this great nation.

All right, lets try an excerpt from another beginning.

“On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a
Resolution for the establishment of an independent Jewish State in Palestine, and called
upon the inhabitants of the country to take such steps as may be necessary on their part to
put the plan into effect.

Metzora – by Cantor Jeff Wayne


This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their
independent State may not be revoked. It is, moreover, the self-evident right of the Jewish
people to be a nation, as all other nations, in its own sovereign State.

ACCORDINGLY, WE, the members of the National Council, representing the Jewish
people in Palestine and the Zionist movement of the world, met together in solemn
assembly today, the day of the termination of the British mandate for Palestine, by virtue of
the natural and historic right of the Jewish people and of the Resolution of the General
Assembly of the United Nations,

HEREBY PROCLAIM the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine, to be called


ISRAEL.”

...and that beginning was from????? Correct, May 14, 1948. It is taken from the
Declaration of Israel’s Independence and was read, to the world, by David Ben
Gurion.

All right ...just one more ......

“TODAY it seems to me providential that Fate should have chosen Braunau on the Inn as
my birthplace. For this little town lies on the boundary between two German states which
we of the younger generation at least have made it our life work to reunite by every means
at our disposal.”

Who recognizes that beginning? Those are the opening words of Mein Kampf.

Obviously, not a beginning we like to think of.

So what do all these beginnings have in common?

In the past, when I have had the privilege of standing here, I have started by asking
you to think about a question and answering it for yourselves. Let me ask one
more.

“What will you say?”

All the ‘beginnings’ I have read to you have something in common. Words.
Someone said something and a there was a beginning.
Obviously, the most powerful of these was Bereshit. In the 33 Psalm it was said:
rd

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.”


In fact, one of the names for Hashem, in later Jewish literature translates as:

“He who spake and the world came into existence.”

Pretty powerful stuff, these things called words.


A world is created by them. ................
Great nations are born of them .............
...and whole peoples are destroyed by them.

So what does any of this have to do with our Torah portion? What does any of this
have to do with my asking you, “What will you say?”

Let’s take a look.

Our Parsha, this week has two sections. The first, Vayikra/Leviticus 12:1-13:59 is
Tazria in which Hashem instructs Moses about the purification rituals for mothers
following childbirth; Hashem then describes to Moses and Aaron the procedures
for identifying and responding to those infected with leprosy.

The second and for the purposes of our discussion, tonight, the more relavent is
Metzora, which is found in Vayikra/Leviticus 14:1-15:33.

In that Parsha Hashem describes the purification ritual for people and homes
afflicted with leprosy; Hashem also instructs Moses and Aaron regarding the laws
of the emission of bodily fluids.

Pretty graphic stuff!!

Upon first glance Tazria-Metzorah speaks of what was, as I said, originally thought
to be leprosy. It seems to be a tractate defining how we discover and respond to a
specific disease.

But, as we are all well aware, first glance is never enough for our sages. In fact,
this is one of the most difficult sections of the Torah to understand which discusses
something called Tzarat, a skin disease commonly mis-translated as "leprosy."

For an explanation of this I turn now to the words of Rabbi Sharga Simmons the
Co-editor of Aish.com in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Sharga first tells an old rabbinic tale:

One man spread a rumor about another. He later felt regret, and went to the rabbi to ask
how to make amends. "Go to the store and buy a bag of seeds," said the rabbi, "then go to a
big open field and scatter the seeds into the wind. Do so and report back to me in a
week."

The man did as he was told, and came back the next week to find out what to do next.
"Now," said the rabbi, "go back to the field and pick up all the seeds."

"But," protested the man, "those seeds have scattered far and wide! I'll never find them all.
Many have even already taken root!"

"Exactly," explained the rabbi. "Now you understand. When we speak badly about another
person, the effect is far and wide. And it is damage that can never be fully undone."

.....“in truth, Tzarat is a physical manifestation of a spiritual deficiency. The Talmud


(Arachin 16) says that Tzarat comes specifically as a consequence of "Loshon Hara"
which literally translates as “bad tongue” In other words-- negative speech about
another person.

For example, we see that when Moses' sister Miriam spoke Loshon Hara, she
contracted Tzarat (Badmidbar/ Numbers, chapter 12).

So, What is the connection between speaking badly -- gossiping about another --
and contracting this skin disease?

Speech is the tool of creation. Through it we can build individuals and the world.
We can praise, encourage, and give others confidence. By making others feel
important, we build them up, as if to say, "Your existence is necessary." This is life-
giving and life-affirming.

On the other hand, speech can also be used to destroy. Words like "you're
worthless" wipes out a person's self-esteem. As King Solomon says, "Life and death
are in the hands of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21).

The Talmud (Arachin 15b) explains that negative speech is even worse than a
sword -- since it kills many people, even at great distance.
Remember the expression "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will
never hurt me"? This was clearly not said by a Jew!

Beyond the individual destruction, we have all seen the power of gossip -- a
vicious rumor -- to tear apart relationships, families, and even entire communities.

Of course, just as the Torah prohibits speaking Loshon Hara, we are prohibited from
even listening to it. (Which makes sense -- if I can't listen, then you can't speak it!)
By listening to negative talk we fuel the viciousness and become desensitized to its
effect on others.

