D’rash: Shabbat Zachor: Remember! – A Drash about ‘Words’
Rabbi Suri Krieger
It is rare that I choose to share a Drash during a service, rather than intersperse short iyunim – teachings,
throughout. But some issues call for a more substantial airing… like the one on my mind lately. If you
picked up a common thread in this service, or you took a look at my latest Kesher, then you know I am
quite troubled by
“Words words words, I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through, first from him now from you, is
that all you blighters can do?!”
That was Liza Doodlittle, My Fair Lady. .. whose carefully chosen words I delighted in listening to, even
when she sounded like, what Henry Higgins referred to as a ‘Prisoner of the Gutter’ .
How did I come to this particular topic on this particular Shabbat – Shabbat Zachor? The Shabbat of
Remembrance. Remembrance of what? The four weeks leading up to Pesach each have a special
designation, with a specific Kavanah – intention. The Shabbat just before Purim is called Shabbat Zachor,
when we read about the treachery of our traditional enemy, Amalek, and we are commanded ‘to blot
out its memory’. We learn in Deut. 25, that the Amalekites came upon the Israelites in a surprise attack
from behind, shortly after the Israelites escaped Egypt. In other words, they preyed upon the weakest of
an exhausted group of people.
Many Jews today find this a troubling commandment, as it seems to imply that we blot out not only the
memory, but Amalek altogether. In other words… condoning the killing off of an entire tribe – or race or type - of people…those that prey upon the weak, those who do not believe in justice, those who hate
without reason. The sages use the term "Amalek" as a shorthand for vicious, evil people who behave like
mad dogs, in much the same way that many people use the term "Nazi" to refer to anyone they
vehemently disagree with. Every generation has its own version of ‘These Evil People’. .. that we are
meant to blot out.
It is clear why and how this parsha was paired with Purim, perhaps our oldest rendering of antiSemitism, perpetrated by the Evil one Haman. But Blot out the memory? Post Holocaust, we are bidden
to do quite the opposite. ‘Never forget’ is the slogan of Yom Hashoah. By teaching, through
Remembrance of those horrific times, perhaps we can turn others away from evil rather than blot them
out.
But the ‘Never Forget’ phrase that rings in my ears, brings to mind too many current sound bites that are
also piercing my ears! We live in a world of sound bites … quick pithy little phrases, verbal logos, that
catch the immediate attention, but don’t go much deeper. We hear them in advertising, in
entertainment; we use them in texting and twittering. And Now – we hear them all too much in the
political mélange which we cannot seem to escape. So I have determined to take a risk, to express my
concern over the use and misuse of Words in the media and in the campaign mania that has swept this
country.
Words are the intangible backbone of humanity, and - the formidable strength of the Jewish people. We
are called the ‘People of the Book’ for that very reason. Once upon a Time, the Temple was the sacred
backbone of the Israelites. In Avi’s drash last Shabbat, he spoke of the Mishkan, literally the place where
Shechina dwells, the portable Sanctuary, the prototype for the Temple, which for nearly 1000 years, was
the center of worship and religious life. The Kadosh Kedoshim, the Holy of Holies, was front and center
for much of our early identity. However, once the Temple was destroyed, there needed to be a different
way to maintain Kedusha. Someone asked the question, is there a connection between Mishkan or
Mikdash and Midrash. Mishkan and Mikdash both refer to physical Sacred places of holiness. Midrash,
generally refers to a sacred words or Legends created by our Sages; the word is composed of the root
letters, D R Sh, to speak, or expound. It is closely related to the word ‘Daber’ which we find throughout
the Torah, Va’yedaber Elohim, Va’yehi Or. God spoke and there was Light. Ie… with Words, God Spoke
the world into being. Daber, Divrai Torah, Eseret haDivrot … Yes, the 10 Commandments are a
mistranslation for what in the Text calls the Ten Words or Ten Statements. Once the Temple was
destroyed – we learned to create Sacred Space with Words. And Sacred Words - have become our
Sacred Sanctuary.
But while words can induce Holiness, they can all too easily induce Hatred.
We learn from the Talmud. (Shabbat 15b): "A person's tongue is more powerful than his sword. A sword
can only kill someone who is nearby; a tongue can cause the death of someone who is far away"
From this basic premise, much has been written concerning the proper use of speech;
Three terms are worth reviewing on the subject:
Lashon ha’rah = literally, The Bad Tongue, relating anything negative about another person
Rechilut = gossip or tale-bearing, or reporting to someone what others have said about him
motzi shem ra = defamation of character.
Lashon hara violates numerous biblical commandments, like: "do not utter (or accept) a false report"
(Ex. 23:1), "do not go about as a talebearer among your people" (Lev. 19:16), and "cursed be one who
smites his neighbor secretly" (Deut. 27:24).
In 1873, Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, a commentator on the Shulchan Aruch and a teacher of musar (ethics),
collected the laws of lashon hara and rechilut into one volume entitled Sefer Chofetz Chayim. So widely
studied is this work that its author became known as the Chofetz Chayim, a reference to Psalm 34:13-14:
which we sang earlier : Mi Haish …"Who is the person who desires life (chofetz chayim)....Guard your
tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit."
