La"G laOmer | 33rd Day of the Omer Count, 5781
by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher | first published here
|
The Torah states in Parshat Emor “You shall not desecrate My Holy Name” (Vayikra 22:32).
This
verse is the source for the sin of Chillul Hashem, which is one of the
most serious sins that a Jew can commit, and for which it is extremely
difficult to do tshuvah (Yuma 86a). A little known aspect of Chillul
Hashem is when a person habitually speaks or listens to lashon hara. The
Chofetz Chaim includes Chillul Hashem in the list of sins one violates
when speaking lashon hara.
In
explaining the reason for this, he says that generally a person sins
for various motivations, either because he has a desire for something,
which he cannot control, or because the sins will provide him with some
physical pleasure.
However,
the sin of lashon hara cannot be considered the fulfillment of a
physical drive or pleasure, for which the person could not control his
yetzer hara. It is simply habit a person gets into when speaking
negatively about others, or listening to others speaking lashon hara. If
he realizes that the Torah forbids it, how can he just ignore and
continue to violate this serious sin?
Rav
Pam would point out that speaking lashon hara is also a Chillul Hashem
because that person has so little regard for Hashem’s will that he
brazenly violates it. By shamelessly throwing off the yoke of Heaven, he
has cheapened and denigrated the Word of Hashem by speaking ill of
others.
The
Chofetz Chaim adds that the sin of lashon hara is compounded if the one
doing this is a distinguished person whom people look up to and
respect. When people see how he casually disregards the Will of Hashem,
they too will take liberties in the performance of Mitzvot. This is
especially true when they see a Talmid Chacham speaking lashon hara (see
Rambam Sefer Hamitzvot, negative commandment 63).
This is another important reason to avoid lashon hara in ALL its forms.
*** *** *** ***
This part is not from the Rav, but from me, HDG: A clear exception to this rule is when someone known as a Jew, even for a long period of time, turns out not to be one after all. This week we saw a man whose family has been known as Jews in Israel over an extended period exposed as Christian missionaries. The only thing I might add to what has already been written is:
Beware of strangers who claim high positions (especially if they claim lots of them), start dominating life in a community they are new to and ask for money, like in this case, where the husband claimed to be a Kohen, a mohel, a sofer and a rabbi, and his wife, now passed on, was buried in the Cohanic section of the cemetery, it turns out, under false pretenses. They apparently received a lot of financial help from the unsuspecting communities they lived in. It looks like they were found out when the children started speaking in a manner unfitting for Jews. That is, they were spreading their "good news" aka "the gospel."
If they start pouring it on like this, be sure to ask questions.
Beware, whether single or married, even if they look and dress like Torah-abiding Jews. We have to ask questions. This episode is perfectly good reason to do so. It is a shame that it has to be done, but...
We have the right and the obligation to live in our Holy Land without being harassed by people who do not have the nation of Israel's best interest at heart!
Even if they were actually born Jewish and were everything this man and his family claimed to be — but were not — Christians are commanded to participate in "the great commission." (search)
This, by itself, is against HQB"H's commandments to us, which came first and are forever.
If you haven't yet seen or heard the news about this, here's a short list of articles bearing witness to this very real hillul haShem | 'חילול ה.
Tomer Devorah: Ultimate Chaos | Update on "Ultimate Chaos" | No Compassion for the Criminals | And the War Goes On
There are other exceptions, but I think I've taken enough of the Rabbi's space for today! It is possible he could be prevailed upon to replace my words at some point in the future.
***
*MORE UPDATES HERE*
I wish my people a happy La"G laOmer, and healing for the ones who were injured in the tragedy in Meron, and comfort for the families of the 44 45 who were killed. At this time it's not clear which came first, the structural collapse or the stampede. [Later on, it seems there was an attempt to blame the victims by calling their attempts to escape the intense crowding, from which they were not allowed to exit properly, a stampede. See here, here and here.]
This report was written earlier, when the number of dead was not fully assessed, but there is a witness statement that might give us a clue as to what happened. More reports and videos here and here.
UPDATE: Rivka Levy writes about two eyewitnesses to the tragedy (her daughter and a friend). What really happened there? Rivka wrote a followup to this: More Questions about Meron.
UPDATE 2: Going Home...to Yerushalayim: Coping with Disaster...8 Helpful Ideas
Neshama (GH2Y) posted no less than seven (7) times regarding Meron since this one, each highlighting a different aspect of the misfortune all Am Yisrael shares.
UPDATE 3: Tomer Devorah: The Crushing of Mankind by R' Chananya Weissman
TD wrote this as well: Why Are They Suddenly Calling It a Stampede?
