Backbiting, or the Hebrew term “evil tongue,” is on everyone’s lips these days. People talk badly about their neighbor just because they have a different opinion politically and perhaps spiritually. The left-wing media often only reports about the evil on the other side, and the right-wing media does exactly the same thing, only in reverse. Of course, this is nothing new, but in our time the evil tongue is amplified and further twisted by the phenomenon of fake news.
God created the world with words, why do we have to destroy the world with words? I was discussing this with friends on Friday and someone drew a link to the current week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora. The evil tongue separates people and that is exactly what is so very noticeable in our country today. We speak evil against our neighbor instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves.
And you can read about division among the people in chapter 13 of Leviticus.
“The leper shall walk about in torn clothes, with his head bared and his lips covered, and he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as the mark is on him he shall remain unclean, for he is unclean. He shall sit alone, outside the camp.”
For many, Leviticus is often just a dry book full of rules. But these are the biblical instructions for a leper that can save the lives of those around him. The leper cries out, I’m unclean. This is an automatic statement of separation. “Get away from me.” He doesn’t want to infect the people around him. He separates himself from the people and must “sit alone, outside the camp.” This is not an easy case. One is alone.
But what does that have to do with the Evil Tongue? Let me explain. In another story someone speaks evil of another and is punished with leprosy because of the evil tongue, or backbiting, as we might call it today. This is what happened in the story of Miriam and Moses when he married Zipporah (Numbers 12).
“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.”
Miriam was a respected prophetess. As a prophetess, shouldn’t she have known that backbiting has consequences?
“And behold, Miriam was as leprous as snow.”
Very little has changed in our day. This same exact thing happened in the family of my friends, whose daughter married an Ethiopian Jew. The grandmother in particular couldn’t believe her granddaughter would marry an Ethiopian of all people.
Back to the Bible. With her evil tongue, Miriam wanted to make Moses’ dark-skinned wife unpopular, in other words, to separate her from the people. Then she became a leper. According to biblical rules, she now had to announce that she was unclean. And with that she suffered exactly what she had planned for Moses’ wife. She had to separate herself from the people because of her illness and “sit alone outside the camp.”
Gossip has consequences and affects also the gossiper. Speeches and words should bring hearts together. Also in the New Testament, James writes that the tongue is like a consuming fire (chapter 3). Verse 6 informs us:
“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
We all like to talk, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But we must be careful and avoid speaking ill of others. It’s not that difficult, because none of us talks bad about ourselves. What is currently dividing the nation more than anything else is the hostile rhetoric, the evil tongue being employed against the other. And this will lead to punishment for all sides, the entire nation. God help us to make amends and keep our tongues under control during Memorial Day and Independence celebrations this week.
October 7, 2023 is engraved on our hearts!
Tachles with Aviel – Everyone is afraid of his neighbor
Spirits From the Land of Milk & Honey Take the World, and Your Taste Buds, by Storm!
Rain before the holidays?! Israel surprised by September showers
To Be (Set Apart), or Not To Be (Set Apart)
Mansour Abbas – “We Are Inside. Now We Need to Play the Game”
Anti-Government Protesters Try to Block Ben-Gurion Airport on ‘Day of Resistance’
Occupied Northern Palestine?! This is why Israel mustn’t abandon Judea and Samaria
Jacob’s Trouble, and Where Did We Go Wrong?
Asserting Israel’s Legitimacy Then and Now
Chaos Grips Israel After Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister
Why This Is NOT Sinat Chinam
Prayers should not be prayed with hatred
Who’s Next? Arab States Praise Israel-UAE Peace
ANALYSIS: The Emotional Roots of Israel’s Reforms
Why is Israel under a microscope, but the Palestinians aren’t?
Tachles With Aviel – The Israel Flag Belongs to All of Us
Beach vacation in Israel – God’s promise to Abraham has been fulfilled
Amid the Noise and Hate, Israel Is Happy
Our Hope Is NOT Lost
“Without a Plan For the Future, Our Children Will Leave Israel”
Wars of the Jewish State
Israel and the Survival Imperative
How Israel’s Religious Right Displaced the Left
Between Memorial Day and Independence Celebrations
Cancel Culture Infects the Beautiful Prayer for Israel
Israel Rethinks Its Identity
48 Years After Carving His House Into a Cliff, Israeli Faces Eviction
The calm before the storm
Israel prayer points: Internal division and the threat of war
Unity as Anomaly: Bibi, Babel, Yeshua and You
In Spite of Herself
Tachles With Aviel – The Jews Stand With Netanyahu
Do Israelis Still See One Another as Brothers?
Analysis of Historic Agreement Between Israel and the UAE
Judicial Reform Compromise: Netanyahu Rejects, Opposition Reluctantly Accepts
Netanyahu calls to defuse secular-religious tensions
My 75-Year Story Is the Story of Israel
When the Going Gets Tough
‘Law & Disorder: Israel’
Living on the Brink: The Importance of Unity in the Face of Modern Threats
The Future Is With “The Jews”
Israel Is Alive and Booming! Here Are the Numbers!
Movie review: “Golda” is highly recommended
Why Join the Battle?
Cartoon: Rosh Hashanah
‘Why Do We Need Judicial Reform?’ An Architect Behind the Proposal Explains
Israel’s borders
Without the visions of the prophets, Israel would not be legitimate
Farewell to Summer
Secular Israelis Target Jewish “Missionaries”
Old beliefs are shattered, as Israeli seek a new way forward
How We Experienced the Miracle Israel
With Judicial Overhaul Paused, Protesters Find a New Target
Indestructible Underground Data Center To Be Built in Israel
IN PHOTOS: 56 Years Ago Today, the Six-Day War Broke Out
Israeli Politics Needs More Workhorses and Fewer Generals
Israel Must Turn Back Toward God, or Risk Further Division
Mocking the Land of Make-Believe
Jews, never give up!
13 years after saving infant, medics join ‘miracle’ bar mitzvah
A Vision of the Land of Israel From a Left-Wing Perspective
Israel broils, breaks record for electricity use
Israel-UAE Peace: Arabs Drop Yoke of the Palestinian Cause
Eight False and Malicious Anti-Israel Catchphrases and Buzzwords
Israel’s Protests Are Now Crossing Sacred Red Lines
Tachles With Aviel – Right-Wing Power Grab, or Left-Wing Coup?
In a Grand Historical Perspective, Israel Is Certainly Winning
Social-Media Influencer Reflects on Volunteer Tour in Israel
Israel Today Membership
Monthly Membership
Yearly Membership
Save 18% Per Month.
Six Months Membership
Save 9% Per Month.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Only members can read and write comments.