Parashat Tazria: The Power of Positive Speech

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

This week's parasha, Tazriya, speaks about tzaraat , which Chazal tell us primarily came as a result of the sin of lashon hara . The Zohar HaKadosh, in parashat Tazria writes, the same way a person is held accountable for the negative speech that he says, so too he is held accountable for the positive speech that he could have said but refrained from. One of the primary purposes of a person being created is to use his speech for holiness and good. When a person is presented with an opportunity to give another person a kind word or a compliment, he is obligated to do so. A person's words can have amazing effects on other people. Our words can give strength, courage and even life if used properly. The Be'er HaParasha tells a story of a working man who we’lll call Yehuda from Borough Park, whose ability to guard his eyes is something to be admired. One day, one of his friends asked him if perhaps he doesn't have the same tests in this area that everybody else does. The man answered, he has very big tests and he explained how he is able to overcome them. When he was younger in yeshiva, he worked hard on guarding his eyes as best as he could and, although he wasn't perfect, it was definitely noticeable to others that he was being careful. One Purim, a classmate of his, had a little too much to drink and he came over to Yehuda and asked him to give him a beracha . Yehuda said, “Who, me? Who am I to give you a beracha ?” The other boy told him, “What do you mean? You are the tzaddik of the yeshiva. There is no one like you in guarding their eyes. Ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing. There is no one as big of a tzaddik as you are in this yeshiva.” Yehuda said, those words had such an impact on him. From that day on, whenever he had a test in this area, he would quickly remind himself what a tzaddik people considered him and how it would be beneath him to give that up in a moment of weakness. That boy, who was drunk that day, has no recollection of what he said, but with his one comment, he gave chizuk to Yehuda for an entire lifetime. Another rabbi said, in his yeshiva, they had a rule, whenever a boy got engaged, a member of the staff had to go to the engagement party and represent everyone else. One time, a boy got engaged and the party was a four-hour drive away. Rabbi Binyamin, the Mashgiach of the Yeshiva, was slated to go, but he couldn't see himself traveling back and forth for eight hours. He asked the Rosh Yeshiva if he could possibly skip the party, but the rosh yeshiva adamantly denied his request, saying it was imperative that someone from the rabbis of the yeshiva represented them. So Rabbi Binyamin went, and when he arrived, his student was very happy to see him. They honored him by asking him to say a few words. He got up and gave a Devar Torah and spoke about the chatan . Most of the crowd was not listening, and the rabbi felt that his words were falling on deaf ears. Nonetheless, he gave the speech as if people were listening. He then danced with the boy and went on his way. Some years later, Rabbi Binyamin bumped into this boy, his former student, and was surprised to see him holding a sefer and carefully analyzing it while waiting for a bus. This boy, everyone was sure, was not going to be from those who delved into Torah study. The rabbi greeted him warmly and asked him what he was up to. The young man said he was currently a Maggid Shiur in a very good Yeshiva. The rabbi asked him how that came about. He said he was not planning on staying in learning, but that day, when the rabbi spoke about him at his engagement party, his in-laws were listening very intently, and they got so inspired and felt that their future son-in-law could become big in Torah. So, along with his wife, they encouraged him to continue learning, and from that day on, his learning took on new meaning and was elevated to a much higher level. The rabbi thought his words were wasted, but little did he know, those words changed the lives of that family and generations to come. Our words are very powerful. We must never hold back from giving people the words of encouragement that they so desperately could use. Shabbat Shalom.