by Rabbi Stuart Dauermann

Ahavat Zion Messianic Synagogue, Beverly Hills, CA

Our Torah and Hafarah readings speak of the the disease tsara'at, which pertains to a noxious skin disease, which older translations refer to as leprosy.  The Sages of Israel derived penetrating moral lessons from what Scripture says of this ailment.  They saw it as a punishment for slander, based in part upon the punishment meted out to Miriam, Moses's sister, when she spoke ill of him.  In addition, the Rabbis saw the word for Leper, metzorah, as an acronym for "motzi shem ra," one who brings forth a bad name, that is, a slanderer.  They drew many moral lessons from the details concerning the leper, his disease, his conduct, his treatment, inspection, etc.

For example, the Rabbis taught that the quarantining and isolation of the leper was really a picture of the quarantining and isolating of the slanderer.  This was meant to be a corrective measure whereby the he or she would experience the isolation from society experienced by the person they slandered.  When you slander a person and ruin their reputation, you create a barrier between them and their family, friends and society.  The same is true for the leper-his disease separates him from family, friends and society.

There should be no argument that slander, loshon hora, is a deadly, persistent plague.  Like any plague, there is only way to prevent its transmission, and that it to exercise constant vigilance and meticulous verbal hygiene.  One thing is certain: without such constant vigilance and care, the disease is sure to spread, and the damage it does is most severe.

Not all wounding words are bad. The proverb reminds us "Blessed are the wounds of a friend, but cursed are the kisses of an enemy," reminding us that one of the characteristics of a true friend is her willingness to tell us what we do might not want to hear, but need to hear anyway.  Similarly, not all negative words spoken to third parties are wrong.  When we must speak negative words in order to protect someone from the prospect of being harmed by the person under discussion, then it is our responsibility to say something.  Yet, our tradition does come down very hard indeed on certain kinds of wounding words.  The kinds of wounding words which our tradition especially decries are those damaging words which are spoken about a person either to others or in the presence of others.

Our tradition says that the slanderer would be afflicted with leprosy and become an outcast so that he might himself experience the misery he had caused others, and might repent.  Clearly, our Sages took this kind of sin most seriously. Shouldn't we do the same?

On the other side of the equation, there is a positive motivation for exercising verbal hygiene.  The Talmud tells the story of Rabbi Yannai who encountered a peddler walking through town and hawking his wares"Who wants to buy the elixir of life?"  The rabbi and his disciples approached the peddler and asked him to reveal his secret potion.  The peddler refused at first, but finally relented:

The rabbi realized he was right: that if one keeps away from speaking ill of others and from animosity and arguments, he has a better chance of a calmer, more peaceful and longer life.

Maintaining our metaphor of verbal hygiene, what are some of the disease bearing viruses and bacteria our tradition warns us about?

This kind of hygiene calls for constant vigilance and frequent washing, just as the horror of infections being passed on even by hospital staff can only be rectified by such vigilance and repeated washings.  None of us would want to be served by doctor who said, "I already washed my hands today."  When he works with us, when someone touches one of our wounds, we want to know that they washed just before they did so that they practiced good hygiene here and now and not once upon a time.

Similarly, we need to constantly and repeatedly practice verbal hygiene if we are to avoid spreading the disease of slander and of evil speaking.  It is not enough to have washed your hands this morning or yesterday.  What about now? What are some ways we might do this.

1. Just as the leper had to go to the priest so that the priest might examine him to see if his disease was still infectious or had passed, so we all need spiritual directors or advisors, people with excellent discernment and experience who can examine us and tell us if our ways of speaking of others are toxic or not.  It would not be a bad idea to ask such a friend from time to time, "Do you see me exercising proper care in my speech about others, or do I need to clean up my act?'

2. If what I am saying seems to make sense to you, make it a practice to "wash" your speech by keeping certain holy ideas and phrases constantly on your lips, your mind and your heart.  One which comes to mind is "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and My Redeemer.[Psalm 19]" Another would be, "Post a sentry for my mouth, O Hashem; set a guard over the door of my lips. [Psalm 141]"

3. Realize that we tend to practice the hygienic practices of those around us. Just as a person who lives in an ultra-clean house is more likely to develop orderly habits of life, so a person who associates with people who are circumspect in their speech is most likely to himself develop the same habits.  On the other hand, a person who hangs out with those who are careless in what they say about others will pick up the disease: without a doubt.

4. When you have brought infection to someone, it is your responsibility to do what you can to clean out the infected wound.  This is done through confession: "I am sorry about what I said about you last week to so and so, and how this has brought you so much pain.  Is there anything I can do to make this up to you? Please forgive me."  You should practice such confessional washing of the person you slandered and also of others you spoke to, for by involving them in your slander, you did them harm as well.  And of course, you should confess your sin to God, that He might wash you clean in His sight.

5. As a congregation, one of the best things we can do is to begin to develop a verbally hygienic climate.  When someone speaks critically of someone else to you, how should you respond? You should gently correct them and refuse to hear any more of the slanderous gossip, criticism, or complaining they have in store.  In fact, our tradition tells us that the slanderer kills three people: herself, the person she slanders, and the one who listens to the slander.  So don't allow someone else's reputation to be killed in your presence. Don't let someone kill themselves and others spiritually by allowing them to exercise slander in your presence.  And don't mortally wound yourself by tolerating slanderous words aimed at someone else.

We need to be honest with ourselves.  This kind of vigilance is hard and wearing.  We are just not used to it.  And it may seem excessive.  In this, I am reminded of the little child who resents having to wash his hands before every meal.  He doesn't understand germ theory.  He doesn't understand why washing his hands is so important.  He doesn't understand the danger that dirty hands can bring.

Similarly, we need to be educated by God concerning the dangers of wrong speech.  Like the little kid, we don't see what the big deal is.  But we need to learn this lesson well-and make scrupulous verbal hygiene the invariable practice in our own circles of influence.