RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: ECO-JUDAISM : DEREK ERETZ: HONORING, HELPING THE POOR

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: ECO-JUDAISM : DEREK ERETZ: HONORING, HELPING THE POOR  

 Jewish  Spiritual  Renewal:

  

  Derek  Eretz Zuta + Rabbah:

  

 Shabbat  5/5/12 

 

 (aka  Derech  Eretz, Derekh Eretz )

  

THE PATH AND WISDOM FOR LIVING AT PEACE WITH OTHERS: A MODERN COMMENTARY ON TALMUD TRACTATES DEREK ERETZ ZUTA AND RABBAH: VOL. 1

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LOVE PEACE AND PURSUE PEACE: A MODERN COMMENTARY ON TALMUD TRACTATES DEREK ERETZ ZUTA AND RABBAH: VOL. 2

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Shalom  my dear Chaverim, Talmidim, v' Rabbanim, friends, students and fellow rabbis: 

  

An oneg, joy-filled, Shabbat this coming weekend to all. I hope you all had a sweet and joyful Passover.

 

 

  

We continue with our exploration into the Talmudic Tractates of Derek Eretz Zuta and Rabbah. (aka Derech Eretz Zuta, aka Derech Eretz Rabbah.  As was mentioned, zuta is Aramaic for 'small', and rabbah is 'large').

  

Remember that Derek Eretz is not about Jewish ritual. It is  about how we are to treat one another and what traits of character, middot, we  are to try to develop. The lessons are universal and ecumenical. The  development of character traits and Jewish spiritual renewal  transformation is called  Mussar.

  

For  those new to the class Baruch ha Ba! Welcome!

 

You can access   last week's  class at Rabbi Arthur Segal: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: DEREK ERETZ: HONORING ONE'S WIFE OR http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2012/04/rabbi-arthur-segal-jewish-spiritual_20.html

 

 

 

From  here you will find links to preceding classes in this series. So, together we continue:

  

 TALMUD  BAVLI

  

 TRACTATE 

  

 DEREk ERETZ  ZUTA

  

 (aka  Derech  Eretz, Derekh Eretz)

  

Today we will continue with CHAPTER 9 of Talmud  Bavli Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta Verses  9:6-9. 

 

CHAPTER IX.

 

9:6: If you keep your mouth from slander, you will spend all the days of life in peace. One who is audacious towards one who is greater than he will finally be punished with a plague. 9:7: If you run to do honor to a sage, you will be rewarded with enviable children; and for running to do honor to the poor, you will be rewarded with sons of learning and a law-abiding record in Israel. Dost thou see a sage die, do not turn away from him until after burial, that thou, too, mayest receive respect and attention when it will be thy time to die. 9:8: When you see your neighbor has become poor and his power is on the decline, do not refuse to help him, as it is written [Eccl. viii. 5]: "Whoso keepeth the commandment will experience no evil thing." If you have loaned him something when he was in need, the following passage will be fulfilled on you [Is. lviii. 9]: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer."  9:9: If you lower yourself, the Lord will lift you up; but if you assume superiority over your fellowmen, the Lord will lower you.

 

 

Let us begin with:'' If you keep your mouth from slander, you will spend all the days of life in peace.'' Gossip , known in Hebrew as lashon ha ra, literally the evil tongue, is one of the most egregious defects of character in Judaism. It is likened to murder as the rabbis teach that it kills the speaker, the listener and the subject. In fact the rabbis assess  more blame to the listener in this triad, because if all the listeners stopped listening, the gossiper would have no one with whom to gossip.

 

There are books and tractates written about lashon ha ra and many rules. Suffice it to say, speaking about anyone or any group, even if true, is not allowed, with only few exceptions.

 

Slander is a form of lashon ha ra and in Hebrew is Motzi Shem Ra, literally making a bad name for someone. Slander can ruin lives, livelihoods, marriages, relationships, etc.

 

"Who is the person who Desires Life (Chofetz Chaim)?...He who guards his
tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit" (Psalm 34). Derek Eretz Zuta is not only promising us life, but a peaceful life.

The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 16:02) states that the word "metzora" (leper) comes
from "motzi shem ra" (making a bad name), that is, a slanderer. One who
speaks "lashon ha ra," evil talk, will be afflicted with tsaraat ,leprosy.
Judaism teaches that gossip is not a victimless crime. It blemishes the
person speaking and the one spoken about. It also harms the listener! We
define gossips as relating bad things about another even if it is true.
Not only are we commanded not to do it, but we are commanded not to
listen to it. The Midrash teaches that God gave us ear lobes to fold over
our ears when someone speaks lashon ha ra.

Lashon ha ra literally means an evil tongue. It is defamatory but true
speech about someone. Motzi shem ra is defaming through lying. Rechilus,
which is tale bearing, is the third level. It is from the word regal
(foot) as one who does this is like a peddler (ped=foot in Latin) of
gossip. We cannot say to person A, that person B said something bad
about them.

