A thought on Parshiyos Achrei Mos - Kedoshim

"...lo t'kallel cheresh...""...do not curse the deaf..." (19:14)

Jews are not supposed to curse anyone. We are supposed to watch our language and use our speech for good purposes and with pure vocabularies. We avoid gossip and impure words. Cursing is not acceptable.

So, why this emphasis on "deaf people"? We should not be cursing any person at all. Now, we have all come across the words of the Ramban who teaches us that this verse serves as a kal v'chamor - a stepping stone for inductive logic: if we are not allowed to curse a deaf man even though he will not hear our ugly words, all the more so must we not curse a hearing person who will be shamed and hurt by our words.

This makes great sense, logically. Yet, we could have learned the same thing had the Torah simply said, "do not curse people." We would have included in the scope of that prohibition the deaf, the mute, the blind, the feeble and everyone else. Now, before you move your cursors down, let's listen to the thought of Rabbeinu Bachya.

He writes that this and so many of our mitzvos are tools for self improvement. The ban on cursing is not about the victim or target of our words. It is about ourselves. The Torah wants us to develop into nice people. The Torah wants us to avoid becoming cruel, angry, senseless, selfish and otherwise unworthy. That is why the verse captures the prohibition on cursing by saying "do not curse (even) a deaf person." The problem has nothing to do with whether or not anyone hears you. It does not matter if the person you are swearing at has no clue about what you are saying. The severity of the problem is that when you utter those horrible words, you are damaging your mind and your soul! The Torah is alerting us to this lesson. Many of the behaviors which we are told to avoid are for our own sake. The soul and the mind are nurtured by what we put into them, just as the body is nourished by what we put into it. If we exercise mind and soul by use of abominable speech, then we are going to grow into crooked and cruel people. Our thoughts follow our words, and the more we direct our words along profane and vulgar lines, the more our thinking and attitudes are infected.

This week, look for good things to say to and about other people. Watching what we say means that we are watching out for what we become.

Enough cursive writing. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Tazria - Metzora

"...ve'ha'tzarua asher bo ha'nega...""...and the afflicted one who has the affliction..." (13:45)

The affliction known as tzaras is not found among us these days. In fact, it was a condition which occurred in Israel alone during the times of the Holy Temple (according to many opinions). Still, there is so much discussion about tzaras which is a focus in much of our two parshios. Our verse prescribes the ordeal of the afflicted: torn garments, uncut hair, cloaked to the lips, calling out "tamae, tamae" ("I am contaminated, contaminated!") so that people see him and keep their distance. In fact, the person duly diagnosed by a kohen has to leave town and camp out in isolation.

This used to happen. People contracted this spiritually based and physically manifest state and had those disruptive consequences to deal with. It taught them a lesson. It was not fun.

Can we relate to this at any level? We can use our imagination and try to identify with the acts which lead to tzaras (spreading gossip is only one of the causes cited by Chazal). We can try to imagine what it might be like to undergo such an ordeal. But, alas, in reality, we do not really relate to this condition and its consequences at an experiential level.

It may be for this reason that Rabbeinu Bachya introduces us to a midrash which suggests an allegorical level at which we can try to relate to tzaras. Remember, our Torah has been described as "Pardes" - of having four main levels from which we can interpret its lessons, hints, secrets and messages. Here is a midrashic interpretation, which is represented by the D in the word Pa - R - De - S.

The "afflicted one" mentioned in the verse is... the Holy Temple.
The "affliction in it" mentioned in the verse is...our deserting HaShem.
The "torn garments" are... the discarded vestments of the Kohanim, now gone.
The "uncut head" is...HaShem, our "Head", whom we abandoned, neglecting His Torah.
"Hooded to the lips" is our closing our mouths to Torah discussions.
"Contaminated, contaminated" represents the destruction of two Holy Temples.

In that sense, we do have a way of knowing about the experience of the tzarua. We have removed ourselves from the ways of HaShem and have been forced into isolation among the nations, outside of our "camp." As long as we are far away from His ways - when we show no honor to our "Kohanim" - those who can lead us, we compound our isolation. As long as we omit words of Torah from our conversations and our thoughts, we are only a remote remnant of the community which was once HaShem's prized creation. And if we do not bother to acknowledge our forlorn, deficient state, not seeing that off in the far corners of the globe that we are stuck in places of contamination which can cling to us, then we have contracted the spiritual form of tzaras whether or not it leaves any marks on our physical beings.

Wishing you a contemplative Shabbos Kodesh. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Shmini

"...k'rav el ha'mizbeach...""...come near to the altar..." (9:7)

Moshe seems to beckon to his brother Aharon, Kohen Gadol, that he draw near to the altar and inaugurate the new Mishkan. This was the moment that they, that Klal Yisroel, had been waiting for! We would expect Aharon to be poised for action, needing no cue nor encouragement to take his post. Yet, the verse says that Moshe prompted him to come forth, to draw near. Was there hesitation?

Let's turn to a verse from Psalms (Tehillim 106:20). Dovid HaMelech alludes to the troubles involving our people in the desert, and he references the tragedy of the ma'aseh egel. He refers to it as "tavnis shor" - the "image of the ox." What lurks within that unusual expression?

Rabbeinu Bachya says that Aharon could never forget the role which he had taken in the events which led to the ma'aseh egel. When the Mishkan was finally ready to accept the offerings of Aharon and the nation, he was afraid to enter within. Each time he would look at the altar, he would see tavnis shor - in his imagination, he would "see" the image of the egel.

Reminiscent of Poe's The Telltale Heart or Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray lehavdil, this midrashic insight describes how Aharon could not "shake" the imprint of the egel from his thoughts, and when he contemplated approaching the mizbeach, he (in contemporary terms) would flash back to the scene at that earlier altar in the desert and felt that his acts from that incident would bar forevermore his being acceptable to bring forth an offering to HaShem.

It was this insight into Aharon which prompted Moshe to beckon to his great and holy brother, soothing him, calling him to "come close, draw near" and serve as Kohen Gadol.

There are many times when our own predicaments and our own behavior can shape our perception and grasp of an event. Long afterward, we may experience intrusive thoughts, a bad taste or a fear response as we negotiate facing ourselves, our pasts and attempting to improve upon our errors. Chazal tell us that there is a purposefulness to the mind's retention of past events: v'chatasi negdi tamid says Dovid HaMelech (Tehillim 51:5) - keep a vigilant eye own your mistakes, always. But, HaShem also beckons us to move on. When we have changed our ways, when we have sought pardon for our straying, we are prompted to alter our perception. We look at encounters with past temptations not as reminders of our errors, but as votes of confidence from Above that we are ready for change.

As we revisit the Omer season, we too can face our challenges and set our minds on doing better, on being better. Good Shabbos. D Fox