Saturday, February 24, 2018

Your Daily Slice


Adar 9
Slinging Mud


Who is the man who desires life, Who loves many days, in order to see good? Keep your TONGUE FROM EVIL, And your LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. Turn away from evil and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it.” (Ps 34:12-14 ISR, emphasis mine)



Jewish Wisdom prohibits all calumny (a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something[1]), backbiting and slander; in the Hebrew language, this is referred to as LaShon Hara, and literally means “evil speech”.  To the Torah-observant Jew, this is one of the worst sins that can be committed, for it brings death and destruction to relationships.  Jews believe that LaShon Hara commits a three-fold murder and desecration:  It ruins the slanderer, the listener, and the one being maligned.[2]

A “moral leprosy” is one description I found of this evil; the basis of this definition coming from Num 12:1-15, which is the account of the slander done to Moses by his siblings, Aaron and Miriam.  For the part she played in this situation, Miriam was struck with leprosy.  Because Moses intervened on her behalf, Miriam was healed, and after seven days, was allowed to return to the camp.

Lev 19:16 tells us that we are not to go “slandering among our people”, and Ex 23:1 instructs us to “not bring a false report, and to not put our hand with the wrong to be a malicious witness.”  Mr. Webster defines “slander” as “A false tale or report maliciously uttered, and tending to injure the reputation of another by lessening him in the esteem of his fellow citizens, by exposing him to impeachment and punishment, or by impairing his means of living; defamation.”[3]  However, the Jewish people believe that not only does falsehood spoken with a malicious intent come under LaShon Hara, but so also is the truth, when it is spoken in such a way as to cause shame and humiliation.  As such, the one who speaks LaShon Hara is one who markets and solicits slander and calumny.

We live in a time, unfortunately, where mud-slinging has reached a new peak, an all-time high.  From the White House, through all the chambers of our government, across the country to the supposed “elite” of the Hollywood screen, to law enforcement officials, to the proponents of the LBGT lifestyle, and to the average “Joe” in the work place:  the mud is deep.  And this ought to never be so.  It is sickening to hear people talk of one another in this manner, regardless of who you are, and it is something that YHWH our Elohim is not pleased with.  He is the giver of life, yet often we find ourselves engaging in this practice that kills and brings death to relationships and reputations.  Added to this, we are speaking against one that is created in the image of our ABBA Father.

The Word of our Elohim teaches us that HaSatan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10; Zec 3:1) in the Heavenly Courtroom, and that Messiah Yeshua is our Advocate and Defense Attorney (1John 2:1).  Every time we choose to backbite, slander, speak evil and use negative, criticizing, degrading speech about a person, we stand as a witness for the enemy, coming into agreement with him in his accusations against that person.  What does this do to the heart of the One who died to bring that individual redemption?

Brothers, do not speak against one another. He that speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against Torah and judges Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of Torah but a judge. There is one Lawgiver and Judge, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11-12 ISR, emphasis mine)

Messiah Yeshua summed up all the Torah in two commandments: loving Elohim with everything in us, and loving our neighbor as we do ourselves (see Mark 12:30-37).  If we love and respect ourselves as someone created by YHWH our Elohim, would we be spending time (continuously) spreading negative, “evil speech” about ourselves?  Brethren, if we are to “walk in the light as HE is in the light” (1John 1:7; Eph 5:8), we must learn to love each other, and especially in the way we talk about each other.  Let us today decide, that our words towards each other, and concerning each other, will always be for encouragement, edification, and comfort (Rom 14:19, 15:2), and bring honor and glory to our ABBA Father … Amein.


©2018


[1] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/calumny?s=t
[3] American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828

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