A Thought For This Shabbat
* * * * * * * *  * April 15th, ,2016    * * * * * * * *

                         
      Yeah, I post on Facebook and Tweet a lot about our Muslim community and friends.

        A lot.

        Good things. Muslims building their community. Being involved in helping others. Visiting the sick. Clothing the naked. Sharing their faith.  And their bread. And their homes. 

         You stay on my Facebook page long enough and you start worrying that the Imam and I have a bromance going. I gotta admit, I am rather fond of him as well as quite a few members of our Muslim community.

         No, my goal is not a crafty plot to change some views on Israel. The Middle East is pretty darn complicated. True, being an American Jew, passionate and unapologetic about Zionism, and defending his Muslim American neighbor does reject the false idea that the Arab-Israeli conflict is nothing more than a religious war that has been fought for centuries. But the resolution to this situation is more than just about learning to love one another. The Arab-Israeli conflict is a frustratingly difficult political and regional struggle with two compelling and competing narratives, one we pray can be resolved.

         Nice posts about Muslims are not going to change the wounds and pains on either side; only a just settlement that provides recognition and security, justice and dignity for both sides will.

         No, I post in defense of Muslim Americans because when I see slander spoken about another people, I know such words rarely remain confined to one people. It will consume an entire society and civilization. In fact, the more negative comments I read about Muslims in America, the more I post.

       Not going to let the slanderers get the upper hand.

        Slander destroys not just individuals, but communities and our very civilization. Don't believe me? Listen to the rabbis  of old. According to them, the Torah teaches this week that slanderous talk against others does not just destroy those who are being attacked but the entire society as a whole. And it needs to be contained and isolated before it is too late.

        You are welcome, all you defamers of American Muslims. I am doing my part to save our society.

        This week's Torah portion (Leviticus, chapter 14) addresses the ancient malady known as "tzara'at," always incorrectly translated as 'leprosy'.  Actually, its precise definition is uncertain.  Unlike leprosy, tzara'at was a rarely fatal but highly contagious skin condition which created a loss of pigmentation and the eruption of red blotches.  The Torah says the role of the priests of Israel was to diagnose and quarantine the sufferer, monitor the progression of the symptoms and determine when the victim was fully healed and ready to rejoin society. Tzara'at effected clothes, objects and even homes.

       An odd disease. One the rabbis re-imagined and understood in a more homiletic not homeopathic way.

        The sages audaciously declare that this disease came about as a direct result of a sin: punishment for the sin of slander and malicious gossip.  The rabbis took the Hebrew word "metzora'' (skin affliction) and the Hebrew term "motzi shem ra'' (slander) and created a linguistic connection between the two.
 
        You slandered, you got tzara'at. You slandered and you risked infecting the entire community of Israel.  I believe the rabbis are offering an astounding moral lesson for us to consider:  a slanderer doesn't just take down another, but himself and his society. "Lashon Hara" (lit. "evil tongue")  is a malady of the mouth that spreads disease throughout society and corrupts the societal soul if left untreated.

          The rabbis of old used this disease to teach that if we do not watch what comes out of our mouths, the nation will be engulfed with an awful and ghastly disease.

         I was shocked this week to discover that after a wonderful article appeared on our local Muslim community and their mosque expansion project, people voiced some of the most hateful comments and slanderous statements; asking where the community was getting their money for this expansion and who was funding them. Asking if the builder was required to comply with sharia law and had to build certain secret chambers or was not allowed to enter certain hidden places. Demanding that questions be asked about their religion before such an expansion should be approved. Asking who they answer and report to.

         Such talk used to be spread about Jews. And Catholics. And others. And will consume our inclusive and welcoming society if unanswered.

        The priests quarantined individuals who did that to prevent the contagion of calumny until the person realized what they were doing.

         We don't quarantine such individuals or comments but we can help prevent the spreading of the disease of hate by offering the antidote: positive and supportive speech. The rabbis warned us of the toll that slander and gossip takes not just on the victim but on the perpetrator as well.  Slander is a cancer that spreads and corrupts every corner of life. Like cancer, it does not see race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. It destroys all.

          We must fight it with positive words and expressions of love and support. 

                             Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Victor Urecki 

B'nai Jacob Synagogue
1599 Virginia St. East
Charleston, West Virginia 25311
304-346-4722
www.bnaijacob.com
"Traditional Judaism
For a Modern World"