We know that one is afflicted with Tzaraas because of sins of speech. The Midrash enumerates them as people who pledge & don't give, people who speak Lashon Hara, people who are blasphemous, people who lie, people who testify false & scoffers; all people who misuse the power of speech.
What is so monumental about the misuse of speech that it calls for this supernatural punishment?
The Sefer בארות יצחק explains that the uniqueness of man is that he's a מדבר , one who speaks so much that the gemara says the whole creation of man was just so that he could toil in speech, the learning & teaching of Torah. We also find times when man is referred to as a מדבר showing that the essence of man is the power of speech.
It’s this power of speech that separates man from the animal; it’s the נשמת חיים, the life that Hashem blew into Adam that gave him life & the power of speech. When someone uses the power of speech to sin, it's as if he's discounting the נשמת חיים which is the part of us that's from Hashem Himself. Instead of viewing himself as a superior being, he equates himself to the animal.
Perhaps this is the lesson we could learn from the animal
Once, the Yid HaKadosh of P'shis'cha called in his prize student, R' Simcha Bunim, & told him to gather a group of chasidim to travel. “Where shall we go” asked the student? "Travel" was the response. So they headed out unsure of a destination. They traveled all day; when night fell, they headed to an inn owned by Jews.
Hungry from a day of traveling, they asked for a dairy meal assuming there were fewer kashrus issues with dairy. They were informed that the inn only serves meat at night. Left with no choice, they grilled the innkeepers on how they slaughtered the chickens, how they salted them & what standards they used in the preparation. When they were satisfied with the answers, they sat down, waited for the meal to be prepared & talked amongst themselves. Eventually, their conversation was about other people too. The innkeeper, a pious woman, overheard them. As she served them, she muttered loud enough for them to hear, "So strange how people that are so worried about what goes into their mouths are so carefree about what comes out."
R' Simcha Bunim realized then why his teacher had sent him traveling - to learn this important lesson.
Similarly Rav Yisroel Salant answers: the Torah put the laws of Tzaraas, that come from a misuse of the power of speech next to the laws of the animals we can and cannot eat, to teach us that just as we are so careful that what goes into our mouths must be kosher, we have to be just as vigilant that what comes out is kosher too!
No comments:
Post a Comment