Date: 15.4.24 / 7 Nisan 5784

Parsha: Metzora: Leviticus 14:1-12

Parshat Metzora continues with the themes we started to see in parshat Tazria, including the process of purification for tsara’at, the decay that causes skin disease in humans and discolouration in garments and the walls of houses. This parsha concludes with the process of purifying after various types of bodily discharges.

Thought of Rabbi Sacks

[Social media is] a new chapter in the world’s oldest story, the use of words as weapons by people seeking to inflict pain. New – because in the past most communications were face to face and set in some kind of social context, in which parents, teachers or friends were aware of what was going on and could intervene. There were the occasional anonymous letter writers; but at least the pain they caused was private, not public the way social networking messages often are. By allowing people facelessly to make threats or be offensive or spread false rumours, the new sites are offering the demons of our nature the maximum of temptation combined with the maximum of opportunity…

The technology is new, but the moral challenge is old. Judaism’s sages were eloquent on the dangers of what they called evil speech, by which they meant derogatory, demeaning or offensive words. They called this a cardinal sin and said that it destroys three people, the one who says it, the one he says it against and the one who listens in. Words injure; they hurt; they wound. And every new technology that allows us to share words more widely calls for a renewed insistence on the ethics of communication. Free speech does not mean speech that costs nothing. It means speech that respects the freedom and dignity of others. Forget this and free speech will prove to be very expensive indeed.

Free Speech, (Thought for the Day, 9th August 2013), in The Power of Ideas, pp. 27-28

Around the Shabbat Table

1. Why do you think people often speak lashon hara?
2. What is the impact of lashon hara on society?
3. Why is tsara’at an appropriate punishment for lashon hara?

Answers

1. While it may be a part of human nature to use words for destructive means, this urge is something that we have a moral obligation to overcome, and this is what God demands of us. Lashon Hara could be motivated from jealousy, insecurity, or pain of some other sort. These emotions are all normal and natural, but as the Rabbis said, this hateful language can destroy the lives of the person speaking, the one listening, and the subject of the evil speech.
2. Destructive speech can destroy lives and lead to a cycle of hate and devastation. This is why all societies have legislation protecting citizens form slanderous speech. But the Rabbis noted that lashon hara doesn’t just impact the subject of the evil speech, but the person speaking and listening are also impacted negatively.
3. Tsara’at is an example of a mida kenegged mida (measure for measure) approach to punishment. Lashon hara is spoken in whispers behind backs, but the punishment for it is highly public and impossible to cover up.

Parsha summary adapted from Chabad.org and Rabbi Sacks Legacy

The weekly mitzvot are adapted from the PAJES Primary Parashat Hashavua Curriculum, and form the basis of the school's PSHE curriculum for all pupils alongside the Torah, Well Being and Me curriculum.