parsha of the week: rabbi avi billet

Lashon hara’s bottom line, hitting home

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When we encounter the parshas of Tazria and Metzora, our thoughts typically run to lashon hara (speech that brings people down), which is argued by the Talmud (Arakhin 15-16) to be the main impetus for the Biblical punishment of tzara’at afflicting a person back in the day (the seven causes of tzara’at will be discussed below).

The word metzora, which describes the person carrying the disease of tzara’at, is noted by the midrash and many commentaries as being a condensed form of the words motzi ra (to bring out evil). Most will say that the idea of being motzi ra is meant to be the result of having tzara’at, that the person with the ailment gets the message as delivered through this G-d-sent spiritual disease, and makes a conscious decision to remove the evil-from-within which caused the person to sin.

But there is also the possibility that the problem facing the metzora, and one of the reasons why the disease comes, is because the sin also brings out the bad in others. How does a victim of lashon hora (slander and gossip) respond to people talking about him? Murder sometimes causes others to murder in vengeance. Swearing in vain promotes a culture in which people are not careful about their speech. For sins of immorality — if it only took one to tango, perhaps it wouldn’t bring out the evil in others. But it takes two to tango. Haughtiness or stinginess of the sinner causes others to feel belittled, to get angry, or to experience jealousy. Thievery may cause vigilantism, with people taking the law into their own hands.

And so, perhaps, we can all benefit from asking ourselves if we are doing our part to bring the best out of people, or are we, heaven forfend, bringing out the worst in others? All questions presented are being asked in no particular order. And yes, I’m talking to myself.

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