18 Apr TAZRIA/METZORA: LASHON HA’RA: WE CAN DO BETTER!

The prophet Yehezkel
called for the people in his
generation to repent with
the words, V’shuvu
V’chayu– “Repent and
live!”
On the basis of this pasuk, the Talmud
Yerushalmi makes the following fascinating
remark: “evil people are considered ‘dead’
even when they are alive.”
This means that a person can be breathing,
healthy, physically active, doing all kinds of
things – but still be considered dead. How are
we to understand this?
“Feeling” the Problem
Sometimes people have what is called a piece
of “dead skin.” What’s the difference between
“dead” skin and “live” skin? The difference is
whether the person feels it. When “live” skin
is squeezed or pierced, the person experiences
pain. But when anything is done to a piece of
“dead” skin, even though it is still attached to
the body, the person feels nothing.
This is what it means that sinners are
“dead.” It means that they are not feeling.
In other words, the Talmud Yerushalmi is not
referring to people who occasionally make
mistakes. We all make mistakes sometimes. But it is referring to people who make
mistakes without even feeling it, without
thinking twice about it, without even recognizing that there’s a problem.
Many people do things wrong without even
thinking that what they’re doing is wrong.
For many people, it’s foul language – they allow themselves to use inappropriate words
without thinking twice about it.
For others it’s immodest dress – they wear
whatever they like, without considering that
there might be something wrong.
For some it’s dishonesty – they routinely mislead customers, figuring that this is how business is supposed to run.
For many of us it’s wasting time – instinctively pulling out our phones when we have free
time, instead of studying Torah or doing something else constructive.
But there is one sin which, I believe, is like
“dead skin” for virtually all of us, and that
is lashon ha’ra – negative speech about other
people. We speak about other people’s faults
without thinking twice about it, without feeling that there’s anything wrong with it.
This isn’t my observation. It was made already by the Gemara, in Masechet Yevamot,
which comments: “very few observant Jews
are guilty of having illicit relationships; the
majority of observant Jews are guilty of some
sort of theft; and everyone is guilty of some
form of lashon ha’ra.”
Parashat Tazria introduces us to the laws
of tzara’at – a special type of skin infection

which would befall those who indulged in
gossip and improper speech about other people. The most famous instance of tzara’at is
the story of Miriam, Moshe Rabbenu’s sister,
who made one brief, disparaging remark about
him, for which she was punished
with tzara’at. The Torah in the Book of Devarim commands us to always remember this
incident, so that we are always mindful of the
gravity of lashon ha’ra and of the need to
avoid it as best we can.