Bimbam- the grossest parsha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6bPAyPCYu4
Quiz on yuck
Rabbi Gail Diamond: reading for wisdom among
the offensive. Time for moms to
heal. See Handouts below.
Rate the statements on gossip
Lashon Harah- Halachot,
1.
סַפַּחַת
a.
Safachat
b.
Sapachat
c.
Sapochat
d.
Shapochat
e.
Showsnapchat
2.
בַהֶרֶת
a.
Vaharat
b.
Baharat
c.
Vaheret
d.
Baheret
e.
Bahhumbug
3.
וְהִסְגִּירוֹ
a.
Vehisehgiru
b.
Vehis’giru
c.
Vahisehgiru
d.
Vahis’giru
e.
Vashti’s guru
4.
הַמִּסְפַּחַת
a.
Hamisfachat
b.
Hamisfochat
c.
Hamispechet
d.
Hamispachat
e.
Ham is for chat?
5.
וְנֶהְפַּךְ
a.
Vanehefach
b.
Venehefach
c.
Venehfach
d.
Venepach
e.
Vine patch
6.
בַּבַּהֶרֶת
a.
Vavaheret
b.
Vavaheyreyt
c.
Babaheret
d.
Babaheereet
e.
Baba O’Reilly
7.
בַגַּבַּחַת
a.
Vagavachat
b.
Bagabachat
c.
Vagabachat
d.
Bagavahat
e.
Baba O’Reilly
8.
תִּשְׂרְפֶנּוּ
a.
Teesherephenu
b.
Teesesehrephenu
c.
Teeshrephenu
d.
Teesrephenu
e.
Tees from Temu
9.
הַשְּׂמָאלִית’
a.
Heshema’alit
b.
Hesma’alit
c.
Hashmalit
d.
Hasemalit
e.
Hashmo lite
10.
וְכִסְּתָה
a.
Vechsehtah
b.
Vecheesetah
c.
Vachsehtah
d.
Vacheesetah
e.
Vacheessnacka
11.
אֲדַמְדָּמֶת
a.
Adumdamet
b.
Ademehdamat
c.
Ademdamet
d.
Adamdamet
e.
Adam Demmet
The affliction of Tza'ra'at comes upon one for eleven things: (1) For worshiping idols, (2) for desecration of the name [of God], (3) for forbidden relationships, (4) for theft, (5) for slander, (6) for false witness, (7) upon the judge who perverts justice, (8) for testifying falsely, (9) trespassing , (10) upon who who plots fraud and (11) upon one who instigates quarrels among brothers. And some also say, “for the evil eye (i.e., for being miserly).” Midrash Tanchuma, Metzora 4
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As a talebearer among your people, do not go about; by the blood of your neighbor don't stand idly about!- Leviticus 19:16
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לֹא-תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל
בְּעַמֶּיךָ, לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל-דַּם רֵעֶךָ!
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Maimonides on
Negative Speech, from Hilkhot Deot (Jewish Ethics and Thought), 7:1-4
A. Rechilut, or, “Life and death are in the hand of the
tongue- Proverbs 18:21”
Whoever tells tales about another person violates a prohibition from the Torah,
as it is said, ‘Do not go about as a rachil/tale-bearer
among your neighbors’ (see below.) Who is a tale-bearer? One who
carries reports and goes about from one person to another and says, ‘So-and-so
said this;’ ‘I have heard such-and-such about so-and-so.’ Even if what
the person repeats is true, the talebearer ruins the world.
There is a still more grave offense that comes with this prohibition, namely lashon
ha’rah /evil speech [literally ‘the evil tongue.] This means
talking disparagingly of anyone, even though what one says is true; and one who
utters falsehood is called a slanderer.
A person with an evil tongue is one who, while sitting in company, says, ‘That
person did such and such a thing;’ ‘So-and-so’s ancestors were so-and-so;’ ‘I
have heard this about them;’ and then proceeds to talk scandal.
B. What Is Lashon Harah?
As a rule, most people seem to think that there is nothing morally wrong in
spreading negative information about others as long as the information is
true. Jewish law takes a very different view. Perhaps that is why
the Hebrew term lashon ha-ra has no precise equivalent in English.
For unlike slander, which is universally condemned as immoral because it is
false, lashon ha-ra is by definition true. It is the
dissemination of accurate information that will lower the status of the person
to whom it refers.
There are modes of speech that may be styled avak lashon ha’rah [a catalyst or precursor for negative
speech]: such remarks as ‘Who would have
thought that so-and-so would be as they are now;’ or, ‘Don’ talk about
so-and-so. You don’t want to know what happened;’ and so on. . . Equally
reprehensible is the person who indulges in evil speech deceitfully, that is
speaks innocently, as if unaware that what they say can hurt another person.
