18 Apr TAZRIA-METZORA: WHY PEOPLE SPEAK LASHON HARA

It states (Koheles 10:11)
“A snake bites…and
there is no gain for the
person who speaks
lashon hara.”
The Gemara (Taanis 8.)
explains, “In the future, all
animals will go to the
snake and ask him, ‘A
lion pounces and eats,
a wolf attacks and eats,
but what benefit do
you gain from biting
[and poisoning people]?’
“The snake will reply,
‘And what benefit does
a person who speaks
lashon hara gain?’”
There is no pleasure in speaking lashon hara.
There is no gain. So why do people speak it?
The Pela Yoetz (Kinah) says that it is caused
by jealousy. He writes, “A person’s heart is
bad. He wants to be the only person who has
wisdom, does good deeds, owns wealth, receives honor, etc. And therefore, he is upset
when someone else reaches his level, or is
greater than him. He is jealous, he wants his
[fellow man’s] downfall, and he wants to
slander him… If a person desires life, he
should run away from this attitude. He should
be a warrior and conquer his yetzer hara. He
can do so by believing with emunah sheleimah (complete faith) that no one can take
away from him what is destined for him.
Even if he would be the only person in the
world, he won’t earn more than the amount
that was decreed for him. And even if there
would be thousands of merchants, all selling
the same products as him, it wouldn’t take
away from the amount that was destined for
him. He should be happy with Hashem’s will,
Who does what is best for each person.”
If the Pela Yoetz wouldn’t have mentioned it,
we wouldn’t recognize the connection between jealousy and lashon hara. But now that
the Pela Yoetz (and other holy sefarim) teach
us that the origin of lashon hara is jealousy, a
person can test himself and recognize how
true it is. When one is jealous of someone
who has wealth or honor that he hoped would
be his own, this causes him to be angry with
that person and to speak lashon hara about
him. The solution is to come to the realization
that everyone gets what’s destined for him,
and no one is taking anything away from you.
It states (Metzora 14:9) “It will be on the seventh day [of the purification of the metzorah],
he should shave off all the hair on his head:
his beard, his eyebrows, all his hair shall be
shorn.”
The Ben Ish Chai explains this mitzvah based
on the following Gemara (Bava Basra 16):
“Hashem says, ‘I created in man many hairs.
Each hair has its own pore, so that two hairs
won’t draw their nourishment from the same
pore. If two hairs grew forth from the same
pore, the person would become blind…”
When the Metzora shaves his head, he discovers that each hair has its own root. No
hair can take away the nourishment that was
destined for another hair. He thereby realizes that likewise, no one can take away parnassah (livelihood) that was destined for
him.
As he cuts his hair, he remembers the Gemara
(Yoma 38), “No one can touch what is destined for his friend — not even a hairsbreadth.” These ideas help him overcome
jealousy. There is no reason to be jealous,
because no one is taking anything away from
him. By remembering this, he won’t be jealous, and he won’t speak lashon hara.
The Gemara (Eiruchin 15:) says, “Whoever
speaks lashon hara is kofer be’ikar (denies
Hashem).” What is the connection between
lashon hara and denying Hashem?
As we explained, lashon hara comes from
jealousy. Jealousy is roused when one doesn’t
believe that everything is bashert. Because if
he believed that everything is bashert, and no
one can take anything away from him, he
wouldn’t be angry, jealous, or slander anyone. If he nevertheless speaks lashon hara,
this is a sign that he didn’t internalize this
truth. He is kofer be’ikar,because he lacks the
fundamentals of emunah.
A second cause, that brings people to speak
lashon hara, is disrespect to others. They look
down at people, and therefore they don’t consider it wrong to speak badly about them.
It States (13:46) “He should sit alone. His
place is outside the camp.” Reb Zalman Sorotzkin zt’l (Oznayim LaTorah) explains that
people speak lashon hara about others when
they look down on them and they don’t recognize their importance.”
The Torah therefore obligates the metzora to
sit outside the camp. As he sits there alone, he
will need people to bring him food and care
for his needs. That’s when he will realize how
much people are dependent on one another.
And with that recognition, he will come to
respect his fellow man. He will know that
each person is important, as each person
brings something to the world that is beneficial for mankind.