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LEVITICUS — 13:45 unclean

LEV143 These are quintessential expressions of shame. First is the stigma, the public marks of disgrace or dishonor (the torn clothes, the unkempt hair). Then comes the ostracism, temporary exclusion from the normal affairs of society. These have nothing to do with illness and everything to do with social disapproval. This is what makes the laws of tzaraat so hard to understand at first: it is one of the rare appearances of public shame in a non-shame-based culture, a guilt-based culture. It happened, though, not because society had expressed its disapproval but because God was signaling that it should do so. Why specifically in the case of lashon hara, "evil speech"? Because speech is what holds society together. Anthropologists have argued that language evolved among humans precisely in order to strengthen the bonds between them so that they could cooperate in larger groupings than any other animal. What sustains cooperation is trust. This allows and encourages me to make sacrifices for the group, knowing that others can be relied on to do likewise. This is precisely why lashon hara is so destructive. It undermines trust. It makes people suspicious about one another. It weakens the bonds that hold the group together. If unchecked, lashon hara will destroy any group it attacks -- a family, a team, a community, even a nation. Hence its uniquely malicious character; it uses the power of language to weaken the very thing language was brought into being to create, namely, the trust that sustains the social bond. That is why the punishment for lashon hara was to be temporarily excluded from society by public exposure (the signs that appear on walls, furniture, clothes, and skin), stigmatism and shame (the torn clothes, etc.), and ostracism (being forced to live outside the camp). It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to punish the malicious gossiper using the normal conventions of law – – courts and the establishment of guilt. This can be done in the case of motzi shem ra, libel or slander, because these are all cases of making a false statement. Lashon hara is more subtle. It is done not by falsehood but by insinuation. There are many ways of harming a person's reputation without actually telling a lie. Someone accused of lashon hara can easily say, "I didn't say it, I didn't mean it, and even if I did, I did not say anything that was untrue." The best way of dealing with people who poison relationships without actually ordering falsehoods is by naming, shaming, and shunning them. That, according to the sages, is what tzarrat miraculously did in ancient times. It no longer exist in the form described in the Torah. But the use of the Internet and social media as instruments of public shaming illustrates both the power and the danger of a culture of shame. Only rarely does the Torah invoke it, and in the case of the metzora only by an act of God, not Society. Yet the moral of the metzora remains. Malicious gossip, lashon hara, undermines relationships, erodes the social bond, and damages trust. It deserves to be exposed and shamed. Never speak ill of others, and stay far from those who do.

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LEVITICUS — 13:45 unclean

LEV142 The written Torah states: "The leper in whom the disease [leprosy] is… shall cry: "Unclean, unclean" [this verse]. There is an allusion here to a subtle but pervasive psychological mechanism that Freud recognized: projection. People who are impure themselves are generally the first to detect uncleanness in others. All too easily we can darkly impugn the motives and intentions of others because unconsciously we attribute to others what we know ourselves to be capable of doing and thinking. He who is himself a leper is the first to cry out at others, "Unclean, unclean!" In the pithy adage of our Sages, "Whoever declares others blemished, it is his own blemish that he ascribes to others" (T.B. Kiddushin 70a). This telling point of our Torah is one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is Ben Zoma' teaching. Are you ready to denounce and vilify others in the blackest terms, perhaps without justification? Take care. You have a clear warning here that in your own house a thorough spring-cleaning is needed. The more you wield the brush with black paint, the darker your self-portrait becomes. If you would rather be a man of honor, to earn and enjoy the esteem of others, learn to view selectively. Observe in others whatever is good and praiseworthy, and honor them for it. Give each man the esteem that is his due. This is the only way, says Ben Zoma, to achieve your own.

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LEVITICUS — 13:46 alone

LEV145 Realizing the pain caused by loshon hora should deter us from speaking it. The Sages said that since the metzora caused the separation of friends and the separation of husbands and wives, he should also be separated from others. (Erchin 16b, cited by Rashi). The isolation of the metzora gave him time for introspection. He could now recall the marriages and friendships his malicious gossip had dissolved. Removed from society, he would feel the mental anguish he cost others when his slander cost them to be ostracized. From here we see that a person should learn from his own experiences the pain that others feel when they suffer. If anyone ever spoke loshon hora against you, you certainly did not like it. Remember those feelings, and refrain from speaking against others. Rabbi Yisroel Salanter used to say, "If a person says that a rabbi cannot sing and a cantor is not a scholar, he is guilty of speaking loshon hora. But if someone says that a rabbi is not a scholar and a cantor cannot sing, it is tantamount to murder." (Tnuas Hamussar, vol. 1, p. 305).

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LEVITICUS — 14:2 law

LEV148 Observe the laws of purifying someone who had tzara’as. Allusions in the purification process for a metzora--a person who had tzara’as: Cedar wood--the cedar tree grows very tall. The metzora should realize that his sin is due to haughtiness. He must now lower himself and be like a hyssop plant, which grows close to the ground. Extract from a worm--this, too, might be hint to him to curb his haughtiness and lower himself like a worm. Two birds--his sin was sinful speech, excessive and harmful chatter. Therefore, for atonement he brings birds--creatures that constantly chirp. An illusion in the purification process for those who contract spiritual impurity: water for immersion is a hint that when a person becomes cleansed of his impurity, it is a fresh start for him, as if he has just been created anew. While in the water, he should think of the world before man was created, even before any land existed and the whole world was only water. As he comes up out of the water and is purified, he is a renewed person. It is rebirth for him, so with respect to his deeds he should make a fresh start and behave only with virtue, with care for every detail of his Maker's Will.

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LEVITICUS — 14:2 leper

LEV150j We should publicize the importance of refraining from loshon hora. The Midrash (Yayikra Rabbah 16:2) states that the word metzora (a person afflicted with tzoraas) comes from motzi shaim ra (a slanderer), since the disease of tzoraas is a punishment for speaking against others. ... Speaking against others causes quarrels, disputes, strife, and heartache; all of which are likely to shorten a person's lifespan. On the other hand, a person who refrains from speaking against others will lead a much more peaceful and tranquil existence, and will live longer (Kochav MaiYaakov, cited in Mayanah Shel Torah on this verse).

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LEVITICUS — 14:4 order

LEV152 By reflecting on the instruments needed to purify the metzora, we can appreciate the severity of lashon hora. Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv of Kelm wrote that studying the portion of Metzora is analogous to visiting a doctor prior to an operation. If the patient sees that the doctor requires a large amount of the surgical instruments for the operation, it will frighten him. Let us look at the instruments required by the Torah to purify the metzora after he is healed from the physical aspects of the affliction: [this verse]. The Torah continues for an entire section with a description of the instruments and operations that are necessary to cure the metzora spiritually. From here and we can learn the gravity of loshon hora, and should be deterred from this sin. (Chochmah Umussar, vol. 1, p. 332).

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