Bad speech destroys marriages, friendships, businesses, congregations,
and even our own lives. The Talmud says our Second Temple was destroyed and
we are in exile because of it (Talmud Bavli Tractates Yoma 9B and Gittin 57B). There
are fourteen positive mitzvoth and seventeen negative mitzvoth that one
violates when speaking or listening to gossip.

 

For example, do not be a tale bearer
(Lev. 19:16), do not give a false report (Ex. 23:01), judge your fellow
with righteousness (Lev. 19:15), and so forth. We also wandered in the
desert for forty extra years because we believed the false reports of the spies, who
spoke lashon ha ra against the land of Israel!

Rabbi Israel Kagan wrote a wonderful text on Shmirat Ha Lashon, Guarding
the Tongue. His rules on lashon ha ra, in which he begins with the quote
from King David's Psalm 34, at the top of this page, earned Rabbi Kagan
the name, the "Chofetz Chaim."

There are just six basic rules on how to guard your tongue. Rabbi Z.
Pliskin's text called "Guard Your Tongue" is excellent for an overview
of this topic, as is Rabbi Telushkin's "Words that Hurt, Words that
Heal."

1. We cannot say bad things about someone even if its true and even if
the news is in the media.
2. We cannot make any comment that can cause someone anguish, pain,
financial loss, etc., even if it is not derogatory.
3. Any method we use to do 1 and 2 above, other than with our tongues, is
forbidden, such as writing, e-mailing, hand gestures, facial gestures,
etc.
4. We cannot say mean things even kidding.
5. We cannot even bad mouth ourselves.
6. We have an exception. We are obligated to warn a potential bride or
groom, or someone going into a business deal, if we know information
firsthand that will save them from harm or cheating.

The Rabbis took lashon ha ra very seriously. The Midrash (Devarim Rabbah 5:10) says, "Whoever speaks lashon ha ra causes the Shechinah (God's
presence) to depart from this world." In Talmud Arachin 15b, it is written that God says that He and the gossiper cannot dwell together in the same world.

 

 King Solomon said, "Six things are hated by God and the seventh is despised by Him: haughty eyes, a tongue of falsehood, hands which shed innocent bloods...and one who incites quarrels among
brothers" (Prov. 6:16-19). King Solomon also wrote in the same book (Prov. 21:23) that "one who guards his mouth and tongue, guards his soul
from tribulations."

In lesson two of the Chofetz Chaim, he writes that it is forbidden to  relate that someone has been remiss in matters of Jewish observance, even if it is a rabbinic law, a Torah command, or just custom.

 

 It is forbidden to mention an incident in which a law was broken, even in a society where that halakah [Jewish law] is ignored commonly. It is lashon ha
ra for us to say Mr. Cohen eats pork or Mrs. Levine spent money on Shabbat. It is also lashon ha ra for one to bad mouth an entire community, such as saying that members of "Congregation B'nai Korach" are not "real Jews" because they
are Reform.

The next time you see someone engage in gossip, watch as they look around to make sure that no one is looking at them. They are very concerned that
the subject of their defamation cannot hear them. In Talmud Arachin 15b, Rabbi Yochanan said that whoever speaks lashon ha ra is as though he has
denied the existence of God! He quotes Psalm 12:05: "With our tongues we shall prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us?" A metzora
has no concern of God watching him.

The power we wield when we speak is far beyond what we can perceive. We think we are only exchanging words when in fact we can move worlds.
Lashon ha ra is so powerfully poisonous that it is taught that God takes the good deeds accumulated by the gossiper and gives them to the subject
of the gossip, as well as taking the sins of the subject and giving them to the gossiper! The Talmud teaches that Lashon ha ra is like a triple murder, with the gossiper, the listener, and the subject being killed!
Ben Sira wrote in the Apocrypha Ecclesiasticus 19:10: "Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be strong. It will not burst you!"

Just as the negative consequences of speech can be so enormous, the positive effects of good speech is even more vast. The Vilna Gaon says
that proper speech is the single largest factor in determining one's share in Olam Ha Ba (the world to come). Whether you believe in an
eternal afterlife of not, or even in our Creator, remember that few folks who gossip about person A when he is not present, will not hesitate to
gossip about you when you are not present.

 

 Few folks who pick on someone
or arbitrarily dislike someone will remain loyal to you. These people are enemy centered. They are not happy unless they are fighting with or in some way opposing someone. The metzora (our modern bad mouther) had to warn others that he was "unclean, unclean" and had to live outside of
the community (Lev. 13: 45-46). These folks can poison our congregations, sisterhoods, and mens' clubs, and can keep civil, decent people, who do
not wish to keep their ear lobes pulled up, from participation in these groups. If we wish our congregations to pursue life (chofetz chaim), to
grow and be strong, we need to void these unrepentant self-made metzorem from our board rooms and sanctuaries.

Choose your companions wisely and avoid bitter, nasty, mean-spirited, mean-speaking people so that you can pursue life, chofetz chaim, and not diminish your spirit. Let us do the best we all can to shmirat ha lashon, to guard our mouths and think kinder thoughts about each other. We are all God's children and therefore all brothers and sisters on His
earth.

Continuing with: "One who is audacious towards one who is greater than he will finally be punished with a plague,'' shows us that audaciousness and insolence, usually done with the mouth, especially to one to whom we should be showing respect, will lead us to problems.

