be the center of attraction. The one
subject that seems to immediately
create an avid, interested audience is
co make a proclamation that is
unfriendly or critical about one we
know.
Finally, some people with a sense
of inferiority feel that they may gain
honor and distinction through the
fall of another. By a perverse logic,
they believe that by bringing down
others, in some strange way, they
—ave risen.
It may be that this sense of indig-
nation about the sins of the tongue
arises out of the collective experience
of the Jewish people. As Jews, we
have been. accused of every sin, vice
and form of depravity. In the first
century, Jews were accused of indo-
lence because they refused to work
n the seventh day, when the con-
cept of the Sabbath vas unknown in
the Roman world. They were
charged with ignorance because they
would not bow down to the great
gods of the Roman Pantheon. In the
Middle Ages, when drought
occurred or dread plague struck, the
masses attributed these disasters to
the evil power of the Jews who lived
in their communities. Even today,
anti-Semitic journals that publish
bizzare fabrications about the Jewish
people still circulate in many coun-
tries, including Japan, which has
practically no Jewish population.
As Jews, we have been the victims
of collective slander, which makes a
total people an object of hatred,
derision and contempt.
The great vision and enduring
hope of religion are the brotherhood
of man under the fatherhood of
- God. He who has an "evil tongue"
breeds suspicion and enmity. He
spreads a disease that weakens soci-
ety, divides mankind and destroys
the bonds that link humanity
together.
May we hearken to the prayer that
instructs and guides, "0, Lord,
guard my tongue from evil, and my
lips from speaking falsely." E

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Conversations

Why did the sages consider slan-
der a form of "moral leprosy"?
Why is gossip so widespread in
our society? What can we do to
combat the sin of slander?

Friday, April 23 10 a.m. - B p.m.
Nuptial April 24 10 a.m. - 0 p.m.

Ac 81-11LUM

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bmfield Plaza • Telegraph at Maple Road

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Saturday 10-6 p.m., Thursday '61 8 p.m. • (248) 855 8877

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Detrnit Jewish News

71