Chafetz Chayim advocated some of the most stringent rules concerning Lashon Harah.
As I read you some of these rules, see if any examples from our current media come to mind.
According to Chafetz Chayim, we are forbidden:
to discuss a person's negative character traits or to mention his/her misdeeds
to make derogatory remarks about someone, even when the information is common knowledge
to convey a negative response about a person through hints, hand motions, facial expressions, coughs,
winks, or tone of voice
to make any statement, even if not explicitly derogatory, which might cause financial loss, physical pain,
mental anguish, or any damage to reputation
to reveal any personal or professional information about someone which he/she admitted to us, even if
he/she did not request confidentiality
to listen to or sit next to someone who speaks lashon hara
We are even forbidden:
to praise another person excessively, for doing so might provoke a listener to disagree
to make a seemingly neutral comment (such as, "Have you seen Sam lately?"), for it may prompt others
to speak ill of him
The Chofetz Chayim adds that the greater the number of people who hear one's lashon hara, the greater
the sin. One who gossips habitually commits sins greater than idolatry, adultery, and murder.
OK, perhaps you are thinking, that is taking it a bit too far.
But truthfully… it is ‘idolatry’ that has become the operative word for me lately. Who would have thunk
that in the 21 C we would be into idol worship, the Original Golden Calf Sin of our people! But indeed,
we have become a nation of Idol Worshipers; We, the People of America, that is. Our Celebrities, our
Sports Heroes and yes, sadly, our Politicians have become our idols, and they stand up on gold plated
pedestals. We worship them … through logos, through slogans, through sound bites. Yes, they woo us
with words and we in return pay them homage with words. On both sides of the equation, we use,
misuse and abuse the privilege of language.
When sound bites are thrown at us and in turn chanted back by us, we reduce depth of meaning. We
lose the value of our own voices. We succumb to idol worship.
Have Words of Wisdom – been drowned out by the pitter patter of twitter? (Proverbs 15, 24)
Clergy are Not meant to talk about politics, as certainly not to advocate.
However, when words cross a line between rhetoric and inciting hatred - it becomes a Moral Imperative
to raise consciousness about it.
It is unnecessary for me to point fingers or mention ‘He who shall not be named’. My ultimate concern is
more about what this extreme misuse of language is doing to us … as Americans and as Jews.
I am concerned about the new norm of disparaging speech that pervades the airwaves. How low we
have fallen, when we not only hear it, but fall pray to it ourselves.
And I am equally concerned about the underlying implications that some of this speech is evoking.
Implications that Remind us of the reasons for ‘Lest we Never Forget’. I quote from a recent speech by
Pres Obama:
"We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities, at Americans who don't
look like us or pray like us, or vote like we do. We've seen misguided attempts to shut down that speech.
However offensive it may be--we live in a country where free speech is one of the most important rights
that we hold …"In response to those attempts, we've seen actual violence … and we've heard silence
from too many of our leaders." Certainly I can," he said. "And while some may be more to blame than
others for the current climate, all of us are responsible for reversing it. For it is a cycle that is not an
accurate reflection of America. And it has to stop."
Obama himself cautioned against accepting the current state of the political world as the "new normal,"
noting - it helps "undermine our democracy and our society and even our economy."
The American poet and writer, Carl Sandburg once said, “If the facts are against you, argue the law. If
the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell
like hell.” It is the unfortunate reality, that this misuse of language is not only in this country.
In our beloved eretz yisrael ,there is also too much incisive rhetoric happening … amongst our own
people, against our own people. For example - With regards to the Kotel, after the Women of the Wall
succeeded in advocating for an egalitarian prayer space, there is now vitriol come from the Rabbanute in
the guise of slogan posters:
‘Do everything in your power to prevent the Victory of the Destroyers of our religion.
Prepare for victory over the destroyers of our religion… until the entire Diaspora Burns like a bonfire
But… what can we DO? More important is what we must NOT do. We must not remain passive listeners
and unaffected bystanders. Of course I am not advocating for a violent reactions! But protesting words
with Words I believe is a healthy response. Raising consciousness within ourselves and our community,
so that we can discern between rhetoric and beyond rhetoric,
So that we vigilantly don’t succumb and become part of this barrage of inappropriate, bordering on
dangerous, verbiage.
Zachor –let us remember – the directives of Chafetz Chayim.
Let us remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist… ….
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
SONG: Words Hawk Nelson
They've made me feel like a prisoner
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They've lifted my heart
To places I'd never been
And they've dragged me down
Back to where I began
“Words” Bee Gees
Talk in everlasting words
And dedicate them all to me
And I will give you all my life
I'm here if you should call to me
Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out
You think that I don't even mean
A single word I say ~ ~ ~
It's only words, and words are all I have
To take your heart away
It's only words, and words are all I have
To take your heart away
Let my words be love / Let the words I say
Let my words be truth / Be the sound of Your grace
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You
Ya dai dai dai …
Bo-ee Kalah Bo-ee Kalah
L’cha dodi, likrat kallah, penai
Shabbat nekabelah