Leshon Hara – No Tolerance

Torah Thoughts on Parshas Tazria-Metzora by Rabbi Ephraim Miretzky

"אָדָם כִּי יִהְיֶה בְעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ שְׂאֵת אוֹ סַפַּחַת אוֹ בַהֶרֶת וְהָיָה בְעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ לְנֶגַע צָרָעַת וְהוּבָא אֶל אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן אוֹ אֶל אַחַד מִבָּנָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים"  וַיִקְרָא י''ג:ב'

“If a person will have on the skin of his flesh a s’eis or a sapachas or a baheres, and it will become a tzara’as affliction on the skin of his flesh, he shall be brought to Aharon the Kohen, or to one of his sons, the Kohanim.”  Vayikra 13:2

Rav Chisda said in the name of Rav Ula: Regarding one who speaks evil speech, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says: He and I cannot live in this world, as it says (Tehillim 101:5) “One who slanders his neighbor in secret, I will cut him off; one whose eyes are haughty, whose heart is proud, him I cannot bear.” Do not read “him I cannot bear”, but rather “with him I cannot bear.” Arachin 15b

On a simple level, this Gemara suggests that when an individual speaks leshon hara, Hashem is not willing to put Himself in the same space as that person, and it is as if He cannot bear being in the same world as this person.

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ginsberg was a Rav in Denver (1888-1946). He writes in his sefer Yalkut Yehuda that one may think that the speaker of leshon hara here can be assumed to be a bad person speaking bad about someone else. However, Rabbi Ginsberg has a different understanding. Many people who speak leshon hara do so under the guise of defending the honor of Heaven. They say that they are speaking out against the sinners of Klal Yisrael in order to create room in this world for Hashem. This was also the mistake of Miriam when she spoke leshon hara against Moshe Rabbeinu. Rabbi Ginsberg, however, says that this Gemara is telling us the exact opposite. It is saying that when one thinks that he is doing a positive act by creating space for Hashem, he is really involved in the sin of speaking leshon hara. As a result, Hashem does not want to be in the same world as this person.

This is similar to the Kotzker's comment on the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos 2:12. The Mishnah says ''וְכָל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יִהְיוּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמָיִם" – “All of one’s deeds should be for the sake of Heaven”. However, it seems that the word ''וְכָל'' (“all”) is extra. The Kotzker answers that even one’s motives need to be for the sake of Heaven.

During this time period of Sefira, let us focus on serving Hashem in our truest way possible, while being sensitive to all Jews around us.

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Rabbi Ephraim Miretzky (FYHS 2013) learned in Yeshivat Torat Shraga, then in Yeshiva University where he earned a Master’s in Jewish Education from the Azrieli School of Jewish Education and Administration. He also  received Semichah from RIETS, while he studied under Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger שליט''א. Rabbi Miretzky is the City Director for Denver NCSY and lives on Denver’s East Side with his family.