Rabbi Mendy's Blog

Why are people so comfortable today denigrating others on the internet, social media, and even in person? While we humans have maintained differing opinions and perspectives from the beginning of time, in the past, we had a structure for expressing those differences respectfully, but today, it seems that it's gone. How? Why? From last week and this week's Torah portion, we know the harsh response to speaking badly about another human being. Why? After all, they're just words!? 

Words might seem trivial, but if you look at the Ten Commandments, we see that the first few commandments, which reference belief in G-d and taking G-d's name in vain, all center around speech. What we say is either respectful of the world's creator or G-d forbid the opposite. The words one says express the truth or who we are, as a believer or a heretic. These directives are placed at the beginning of the Ten Commandments, the foundation of Jewish tradition and all of humanity. 

This fundamental truth is the reason why a person who speaks badly is stricken with a Tzaraas, a terrible skin condition, and isolated from the camp of the Jewish people. Why is a person kicked out of the community and treated like an idolator for speaking badly? The answer helps us understand the enormity of this terrible trend in society. Genesis tells us that every human being is created in G-d's image, just like the first person, Adam. When we demean someone, we are disgracing an image of G-d, no different than cursing Hashem itself. Thus, the correlation with idolatry. 

The saddening truth is that as society has moved further away from faith in G-d, we've lost the appreciation and respect for every human being as a reflection of their creator. The natural progression can clearly be seen with a loss of respect. We no longer care about our words' impact and their damage on others. Our focus has become entirely on ourselves and how good we feel when we put others down.  

So what do we do? How do we reserve the trend? Simple: Strengthen our faith in Hashem and train ourselves to once again see that divine image in the face of every person around us. When we rebuild that recognition and the accompanying respect, we naturally cease speaking badly about others and ourselves. We will begin focusing on the positive, the true nature of every person, their G-dly soul. In this way, we will reunite our people and world to fulfill our shared mission: to repair our world as a home for the divine. 

Mission: When you feel the urge to speak badly about someone, stop, close your eyes, and think of this person as a divine soul. Now, open your eyes and look again at that person; let your new perspective guide your words.