TORAH PORTION I METRO DETROIT LODGES/UNITS of the B'NAI B'RITH MICHIGAN REGIONAL COUNCIL, B'NAI B'RITH FOUNDATION • • • •• • k 11_ • '„ • •• • • • • • • • • • Nis, • ••• • ,„ Ancient Affliction's Modern Application 411_40 _ lin: •.• • • • -• • RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT Special to The Jewish News Proceeds to benefit our B'nai B'rith Youth serving agencies - SUNDAY, a Congregation BETH ACHIM 12 Mile Road, APRIL 28th Southfield from 6:30p.m. Refreshments Available Door Prizes Donation $500 For Tickets Call 552-8070 552-8177 Winnings limited to $500 in prizes. Must be 18 or over Llc. No. M-20130 • - 2 2 Great Raffles - Great Prizes.... 2 Complete Las Vegas Trips Courtesy of -Hamilton, Miller, Hudson & Payne -Kay Tours, and the Las Vegas Hilton MAT Half of Your New Kitchen is Already Finished BEST QUALITY WOODEN PLAY STRUCTURES Doors & Drawers will custom build new door and drawer fronts and reface your existing cabinets giv- ing the look of all new. 4609 N. Woodward Ave. Royal Oak 549-1161 Call today for a free in-home Consultation. Doors ci Drawers, / Cabinet refuing in quality hardwoods and premium laminate. Ann Arbor M 3751 Varsity Dr. 971-0800 JOB HUNTING? Can't seem to get interviews? Changing Careers? Re-entering the workforce? Feel you are too old, inexperienced, not sure of what job you want or should be looking for? Not satisfied with cur- rent employment? Phone TODAY for o consultation appointment ELLMAN & ASSOCIATES (313)737 7252 - 44 FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1991 (not on employment agency) FREE DELIVERY Buy Now For A Full Season Of Healthy Play Doll qootral & 71, Soldeet Slcoft 74 Mon.-Sat. 10-5 • Friday 10-8 3947 W. 12 Mile Rd. • Berkley 543-3115 TRENDS NOW OPEN CROSSWINDS MALL Orchard Lake Rd. at Lone Pine Rd. 51-4455 n this week's twin sidrot we read about the laws pertaining to the dreadful and horribly infectious disease of leprosy, its symp- toms, its diagnosis and the rites of purification for the victim. Once the victim was af- fected, there was no alter- native but to isolate him out- side of the community, in order to limit the area of in- fection as much as possible. In our rabbinic literature there is a moral counterpart to this unpleasant disease. The rabbis transfer the laws of the leper from the physical plane to the spiritual, from the world of the body to that of the spirit. The word for leper is Metzora and the rab- bis read it as two Hebrew words — Motzi ra, "He who spreads evil, the slanderer, libeler and the evil gossiper." They then proceed to em- phasize a moral truth: That what leprosy is in the physical world, slander and malicious gossip are in the moral. There is the same spread of infection, the same inability to find a cure, and the same remedy to be ap- plied, the rigid isolation of the person afflicted with that loathsome moral disease. The Talmud is unequivocal and unsparing in its condem- nation of the gossiper and slanderer. "He who engages in lashon hara, evil speech, spoken of a third person, is a triple murderer for he destroys three people — the one who speaks it, the one who accepts it and the one of whom it is spoken." The worst thing about malicious gossip is that it is so irretrievable. An ancient story tells of a peasant who came to his rabbi with a terri- ble burden of guilt. He had spread a vicious rumor about his neighbor and now wanted to atone for his slander. The rabbi instructed him to take the feathers from one of his pillows and to place one feather on the doorstep of each of the houses in the village. The task completed, the peasant returned and asked, "What do I do now?" "Now," said the sage, "take your bag and gather up every feather." I After a long period of time, the peasant came back com- plaining . . . "I could not find a single feather, for the wind has scattered them far and wide." "So it is with gossip," said the wise man. "Unkind words are easily dropped, but are almost impossible to take back again." And yet we are familiar with the common human tendency to gossip. We talk of slander and malicious gossip as an innocuous pastime, which can be indulged in without serious harm. But in- variably there is harm and once it is done and once said, our words are irretrievable. Let us never underestimate the damage caused by a little slander. One of the most pernicious slanders against the Jewish people was the so-called "ritual murder" charge. Ac- Tazria — Mezonah: Leviticus 12:1-15:33. II Kings 7:3-20. cording to this destructive myth, Jews were accused of killing Christian children and using their blood for such ritual purposes as preparing wine or matzot for Passover. Entire Jewish villages were decimated in pogroms as a result of these vicious blood libels. Throughout our history we have paid heavy prices in human lives for these and other heinous lies and fabrications. In Jewish philosophy, man is called medaber — one who is endowed with the divine blessing of speech. Indeed, speech alone distinguishes the human being from all other forms of creation. How careful then must we be in never abusing this sublime gift. We would do well to remember and practice the closing words of the Amida prayer recited thrice daily — "My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking guile." El SYNAGOGUES Birmingham Temple Information Evening Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine will describe the philosophy and programs of the Birmingham Temple and of Humanistic Judaism 8:30 p.m. May 1 in the temple library. For reservations or informa- tion, call the temple office, 477-1410. (