A friend of mine was in Israel for the year learning at a Yeshiva and his Rebbe invited him and a few of the other students to come to a wedding he was singing at. He told them the hosts would not mind. The wedding culture in Israel encourages others to come and join in the celebration.
Being hungry Yeshiva students they jumped at the opportunity. The Rebbe gave them the address because he had to go early to set up the equipment. The boys showed up to the affair not having eaten in a week, they could not see there Rebbe but figured they would start eating and then find him later. They got food from the buffet and sat at a table with a few other guys trying to blend in. My friend began devouring his food and turned to the young man next to him making casual conversation he said, whose side are you on? The Bride side or the groom side? The young man responded, you are at a Bar Mitzvah.
The affair was in a large catering hall and two events were going on that night. They had gone into the wrong one. Everything we say reveals a great deal. Our words have great power.
“Most fail to achieve greatness, not because they posses delusions of grandeur but rather they suffer from delusions of inadequacy.”
Words have always been powerful but combined with todays modern technology, because of its speed and reach their consequences are magnified beyond imagination. We all have access to immense power.
Around a year ago the AP twitter account got hacked. A fake tweet broadcasting the message that the White House had been bombed and the president was injured was tweeted by the reputable news source. Stocks began to plummet rapidly. In a matter of 3 minutes Billions of dollars were lost.
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on” - Winston Churchill
In this week’s parsha we are told about the spiritual affliction of Tzarat. One of the causes for this affliction is speaking Lashon Harra (Damaging Speech). As part of the ceremony to cure this affliction two birds are used. The birds chirping are a reminder of the tweeting you did when you spoke the Lashon Harah in the first place.
Many Rebbayim had great concern over the telephone when it first became popular because it could be a tool for Lashon Hara on an unfathomable scale. I wonder what they would think of the internet.
If I truly understood and internalized how impactful my words are, I would actually think before I spoke very carefully. This is the message of the birds to the person who has Tzarat. Don’t just chirp like a bird, your words have great power, with great power comes great responsibility. We live in the communication age, along with our wallet and keys we carry around with us a phone;. We can speak with anyone and everyone we have ever met with the touch of a button. This was unimaginable 25 years ago, what will communication be like in 25 years from now?
The wisest of all men, King Shlomo wrote in Kohelet perhaps what is a vague allusion to twitter and certainly a reminder to be careful with our words.
“..Nor in your bedrooms shall you curse a wealthy man, for the bird of the heaven shall carry the voice, and the winged creature will tell the matter.” (Kohelet 10:20)
Being hungry Yeshiva students they jumped at the opportunity. The Rebbe gave them the address because he had to go early to set up the equipment. The boys showed up to the affair not having eaten in a week, they could not see there Rebbe but figured they would start eating and then find him later. They got food from the buffet and sat at a table with a few other guys trying to blend in. My friend began devouring his food and turned to the young man next to him making casual conversation he said, whose side are you on? The Bride side or the groom side? The young man responded, you are at a Bar Mitzvah.
The affair was in a large catering hall and two events were going on that night. They had gone into the wrong one. Everything we say reveals a great deal. Our words have great power.
“Most fail to achieve greatness, not because they posses delusions of grandeur but rather they suffer from delusions of inadequacy.”
Words have always been powerful but combined with todays modern technology, because of its speed and reach their consequences are magnified beyond imagination. We all have access to immense power.
Around a year ago the AP twitter account got hacked. A fake tweet broadcasting the message that the White House had been bombed and the president was injured was tweeted by the reputable news source. Stocks began to plummet rapidly. In a matter of 3 minutes Billions of dollars were lost.
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on” - Winston Churchill
In this week’s parsha we are told about the spiritual affliction of Tzarat. One of the causes for this affliction is speaking Lashon Harra (Damaging Speech). As part of the ceremony to cure this affliction two birds are used. The birds chirping are a reminder of the tweeting you did when you spoke the Lashon Harah in the first place.
Many Rebbayim had great concern over the telephone when it first became popular because it could be a tool for Lashon Hara on an unfathomable scale. I wonder what they would think of the internet.
If I truly understood and internalized how impactful my words are, I would actually think before I spoke very carefully. This is the message of the birds to the person who has Tzarat. Don’t just chirp like a bird, your words have great power, with great power comes great responsibility. We live in the communication age, along with our wallet and keys we carry around with us a phone;. We can speak with anyone and everyone we have ever met with the touch of a button. This was unimaginable 25 years ago, what will communication be like in 25 years from now?
The wisest of all men, King Shlomo wrote in Kohelet perhaps what is a vague allusion to twitter and certainly a reminder to be careful with our words.
“..Nor in your bedrooms shall you curse a wealthy man, for the bird of the heaven shall carry the voice, and the winged creature will tell the matter.” (Kohelet 10:20)
RSS Feed