Since lashon ha-ra is
considered anything that lowers another person’s status, it is irrelevant whether one uses a nonverbal
technique to commit it. Jewish law designates such non-verbal behavior as
avak lashon ha-ra (the “dust of lashon ha-ra).
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), “The Gossips,” 1948. Painting for “The Saturday Evening Post” cover, March 6, 1948. Oil on canvas.
C.
What Is Motzi Shem Ra? The most grievous violation of ethical speech
is slander, the spreading of malicious falsehoods (known to be false), what
Jewish law calls motzi shem ra, “giving another a bad name.”
Once there was a town gossip who spread every rumor and story. Sometimes
the stories were true, and sometimes the stories were not true. The town became full of gossip and lies, and
began to become a terrible place to live. The Rabbi then called the gossip to
his house. "Why do like to share
these rumors and stories?" the Rabbi asked. "It's only talk," replied the
gossip. "I can always take it back."
"Perhaps you are right," said the Rabbi, and he began to talk of
other things. As the gossip was ready to leave, the Rabbi asked, "I wonder
if you would do something for me." "Of course," said the gossip. The Rabbi took a pillow from the couch and
handed it to the gossip. "This will sound strange, but do me this favor.
Take a pillow to the town square. When
you get there, cut it open, and shake out the feathers. Then come back."
The gossip was puzzled, but agreed to do what the Rabbi said. He got a pillow
and took it to the town square and cut it open. The breeze scattered the
feathers across the sky, down every street and into the air in every direction,
quickly vanishing. The gossip returned
to the Rabbi's house and told him what he had done.
The Rabbi seemed pleased. He handed the Gossip a basket and said, "Now
please go back to the square, and gather the feathers up again." The gossip gasped, "But that's
impossible." "You are right,"
said the Rabbi. "So is it not possible to take back all the untrue things
you said about others. Be careful with the words you spread. Once spoken and
sent on their way, they cannot be gathered again."
At least a pillow contains a
finite number of feathers. An email, on the other hand, can be ad
infinitum (without limit)---- Rabbi Michael Fessler
RATE THESE IDEAS! In your own
opinion, write down a rating from 1 to 6. On this scale, 1 means
you disagree entirely, 3 means you
disagree a bit, 4 meaning you agree a
bit, and 6 meaning you agree quite
thoroughly.
A. Let the dignity of another person be as beloved in your eyes as your
own.- Pirke Avot 2:15
B. Just as a person dislikes any blemish on their own name, so they should
avoid damaging someone else’s reputation. - Avot d’Rabbi Natan 15:1
C.
Why do human fingers
resemble plugs? So that if one hears something slanderous, one can plug
one’s fingers in one’s ears.- Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 5b
D. Rabbi Yochannan said ‘A person who publicly shames their neighbor is
like someone who has shed blood. To which Rabbi Nakhman answered, ‘You
have spoken well. I have seen that when someone is shamed in public, the color
leaves their face and they become pale [as if wounded and losing blood].’
Babylonian Talmud, Arakhin 15b
E. Abbaye asked Rabbi Dimi, ‘[When it comes to their Judiasm] what do
people in the Land of Israel most carefully try to avoid?’ He answered,
‘Putting others to shame. They feel it would be better for a person to throw
themselves into a fiery furnace than publicly put their neighbor to shame.’-
Babylonian Talmud, Baba Metzia 58b-59a
F. The gossip stands in Syria and kills in Rome.- Peah 1:1
G.
Why is gossip like a three-pronged
tongue? Because it kills three people: the person who says it, the
person who listens to it, and the person about whom it is said. - Babylonian
Talmud, Arakhin 15b
H. Rabbi Yochanan said, “Anyone who speaks Lashon hara- it is as if they
denied the fundamental principle (of Judaism).”- Babylonian Talmud, Arakhin 15b
I. “A person who says of a rabbi that he has a
terrible voice and of a cantor that he is not a scholar is a gossip. But
a person who says of a rabbi that he is no scholar and of a cantor that he has
a terrible voice is a murderer.”- Rabbi Israel Salanter
J. “Do I need to look behind me before I say
it? If the answer is yes, do not say it.”- Rabbi Abraham Twerski
K. Rav Monah said, “One who utters lashon hara
causes the Shekhina (the Divine presence) to flee from humanity.”
Quiz on
icky things (blood and skin disease) found in this week's parsha
1) How many blood
types are there?
a. 4
b. 8
c. 16
d. 32
e. Dude, we all
have the same blood, nobody is better or worse than anyone.
