|
Torah Parsha, Tazria
This week’s, Torah portion, Tazria is about the laws of purity and impurity and how when we speak ill of others, lashon hara, it can come back to bite us, manifesting as a nasty rash.
The sages tell us that Tazria is about the power of speech, and how it can either heal or harm. The Torah talks of a skin condition called tsara’at which was the punishment for lashon hara.
Because the rabbi’s tell us that this is one of the worst sins, the
punishment for this was leprosy. Examples of this in the Torah are when when Miriam spoke badly of Moses, and then got a rash in Numbers 12: 1-15), and from another story from Exodus 4: when Moses hand became leprous, when he became upset that the
Israelites were unwilling to believe in his mission.
The first amendment of our constitution guarantees freedoms concerning religious expression, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances; essentially: freedom of speech. Meaning, we could stand on a rooftop and
shout to 100 people, I am different and I matter.
Overtime, the first amendment has gotten lost in translation. Now people use it to speak out against others’ differences saying that they don’t matter. This is not the point. This is harmful and can be hurtful. The power of speech can either heal or harm. One of
the mitzvahs is self control, we can control what comes out of our mouths.
We take the lesson of lashon hara, and the importance of guarding your tongue, controlling what you say and to whom is an important one. It reminds me of Don Miguel Ruiz’s “The Four Agreements,” one of them being; be impeccable with your
speech. This means never use the power of the word against yourself. When you're impeccable with your word, you never betray yourself. You never use the word to gossip about yourself for to spread emotional poison by gossiping about other people.
You are the creator of your own life story.
-Rabbi Educator, Dana Berntson
| 
