Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Metzora
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Tazria
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Asher Ben Haim
The Rabbis applied the concept of lashon hara not only to speaking evil of other people, but also to speaking evil about the Land of Israel - in particular to the spies who tried to dissuade the Israelites from entering the Land by saying that it was 'a land that devours its inhabitants.' The Rabbis explain that the reason that the story of the spies follows immediately upon the story of Miriam and her tzara'at is that just as Miriam spoke lashon hara about her brother, so the spies spoke lashon hara about the Land of Israel. We see then that we should not say bad things about the Land of Israel, especially if such talk will dissuade people from coming to the Land.
It is easy to fall into the habit of complaining about Israel. We must make all efforts to refrain from voicing negative comments. We should do what the rabbis of the Talmud did (see end of massekhet Ketubot) - try to improve conditions in Israel so as not to give people any reason to complain.
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