2) What is the
correct name for fear of blood?
a. Bloodophobia
b. Trypanophobia
c. Traumataphobia
d. Hemophobia
e. Grosssmeoutophoiba
3) Which of the
following is not a component of blood?
a. Yellow Blood
Cells
b. Platelets
c. White Blood
Cells
d. Red Blood Cells
e. Plasma. That’s physics, not biology.
4) Last year, the Red Cross,
one of three main blood suppliers in the area, said the nations donated blood supply was down a dangerous amount, namely?
a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 24.55%
d. 35%
e. There was no
blood shortage, dude, relax, the Red Cross says we were fine.
5) On average: The
human body has about 5 quarts of blood in it. How many of those does a woman
lose when giving birth to a baby?
a. 0.5 quarts
b. 1.0 quart
c. 1.5 quarts
d. 2.0 quarts
e. Women lose blood
during childbirth? Dude.
6) Which of the
following are not causes of Acne (pimples)?
a. Lots of oil in
the pores
b. Dead skin cells
in the pores.
c. Bacterial growth
in the pores
d. Too much
sunlight irritating the pores.
e. Dude, diets high
in sugar just feed the pimples.
7) What does the
skin disease Alopecia cause?
a. Loss of skin
color
b. Dry, scaly skin
c. Loss of hair
d. Premature grey
or white hair
e. Tibetan Werewolf
Syndrome
8) What causes
Dandruff?
a. Being allergic
to modern shampoo ingredients
b. Low oil
production levels in the scalp
c. Yeasts and other
micro-organisms in the order Malasseziaceae.
d. high fat diet
e. Dude, maybe all
of those, but we’re just not sure.
9) Actual leprosy,
or Hansen’s disease is terrible and can lead to loss of
a. Limbs
b. Sensation in
limbs
c. Sight
d. Facial features
e. All of the
above, dude.
10)
One of the
most common skin diseases is Psoriasis, a chronic, long-lasting inflammation of
the skin, which includes the following symptoms:
a. Patches of
thick, red skin with silvery-white scales that burn.
b. Dry, cracked
skin that itches or bleeds.
c. Thick, ridged,
pitted nails.
d. Poor sleep
quality.
e. All of the
above, dude
Rabbi Gail Diamond:
Spiritual Quarantine
Leviticus 12:1-4 (1) And Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to the People Yisrael,
saying: If a woman delivers a child, and it is a boy, then she shall be tamei/unready seven
days; and for all the days of the
impurity of her sickness shall she be tamei. (3) And in the eighth day
the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (4) And she shall continue in
the blood of purification three and thirty days; she shall touch no holy thing,
nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are complete.
Rashi on Leviticus 12:2-- דותה Her Sickness— It has the same meaning as medavah/מדוה )root דוה (,
malady and sickness. Here this is termed dotah/ דותה , “her sickness”,
because unlike a wound, a woman may not see the loss of blood (after
pregnancy), but rather as with being sick, and as a result of it, she becomes unwell and her head and limbs feel heavy (cf.
Niddah 9a).
• Rashi is comparing recovery from pregnancy to illness
where a person needs time and space to recover.
Can you think of any other examples of times when giving someone space
is a polite or kind thing to do?
My friend and
teacher, the kind, bright, and creative
Rabbi Gail Diamond, when she taught and
led at the Conservative Yeshiva.
Rabbi Gail Diamond of Jerusalem teaches:
A 1983 study noted that cultures
that had low incidence of postpartum mood disorders had rituals providing
support and care for new mothers. These diverse cultures shared five protective
social structures: A distinct postpartum period; Protective measures reflecting
the new mother's vulnerability; Social seclusion and mandated rest; Functional
assistance; and Social recognition of her new role.
We see most of these protective mechanisms in Parashat
Tazria. The distinct period provides social seclusion to assist the new mother.
Ritual impurity ensures time off from marital relations and a focus on the
mother-child bond. Ending this period with a sacrifice, the mother re-enters
the community in a visible new status.
While childbirth (in many parts of the world) is no longer
the extreme danger to women's health that it once was, post-partum depression
continues to be an issue. We can and should work to prevent, treat and heal it
- in part by speaking about it and raising awareness. Tazria reminds us of the
importance of childbirth and the role the community plays in ensuring the
health of mothers and babies. Zot Torat HaYoledet/This is Torah for the one
who gave birth.
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• According to Rabbi Diamond, how does this period of
separation benefit women?
• What are some factors that we, as a society, should
consider when it comes to taking care of women who have just had babies?
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