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The Severity of Gossip - Parshat Tazria - Metzora 5778 - April 20, 2018

This week’s parashiyot, Tazria and Metzora, deal with tzara’at. Tzara’at is a disease that afflicts the skin, clothing or home of those who commit certain types of sins – most commonly the sin of lashon hara – gossip.  Although the disease of tzara’at resembles leprosy, it was a physical disease caused by a spiritual sickness – an external consequence of an internal corruption.

In fact, the word metzora, the name given to one who is smitten with tzara’at, is an allusion to the sin that causes it. Metzora is a contraction of the phrase motzi shem ra – bringing about a bad name for another through spreading gossip about him or spreading falsehood.

Our rabbis repeatedly teach about the severity of the sin of motzi shem ra. Midrash Rabba (VaYikra 16:6) teaches that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says that the word “Torah” is used five times in connection with the word “Metzora” to teach us that anyone who spreads gossip about another is transgressing all five books of the Torah. 

Commenting on this Midrash, Perush Maharzu cites a teaching that the severity of spreading gossip is discussed in each of the Five Books of Moses: the sin of the snake (Beresheit), Datan and Aviram gossiping to Paroh about Moshe (Shemot), Tzara’at and the prohibition of gossiping (VaYikra), the Spies, Miriam and Korach (Bemidbar), and remembering the sin of Miriam (Devarim).

Another hint points us to the severity of gossip: these sections of the Torah – Parshiyot Tazria and Metzora – constitute the very center of the Torah. The Torah is apparently conveying that the issues dealt with in these sections are at the heart of the Torah itself.

On the command to love one’s fellow which is taught in Parashat Kedoshim, Rabbi Akiva teaches, ve’ahavta le’reacha kamocha – love your fellow Jew as you love yourself – this is the great principle of the Torah. Apparently, loving one’s fellow and not undermining the relationship with one’s fellow are not “regular” mitzvot. On the contrary, these mitzvot are fundamental.

What makes lashon hara such a grievous sin? On what basis is a gossiper comparable to one who transgresses the entire Torah?

One aim of the Torah is to outline the foundations and mission of the Jewish Nation. Spreading gossip about another is severe because it is poisonous. Gossip destroys the social fabric which binds our people. If the Torah is a mission for the Jewish People, those behaviors, such as gossip, which undermine Jewish Peoplehood are transgressions of the entire Torah.

Another aim of the Torah is to outline the path for personal perfection towards a more refined relationship with Hashem. Loving one’s fellow and refraining from speaking ill about others requires humility, graciousness and compassion. This love requires a person to take the first step towards a relationship with Hashem – to move away from self-centeredness by looking outside of one’s own needs and behaving in accordance with the desires of the “other”. When one gives charity or works to take care of the needs of another, that person recognizes that there is “another” – and builds a relationship with the ultimate “other” – Hashem.

For many, refraining from speaking gossip is a life-long battle. When engaging in this battle or in helping others to engage in this battle, it may be helpful to consider the deleterious consequences of speaking gossip – tearing at the fabric of the unity of the Jewish People and taking a step towards selfishness and a step away from one’s relationship with Hashem.

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