CAREFUL SPEECH

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well

Wishing a refuah shleimah for Yechezkiel ben Ester.

Mazal Tov to Brian on his birthday next week. Wishing you a healthy and happy year Brian with much continued success in everything that you do BEH. Thanks to you and Sharon for keeping in touch with our Family in California!

Mazal Tov to Miriam Brocha on her birthday next week. Wishing you a year of continued growth and happiness in all areas Miriam.

Mazal Tov to Tiferet on her birthday next week. Wishing you much success in your school studies Tiferet. You should continue to give much nachas to your parents, and to be such a lovely girl.

Then 2 Levy birthdays:

Mazal Tov to Zeevi. Wishing you much success with your school work and your sports Zeevi, and continued nachas for your parents.

Mazal tov to Nechama. Wishing you much continued growth Nechama in your studies and your sports, all with much happiness.

The subject of SPEECH came up many times this week mainly in relation to this week’s Sedra Tazria Metzora, and in the Pirkei Avot Chapters..

The Rebbe on V 14:23 – 25: Which I heard from Rabbi Gordon ah:

Hashem says to Moshe and Aharon that when you come to the Land, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house, the owner of the house should come to the Priest and say to him that there is *an appearance * of leprosy on my house (which needs inspection).

If the Priest comes to the conclusion after much investigation, that this is really leprosy, he instructs that the house should be demolished.

Rashi comments, that when the house was demolished, treasures of gold were found, which the EMORI Nation had hidden in their walls.

So what is the connection to speech?

One of the Hebrew words for speech is EMOR, which has a connection to Emori mentioned above.

Another place where Emori is mentioned is where Yaakov is blessing Yosef, and he says that he is giving Yosef an extra portion (the city of Shechem) which I took from the Emori with my sword and with my bow. The Medrash interprets ‘my sword and bow’ as “ *with my prayer and supplication”* ie with his SPEECH

And the lessons:

· The owner of the leprous house did not jump to conclusions that his house was leprous, even although it looked like it. Rather he went to the Priest and said that my house has *the appearance of leprosy. *He was careful with his words because words have the power to bring about negativity chas veshalom. And he did what was correct to have it investigated

· After the investigation, the house was found to be leprous and had to be demolished, which sounds like bad news. Yet Hashem had arranged for a treasure to be found. Difficulties have the potential to bring hidden blessings .

· Our speech in prayer, Torah Study and kindness can be very powerful when we help other people. (For eg saying nice things about another person) It is like revealing hidden treasures (and in ourselves)

· We have to therefore be careful with our speech, not to do the opposite

· The leprosy being spoken about in the Sedra is ‘Biblical Leprosy’ and not the medical leprosy as we know it. Biblical leprosy came about mainly as a punishment for speaking *lashon hara *– negative speech about others.

We are now going into the month of Iyaar whose acronym is ‘I am G-d who heals you.’

Wishing everyone a Gut Shabbos and a Gut Chodesh