From here we can understand a section of this week's parsha, Vayikra/Leviticus


13:45-46. The Torah says that when someone has been diagnosed as having Tzarat,
they must go outside the boundaries of the city and shout "Contaminated!" to
anyone who approaches. The punishment is measure-for-measure: If you promote
divisiveness amongst others, then you will also suffer the divisiveness of
separation from community.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that the Torah prohibition of negative
speech is limited only to saying falsity and untruth. But this is not so. Lying falls
under a separate prohibition, expressed in Exodus 20:13, 23:7.

Loshon Hara, meanwhile, is the prohibition against saying anything negative or


derogatory about another person -- even when it's true!

Often, Loshon Hara will couch itself in a cloak of rationalizations. It doesn't even
matter whether the words are spoken implicitly or implied. If the message can be
construed negatively, then it is a violation of Loshon Hara.

The Talmud says that the human body was constructed to help a person refrain
from Loshon Hara. The teeth and lips serve as "gates" to regulate what emerges from
our mouth, while the tongue lies in a horizontal resting position. Furthermore,
while humans have two eyes, two ears and two nostrils -- we have only one mouth
as a reminder to minimize chatter. And, says the Talmud, for what purpose did God
create ear lobes? So that if we find ourselves in a situation where Loshon Hara is
being spoken, we can conveniently turn the lobes upwards as ear plugs!

Rabbi Sharga cautions that there are some commonly spoken forms of Loshon Hara
to watch out for. In the song Trouble from the show The Music Man, Prof. Harold
Hill admonishes the parents to “look for the telltale signs of corruption.” Perhaps
we need to listen for our own voices, our own telltale sign, in the following.
The Rabbi suggests we look out for statements such as:

1. "But it's true!"


2. "But I didn't even mention his name!"
3. "I wouldn't care if someone said the same thing about me."
4. "Everyone knows about it already, anyway."
5. "He wouldn't mind."
6. "I'd say it even to his face."
7. "Just kidding!"
8. "There he goes again... "
9. (Saying nothing...but rolling your eyes!)
10. "People from that city are so..."
11. "It's all in the name of business competition!"
12. "This may be Loshon Hara, but..."
13. "C'mon, you can tell me..."

All these qualify as Loshon Hara.

There is one exception to this rule, however. We may speak or listen to negative
information if we are absolutely sure it is for the constructive purpose of
preventing future damage.

But before you go ahead and use this exemption, make sure the following
conditions apply:

1. The information must be objectively true, not a matter of taste or opinion.

2. You must have first-hand information, not hearsay.

3. You must first give the perpetrator a chance to respond to the allegations.

4. You can have no ulterior motive or personal gain from what you say.

5. You must avoid mentioning names whenever possible.

Pretty simple really.


"Life and death are in the power of the tongue" is the rabbinic statement. Speaking
well of an individual could introduce them to their spouse, recommend them to a
new professional position, and allow them to enter a new social sphere.

On the other hand, speaking poorly of a person could ruin their professional
opportunities, hurt their social standing, and damage their relationships with
family and friends. Our rabbis knew the power of the word for G-d created the
universe through the word.

The gift of speech is what truly makes us human in Genesis. Through the words,
"Let there be light," the process of creation began to unfold. Words can create the
world. They can also destroy it. So, too, through our human use of language, we
can either create or destroy the world. Words can hurt or they can heal.

This past week we observed Yom HaShoa. We know that the Holocaust did not
begin with the extermination camps. It began with words. It began with the hatred
taught about Judaism in the New Testament and the writings of the Church
Fathers. It began with the legal documents of the Middle Ages that defined the
status of the Jew. The spirit of the Holocaust found further expression in the
writings of Martin Luther who said that Jews should be burned alive in their
synagogues. The words of modern anti-Semitism created the portrait of the Jews as
a subhuman race.
The final words that gave rise to the Holocaust were expressed in Hitler's Mein
Kampf.

We must note that the current war of terrorism against Israel began as a war of
words. During the past decade, Israel prepared her people for peace and
compromise. Israeli schoolbooks began to teach the complexities of the birth of
Israel. Israeli schoolchildren were taught to understand the trauma of the creation
of Israel for Palestinians. These words allowed the Israeli public to support Israel's
incredible initiative for peace. However, Palestinian children read very different
words. Their texts use the words "struggle", "enemy", "kill" and "martyr. Religious
words are used to encourage young people to kill Israeli children. No wonder why
our rabbis taught, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue.”

Rabbi Zev Leff sums this all up very well, he says,

The Jerusalem Talmud says that there are three sins for which a person is punished in this
world and in the next - immorality, murder and idolatry - and lashon hara is equal to all
three.

These three sins represent the destruction of one's physical, emotional and spiritual self.

Lashon hara equals them all. For the totality of the human being is destroyed by the
corruption of his ultimate distinction, his speech.

So, I come back now to the beginning. To MY first words tonight. Why did I show
you a trowel and a brick?

Because our words, are our tools and like this trowel can be used to build or to tear
down. So think, before you use the tools...ask yourself, as I entreated you earlier,
“What will I say?”
Benediction

We turn once again to some help from Rabbi Zev Leff he says that at the conclusion of the
Amidah we beseech: "My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking
deceitfully."

After we have used our mouths for communicating with our Creator, we can fully
appreciate the calamity inherent in corrupting that same wondrous instrument by using it for
lashon hara.

In todays Parsha, the laws of childbirth precede the laws of tzora'as. Man has the ability to
be a partner in Creation, to create a new being, or he can take his own body and divest it of
its Divine essence by speaking lashon hara.

May Hashem grant each of us the ability to choose wisely when we answer the question,
“What will I say?”

Cane yehi ratzon...so may it be his will.

Shabbat Shalom.

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