Another week! Shabbat approaches fast. Here's your weekly reminder of what we're doing here on the Gold Coast to celebrate this week:
- Friday evening at the Southport Community Centre, Room F5, at 6.30PM. Service to welcome Shabbat, followed by an Oneg featuring your culinary offerings. $15 per person requested donation and bring a dish to share.
- Saturday at the Levy home. 11.00AM Service followed by lunch provided. Then, after lunch a bit of Pirkei Avot. $15 per person requested donation.
Remember that we now have EFTPOS facility for accepting debit and credit cards when you attend, if you prefer to donate/pay that way. But the 'old' methods still work: cash, cheque (to 'Jewish Journeys'), or bank transfer.
In case you choose the last, here are bank details:
Jewish Journeys Ltd
Westpac The Ridge
BSB 034142 Acc't 148110
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Thank you to those who brought in your 'treasures' which are gathering dust, for us to sell at Jewish Journeys' fund-raising garage sale. But in case you didn't see my e-mail from earlier today, we've decided to postpone it. We're expecting some bad weather, and we want to hold out for more donated goods and expressed interest. So, please continue to let us know when you can drop off - or we can pick up - the items you'd like to donate, and we'll announce a new date soon.
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We're now in a series of weekly thoughts in the area of Shemirat Lashon, literally 'Guarding the Tongue' but referring to the vast body of Jewish law concerning forbidden communications via speech or writing of any kind.
I believe with all my heart that this is THE problem in the Jewish community today; its pervasiveness makes a mockery of all our claims of the mantle of Torah. The essence of the laws is that we are forbidden to convey any adverse information about someone else except in very limited, rare circumstances.
I'm bringing to you the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan (1839-1933), who published extensively on the subject and indeed is considered the all-time master teacher on what the Torah has to say about it.
Rabbi Kagan teaches: certain statements that may be perfect acceptable when made about one person, may be lashon hara when made regarding another person.
For example. you know someone who makes a living running a small business, has a family whom nobody would accuse him of neglecting, and yet he is working on a uni degree in his spare time and finds time to study two hours a day. No reasonable person would consider this to be adverse information; chances are, if told one would think 'when does he sleep?' So, if you would mention that he studies two hours a day to a third person, it's fairly certain that that person would take the information as complimentary toward the subject person, as an indication of his commitment to earn his degree despite all the other life commitments that conspire to block his effort.
But what if you knew a younger person, a full-time student being completely supported by his parents, who studies two hours a day? Chances are, a reasonable person when told of this man's study habits would think, 'Only two hours a day??! He doesn't sound like a very serious student.' Applied to this person, the same statement meant (and probably taken) to be complimentary concerning another would probably be reasonably considered adverse.
This is one important reason why we must be ultra-careful when conveying information about another person. Even when we don't think it is adverse information, it may be taken as such. And if so, then we are forbidden to repeat it.
I hope that you do not think I'm presenting these laws to beat you over the head, so to speak, with them. Far from it! I simply believe that lashon hara is such a pervasive problem, and that we engage in it thoughtlessly, that it helps to think more deeply on the subject and consider all the ways that we can inadvertently or deliberately, engage in adverse speech.
I hope that everybody is having a great week and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Shabbat!
Rabbi Don
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