By Rabbi Abraham Unger, Ph.D.
Executive Director
This Week’s Torah Portion
We Are What We Say
One of the key features of being a human is the ability to speak. Language defines us as a species. Due to its role as a foundational characteristic of humanity, speech is considered sacred.
There are scores of laws governing speech in Halakhah, Jewish law. Indeed, perhaps the most revered Jewish sage of the last century, known as the Chofetz Chaim, made Shmirat Halashon, watching one’s use of language, a central tenet of his body of work.
This week’s Torah portion, which focuses heavily on a skin ailment akin to leprosy, is interpreted by the Rabbinic sages as really referencing lashon harah: using our power of speech to disparage others.
Words matter. They let the world know who we are on the inside. If we are disgruntled and mean-spirited, it will show on the outside. The Rabbis take the word “metzora”, leper, and with a play on words, call that individual a “motzi shem ra”, someone who speaks ill of others. As we emerge from Passover thinking about how to use our hard won freedom more beneficially, we start with speech.
Weekly Parenting Message from the Parsha
It’s all about Attitude
Why does it matter how we behave? Yes, respect has value, but in the end, what’s the real impact of how we carry ourselves in this world? We all live our lives and go about our business from hour to hour, moving from task to task.
The Torah asks us to meet a higher standard than simply getting through the day. It compels us to think about our own humanity, and to reflect upon the kind of people we want the world to be filled with. That work starts with each person.
In this week’s Shabbat Torah reading, there is a seemingly obsessive analysis with all sorts of ancient skin diseases and ways to cure them through purification rituals. However, the Talmudic sages understood these Biblical descriptions of maladies to really represent problems of human behavior. For example, leprosy is considered a manifestation of Lashon HaRah, speaking badly about other people. Skin lesions result from haughtiness. Rashi, the classic Torah commentator, writes that birds are used in the formula for the potion to cure leprosy because “they [birds] chatter non-stop, with loud chirping.”
As parents, one of our primary goals is to model for our children how to use speech kindly, and how to carry themselves with a healthy balance of self-esteem and humility. These behaviors are not easy to practice with perfect consistency. We often slip in one direction or another, which is exactly why the Torah mentions them. Just as the Torah teaches us, we must transmit these core values.
Imagine a world filled with more caring use of language, and less haughtiness. As parents, we have the chance to help make that happen.