In Memory of our beloved David Schwartz, who fell in battle sanctifying God’s name, on 27 Tevet, 5784 (8 January 2024).
“Le’David Barchi Nafshi” ("Of David, Bless the Lord, O My Soul") is a compilation of essays written on the weekly Torah reading by David Schwartz, of blessed memory. First published on the occasion of his marriage to Meital, David’s unique Torah thoughts that delve into the depths of the Torah are shared now to elevate his memory and sanctify his soul.
Midway through the first aliya of Tazria, in 13:1 the Torah begins the discussion of the laws of tzaraat. The identification and purification requirements of tzaraat continue through chapter 15 of Metzora.
Tzaraat is translated as leprosy, or scale disease, but from the spirit of the verses, it is evident that the tzaraat affliction is more serious than other maladies. In the Talmud, the rabbis directly connected the sin of lashon hara, or evil speech/ gossip, to the afflictions that come with tzaraat.
In tractate Arachin (15b), the sages inform us of various punishments that result from the sin of evil speech. It is stated: “Anyone who speaks lashon hara is considered as though he denied the fundamental belief in God.” In addition, “Anyone who speaks lashon hara will suffer afflictions.” Reish Lakish said: “Anyone who speaks lashon hara causes his sins to accumulate until the heavens.”
In the name of Mar Ukva, it was said that it is appropriate to stone the gossiper; and also that God Himself says about the gossiper: “He and I cannot dwell together in the world.” A third tradition from Mar Ukva states: God says to Gehinnom (i.e. Hell): “I will be on him (the gossiper) from above, and you will be on him from below, and together we will judge him and punish him.” Psalm 120:4 is a proof-text of this. As it states: “Only a warrior’s sharp arrows with hot coals of broom-wood.” The word “arrow” means the tongue, as it states: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow; it speaks deceit …
The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Anyone who gossips increases his sins to the degree that they correspond to the three cardinal transgressions: Idol worship, and forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed.”
Above, we see the sin of lashon hara brings harsh consequences. Certainly we should avoid gossiping, but why do our sages attribute such severity specifically to the sin of lashon hara?
In the Talmudic discussion of lashon hara, Reish Lakish explained the meaning of the verse: “If the serpent bites before it is charmed, then what advantage is there to the master of the tongue (lashon)” (Ecclesiastes 10:11). Reish Lakish said: “In the future, all the animals will come to the serpent and say: ‘A lion tramples with its paws and eats; a wolf tears with its teeth and eats. But you, snake, what benefit do you have when you bite, since you cannot eat every animal that you kill?’ The serpent will say to them: ‘And what benefit is there to the master of the tongue (lashon)?’” (Arakhin 15b)
Reish Lakish believes that the man who gossips is like the snake. Just as there is often no purpose in a snake biting its victim, so too someone who speaks lashon hara does not derive benefit but merely creates conflict. Man speaks lashon hara only because of his evil inclination.
In his work the Netivot Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe (1911-2000) explains that it is possible to understand why this person, the tale-bearer, is considered as if he denies the foundational tenets, and why the sages would say that God cannot dwell in the same world as him. It can be said that after a person commits a sin, he often has a certain amount of pleasure following the transgression. For example, if a person were hungry and proceeded to eat ham, then his action certainly cannot be justified, but his sin is understood to result from his lack of control over natural desires which gave him some tangible pleasure. In contrast, when a person gossips, he freely submits to the evil inclination, the negative forces, but in such a case he does not derive any tangible benefit from his sin. It is just submission to the evil inclination. Man’s submission to destructive instincts may separate a person from God. This is what led our sages to offer interpretations that are meant to deter people from lashon hara.
Put a different way, we can suggest that God established the world on the foundation of peace and harmony among His creation. The values and standards of Judaism itself are based on clear laws of justice and kindness such as that of acts of charity, or the idea of measure for measure, which is a leading moral and legal principle in the Torah.
Large parts of the Torah deal with these foundational beliefs. Rabbi Akiva taught: “And you shall love your neighbor like yourself is the great principle of the Torah.” The mitzvah of tzedaka creates a society based on communal help and kindness. In Avot it teaches that the world stands on three pillars, and one pillar is that of performing acts of kindness. God demands these values from us, and they uphold the world. Therefore, many commandments in the Torah are commandments of interpersonal nature.
The exact opposite of the society based on kindness is one of strife, distinguished by the sin of lashon hara, since its whole essence is to create division and conflict between a person and his friend. The lingering sin separates a person and his friend, and the harm from that act of speech extends all the way to heaven. The mere utterance of lashon hara violates the will of God, and destroys the desired harmony.
Now it is possible to understand the different opinions of the sages regarding the severity of this sin, which is harsher than other prohibitions of the Torah. The far-reaching sin of lashon hara that damages the harmony of the world created by God, is what led the Sages to explain that "the one who spreads gossip is as if he denies the core of the Torah." Moreover, God says, “He and I cannot dwell in the world together."
Today we do not receive a sign from God when we do not act properly, but it seems to me that it is precisely at this time that we must be even more careful to make an extra effort to avoid this wrongdoing, because today we have no indication of knowing where we stand. In the distant past, for every expression of lashon hara, the talebearer was immediately stricken, but today there are no visible external signs leading us toward the life of holiness. It is only the Torah that directs us forward. Are we actually prepared to step forward into such a life of holiness and walk into a world with such an awesome atmosphere of harmony? What does it mean to rise up to an elevated spiritual life, and what does this require of us on a daily basis?
In Tazria, we find a directive toward this life of holiness. God willing, when the time comes we will be blessed to build a society of holiness on the foundation of the positive commandments of the Torah that direct us to charity and justice. May we merit that such a sacred society be established with the building of our Temple soon in our days. Amen.