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ISSUE DATE: Mag14,1999

AD DEADUNE: Mag. 7,1999

SAMPLE AD

Torah Portion

Valued Above All
Is A Good Name

another, addicted — the cruelty of
slanderous lips. Loshon hora is that
special pleasure we discover in talk-
ing about our neighbor's weaknesses
his failures, and transgressions. The
sages declare it kills three: the one
who speaks it, the one who hears it
and the one of whom it is spoken.
In this crime, the victim doesn't
have
to be present. Indeed, the task
he Torah portion of this
is
made
easier when he is not includ-
Sabbath describes, in a
ed
in
our
midst. The injury is not
clinically precise way, cer-
immediately
apparent although it
tain forms of a disease
nevertheless,
real.
Shakespeare
akin to leprosy that was prevalent in
expressed
it best, "Good
ancient times and the man-
name
in
man
and woman,
ner of treatment.
dear
my
Lord,
is the imme-
The sages, centuries later,
diate
jewel
of
their
souls.
interpreted the entire por-
Who
steals
my
purse
steals
tion as a metaphor. The
trash.
'Tis
something,
'tis
Hebrew word for leper is
nothing,
'twas
mine,
'tis
his
metzorah. Metzorah, they
and
has
been
slave
to
thou-
said, is to be read as motzi
sands. But he that filches
shem ra, one who brings
from me my good name,
forth evil, one who is
robs me of that which not
morally diseased. They
enriches
him, and makes
RABBI
IRWIN
declare that the evil of
me
poor
indeed:"
GRONER
which the text speaks is
Of course, we don't gos-
Special to The
loshon hora, the evil tongue,
sip;
we engage in "charac-
wicked speech and slander-
Jewish News
ter
analysis."
The sad truth
ous words, a disease as
is
that
gossip
has
become
loathsome as leprosy.
both
a
profession
and
an
industry
inci
Leprosy was the divine punish-
our
time.
Journalists,
writers
and
ment for evil talk. Judaism is a tradi-
speakers have achieved dubious fame
tion that takes words very seriously.
by their exclusive preoccupation
God creates the world through
with
gossip about notables and
words, "Let
celebrities. A
there be light.
great deal of the
Words are the
contemporary
divine legacy to
newspaper is
humanity
devoted
to such
through the
morally question-
Torah. Just as
able material.
words can cre-
Certain maga-
ate, the
zines
purvey gos-
midrash is
sip
exclusively;
intended to
and, of course,
remind us of
television has
the destructive
found its substan-
power of
tial share of this
speech. Like
market.
leprosy, gossip
The
Jewish
is an insidious
Tradition
that
destroyer of people's lives. The dam-
carefully
identified
the
diverse
forms
age begins subtly and then becomes
and
manifestations
of
slanderous
irrevocable. Like leprosy, it leads not
speech, denounces this evil and
only to private pain, but public
deems it one of the most important
humiliation. God struck Moses' sis-
moral issues.
ter Miriam, who gossiped about
What are the causes of this social
Moses and his wife, with leprosy as a
illness
that is so pervasive? The first =/
punishment. (Numbers, Ch. 12).
element
is what can be termed an
The most widespread and unnec-
emptiness
of soul. We have nothing
essary cruelty of the world is
to
talk
about, so we start with
else
encountered in this transgression to
people;
and
as we talk of people,
which we are all, in one form or
sooner or later, we talk against them.
Irwin Groner is senior rabbi of
Secondly, one notes the desire to
Congregation Sbaarey Zedek.

Shab bat
Tazriah-Metzorah:
Leviticus 12:1-15:33;
Numbers 28:9-15.

T

) 3

We are so proud of you and
all your accomplishments.

Love,
Mom, Dad and Dan

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4/16

1999

70 Detroit Jewish News

"0, Lord, guard
my tongue from
from evil, and
my lips from
speaking falsely.

))