30 | APRIL 15 • 2021
THE CORE IDEA
1.
Lashon hara can destroy lives, but not just the
life of the subject of the hateful speech. The
person who speaks it and the person who listens
are both negatively impacted by engaging in this
behavior. Their reputations may well be affected,
too, and the way they perceive the subject will
change from discussing them. There is no such
thing as a passive, innocent bystander when it
comes to evil speech.
2. Everyone who has a presence on social
media, no matter how young, has wit-
nessed hateful speech. Researchers
believe an extraordinarily high per-
centage of young people have
suffered from this firsthand, and
even those that haven’t have
witnessed it in some form.
Perhaps the saddest occur-
rences are when young people
witness adults using this kind of
language in their social media
posts. Children learn from the
models provided by the adults in
their lives.
A
ccording to the Sages, Tazria and Metzora are
about the power of speech to heal or harm.
These parshiyot deal at length with tsaraat,
the skin condition that was a punishment for lashon
hara, evil speech. The word metzora, meaning, one who
was suffering from this condition, was,
the Sages said, a shortened version of the
phrase motzi shem ra, one who says bad
things about another person (slander).
They proved this from the case of Miriam
who spoke badly about Moses, and then
suffered tsaraat as a result (Bamidbar 12).
Moses mentions this incident many years
later, urging the Israelites to take
it to heart: “Remember what the Lord your
God did to Miriam along the way after
you came out of Egypt” (Devarim
24:9).
The rabbis said some powerful
things about lashon hara. They
said that it is worse than the three
cardinal sins — idolatry, adultery
and bloodshed — combined. It
harms three people: the one who
speaks it, the one about whom it is
spoken and the one who listens to it.
The story of Joseph began when he
spoke negatively about some of his broth-
ers, and their relationship turned bitter. The
entire generation that left Egypt was not allowed to
enter the Promised Land because they had spoken badly
about it. They Sages said that one who speaks lashon
hara is like someone who does not believe in God.
In our day and age, social media has become a place
overflowing with hateful speech, and we need the laws of
lashon hara more than ever!
From Covenant & Conversation Family Edition
SPIRIT
The consequences of evil speech.
For
Family
Discussion
Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
1.
Why do you think the rabbis said that
lashon hara also harms the person
speaking it and the person listening to it?
2. Have you ever seen hateful speech on
social media. How did it make you feel?
(See answers below)
KEY IDEA
OF THE WEEK
WE NEED TO BE
CAREFUL HOW WE USE
OUR WORDS, FOR THEY
HOLD GREAT POWER
WITHIN THEM.