A Prattler's Pride Parade! With regarding to last week's contemptuous parading of severely anti-Torah ideologies, it got me thinking:
What if people decided to hold a demonstration in favor of lashon hara?
What if they decided to plaster posters around Yerushalayim in favor of lashon hara?
After all, we've spoken lashon hara before, whether we realized it at the time or not.
Or maybe we knew it was wrong, but we got overwhelmed by negative emotions and the lashon hara just spewed out.
Furthermore, you could make a emotionally compelling argument for the benefits of lashon hara:
And in SPECIFIC cases according to HALACHICALLY DELINEATED guidelines, halacha does allow us to vent (to ONE person and within specific guidelines) or to warn others of another's nefariousness (again, within specific guidelines) -- but not with abandon and certainly not to glorify lashon hara or to proclaim it as a civil "right."
And the same can apply to any transgression.
Furthermore, many transgressions actually feel good -- that's why people commit them.
That's exactly why people struggle.
Maybe you really like pepperoni pizza. Maybe you hate waiting 6 hours just to have a latte after you ate noodles (technically pareve, for crying out loud!) that happened to be cooked in a pot that was definitely fleishig (meaty). Maybe you're stuck in a miserable life and the only thing that really makes you feel better is super-fashionable immodest clothing or flirting with the opposite gender or dance club songs.
Maybe you enjoy sniping a particularly caustic barb at a weak target. Maybe screaming at people when you're angry feels cathartic.
What if people decided to hold a demonstration in favor of lashon hara?
What if they decided to plaster posters around Yerushalayim in favor of lashon hara?
After all, we've spoken lashon hara before, whether we realized it at the time or not.
Or maybe we knew it was wrong, but we got overwhelmed by negative emotions and the lashon hara just spewed out.
Furthermore, you could make a emotionally compelling argument for the benefits of lashon hara:
- freedom of self-expression
- need for validation
- I feel SO much better after I've gotten stuff off my chest.
- I've got the Constitutional right to say what I want.
- The Torah says I'm forbidden to hold grudges in my heart, so I need to release my grudges out into the open.
- Restraining my true thoughts and feelings is like lying. I refuse to be dishonest!
- Other people need to know what that person is REALLY like - I'm performing a public service!
And in SPECIFIC cases according to HALACHICALLY DELINEATED guidelines, halacha does allow us to vent (to ONE person and within specific guidelines) or to warn others of another's nefariousness (again, within specific guidelines) -- but not with abandon and certainly not to glorify lashon hara or to proclaim it as a civil "right."
And the same can apply to any transgression.
Furthermore, many transgressions actually feel good -- that's why people commit them.
That's exactly why people struggle.
Maybe you really like pepperoni pizza. Maybe you hate waiting 6 hours just to have a latte after you ate noodles (technically pareve, for crying out loud!) that happened to be cooked in a pot that was definitely fleishig (meaty). Maybe you're stuck in a miserable life and the only thing that really makes you feel better is super-fashionable immodest clothing or flirting with the opposite gender or dance club songs.
Maybe you enjoy sniping a particularly caustic barb at a weak target. Maybe screaming at people when you're angry feels cathartic.
The Beauty of Gevurah
All over Chazal and mussar writings, we keep running into the same idea:
Hashem Himself receives tremendous nachat when we restrain ourselves.
In fact, restraint from committing specific transgressions (like lashon hara, for example) creates tremendous unimaginably glorious light in the Upper Worlds, with a beautiful reward waiting for us.
Hashem knows how much we want to give in. He understands the strength of the pull of certain transgression.
That's why we create so much powerful yet unseen good each time we restrain ourselves.
It's called gevurah.
And being your own gibur (or gibburah) is a beautiful construct to aim for.
Hashem Himself receives tremendous nachat when we restrain ourselves.
In fact, restraint from committing specific transgressions (like lashon hara, for example) creates tremendous unimaginably glorious light in the Upper Worlds, with a beautiful reward waiting for us.
Hashem knows how much we want to give in. He understands the strength of the pull of certain transgression.
That's why we create so much powerful yet unseen good each time we restrain ourselves.
It's called gevurah.
And being your own gibur (or gibburah) is a beautiful construct to aim for.
A little restraint is GOOD for us!
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