 

The severity of mocking, scorning, and otherwise deriding prophets of God as well as Torah scholars, can be found in "Divrei HaYomim II" (36; 16): "And they were mocking the angels of God   and scorning His words and would mock His prophets, until the anger of God arose against His nation, without remedy."

Talmud Tractate Shabbat  (119b) teaches that the verse  quoted from Divrei HaYomim (36; 16), refers to the derision of Torah scholars. Rabbi Yehuda said, 'Jerusalem was only destroyed as a result of the mocking of Torah scholars, as it says, "And they were mocking the angels of God and scorning His words and would mock His prophets, until the anger of God arose against His nation, without remedy." What does "without remedy" mean? Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav, 'All those who scorn Torah scholars do not   experience  healing for their wounds.' Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav, what is the meaning of the following verse, "Do not touch My anointed one and do not do that which is evil against My prophets."? "Do not touch My anointed one" refers to the children who learn in the study hall of their rabbi, and "do not do evil to My prophets" refers to the Torah scholars (Talmidei Chachamim)."

Let us examine: ''If you run to do honor to a sage, you will be rewarded with enviable children; and for running to do honor to the poor, you will be rewarded with sons of learning and a law-abiding record in Israel. Dost thou see a sage die, do not turn away from him until after burial, that thou, too, mayest receive respect and attention when it will be thy time to die.''

It is interesting how the verse has both sages and the poor deserving of us running to honor them. This verse just doesn't say to honor them, but to run to do it. Most mitzvoth we do when the occasion or situation arises. As with justice and peace, we are to seek out sages and poor to honor. We do not just wait for a rabbi or a poor person to cross our paths. We are to run and find them.

When a person dies, sage or not, we are to stay with the body, never leaving it unattended, until the body is buried. When we read our Talmud, while some rabbis were rich, e.g. Judah ha Nasi, some were so poor they only could afford to eat carobs,e.g. Chanina ben Dosa.(Talmud Bavli Tractate Ta'anit  24b). Chanina's wife, in order to not let people know they were poor, and to have charity brought to them, would put wood in her fireplace to make smoke to give the appearance she was baking. One day a neighbor was spying on her and when she came to open the oven, a miracle occurred and it was filled with challah bread.

 

The reason why the poor and the sages are intertwined in this verse is because we never truly know if our sages are poor, or if our poor are indeed sages.

 

Let us end today with verse 9:9 of Talmud Bavli Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta: ''When you see your neighbor has become poor and his power is on the decline, do not refuse to help him, as it is written [Eccl. viii. 5]: "Whoso keepeth the commandment will experience no evil thing." If you have loaned him something when he was in need, the following passage will be fulfilled on you [Is. lviii. 9]: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer."  9:9: If you lower yourself, the Lord will lift you up; but if you assume superiority over your fellowmen, the Lord will lower you. ''

 

We have an obligation to our fellows to help them as their livelihood is declining and not wait until they have hit rock bottom. We are not to close our hands to the poor. In doing so, we are not only depriving them of help, we are shaking a fist at them. We are dishonoring them.  We can give, we can loan without interest, but we must help.

 

"If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother.(Deut. 15:7).Exodus 22:25 reads: "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.

 

The last sentence reminds us to be humble and not be pompous. If we stay humble, in God's time, doors will open. If we act superior and obnoxious, within time, others will put us in our place. As we pray each morning : "let my soul be like dust to everyone." If we push to sit at the head of the table, or to chair of the board, someone will do his best to kick us off. However, if we sit humbly  at the end of the table, and don't seek office, people will ask us to move to the head, or hold a position.

 

We discuss these middot, character traits chesed, respect, honoring others, humility, and  tzadakkah,  throughout the majority of chapters in  ''The  Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern  Jew'' ' (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/ )  as well as in most chapters of ''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud''  

(http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/index.html#Compendium2 ) .

  

What are your ideas about these character traits?  How has learning Talmud's Derek Eretz helped you in your  interpersonal  relationships? How  has understanding the spiritual and ethical teachings of  Judaism helped you live a more joyous life? 

  

Next class, Baruch ha Shem, we will continue with Derek Eretz Zuta, Chapter Seven. Thank you for joining me.

 

For those who want a d'var Torah on Parashot Acharei and Kedoshim  from '''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and  Talmud'' please click on  http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2009/04/rabbi-arthur-segaljewish-renewaljewish_24.html and

Rabbi Arthur Segal: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:KEDOSHIM:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:YIREI HaSHEM   or http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2008/09/rabbi-arthur-segalkedoshimjewish.html

 

 

 

Amazon.com: The Path and Wisdom for Living at Peace with Others, A Modern Commentary on Talmud Tractates Derek Eretz Zuta and R

or http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00757JMIM

 

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Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal_

 www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org_ (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org/ ) 

Jewish Renewal_ 

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If visiting SC's Low Country, contact us for a Shabbat meal, in our home by the sea, our beth yam.

 

Maker  of Shalom (Oseh Shalom) help make us deserving of Shalom beyond all human comprehension!!