Page 3 - The Jewish Voice - June '20

The Jewish Voice, Page 3

From the rabbis

Personal Vulnerability and That’s how I feel when I hear of someone else in pain. has an opinion different than his own. Unity is possible when
You might share your story with a small group of family

one can respect life from the opposite position of where he
Social Media and friends or with a larger social media group. That’s the finds himself at a given moment.
blessing of social media, and the power of vulnerability. Of The impurity of discord is so great that arguing, fighting,
By Rabbi Paul Arberman course you have to use some discretion and good sense. I’m and quarrelling dulls the vision and mind of even the greatest
Do you ever share your not saying to over-share. But when we expose our hurt to our people, and robs them of their common sense.
personal pain on Facebook or communities — when we have the confidence to cry out loud An argument made for Godly, constructive purposes is
social media? Have you ever — we allow others the opportunity to hold us and call down guaranteed to bring positive results, but when the arguing
written publicly about a break- compassion on our behalf. serves only the ego, it never brings any good. How can a
up, an illness, or loss of a job? My blessing for all of us is that we can acknowledge our person know what the real motivation is to his arguing? We
I’ve been thinking about the most vulnerable places; that we can expose our hurt and pain must judge the way we feel toward the other person. If we
growing place of social media properly to our communities; and that we truly see each other can love him entirely, disagreement notwithstanding, it is
in our lives as Covid-19 put and hold one another with compassion. most likely for good intentions.
even more of our lives on-line. Rabbi Paul Arberman is spiritual leader at Temple Beth The Talmud says that when discussing the Torah, people can
The Talmud, Sotah 32b, David in Palm Beach Gardens. appear as fierce opponents of each other, yet they bear no hard
brings the statement of feeling, and in the end they reconcile. The house of Hillel and
Rashbi, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: “One should say his own Arguments and Peace Shamai intermarried and lived peacefully with each other, even
praises quietly, and his own shameful things loudly.” Rabbi though they strongly disagreed with each other on most things.
Yochanan objects, saying, “Didn’t Rashbi decree that prayer By Rabbi Shlomo Ezagui Peace is so great that, regarding idol worshipers who live
should be quiet, so as not to embarrass sinners (by making When God created the peacefully, God says it is as if he cannot touch them. There is a
them say their sins out loud during the confessional parts)!” world during the six days of Chassidic saying, “Better to be with friends in hell than to be all
The Gemara solves the seeming contradiction by explaining creation, He said at the end alone in paradise.” In the generation of King David, although
that what Rashbi thinks we should proclaim loudly are not our of each day, “It was good” his soldiers were great men, they would fall in battle because of
sins, but our pain, our hurt, our vulnerability. — except for Monday. That the arguments they had with each other, whereas in the time of
The Gemara brings a verse from Leviticus 13 to support was because on Monday, the the wicked King Achav, they succeeded in battle because there
this idea. The leper is required to walk around, calling out, bottom waters, oceans, and was unity. A house of argument will eventually be destroyed.
“Unclean! Unclean!” The simple/plain reading of the verse is rivers were separated from Before Jacob passed away, he said to his children,
that the leper is warning people to stay away from him, due the top waters, as well as “Gather, and I will tell you what will happen in the end of
the contagious nature not just of the disease but of the ritual the heavens and atmosphere. days.” He was telling them to make sure they were always
impurity it represents. Since there was division, this gathered together and that would prepare them for the end
The Midrash now comes up with a great teaching: The could not be described as good. If this is true of a division of days, the ultimate good.
leper calls out his uncleanness not to warn other people away performed for the benefit of the world, how much more true When a person is tempted to argue, he must consider
but to ask for their help — to inspire the masses to call on when an argument brings misunderstanding and discord? This what he is arguing about and whether it is worth it, since
God to bring down compassion on the leper’s behalf. Instead is certainly not good. argument is such a serious initiator of major evil.
of highlighting his isolation from society, the leper is calling Arguments and fights are considered so severe that while Rabbi Ilo-o said, “The world exists in the merit of a
on his community to support him during his time of pain and the tribunal in heaven punishes those over the age of 20 and person who closes his mouth during an argument.”
hurt. a tribunal here judges a person at age 13, when it came to the Rabbi Shlomo Ezagui is spiritual leader of Chabad
Is it easy to share your pain? For many people, including squabble caused by the cousin of Moses, Korach, even little House Lubavitch of Palm Beach. Contact him at
me, it is not. And yet, you and I would likely be surprised to children were punished. Rabbi@chabadpalmbeach.org, 624-7004, or www.
find that people want to help. They don’t always know that you Argument is many times and mostly the byproduct of chabadpalmbeach.org.
are hurting, but they would be happy/blessed/honored to be an over-inflated ego, where one person is unable to tolerate
there for you, to show compassion and even to commiserate. another person for no other reason but that the other person From the Rabbis on page 4

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