"Maves v'chaim byad halashon./Death and life are in the hands of the tongue" Mishlai 18:21
If a Jew sinned and was punished with tzara'as, the symptoms of the disease usually required that he be quarantined and later reinspected, a rather drawn out procedure. Only for one sin did Hashem immediately strike the transgressor with the symptoms of the definitive leper who was immediately isolated. That sin was not, as we might believe, murder, idolatry, or immorality. Rather it was lashon harah ,evil speech about a fellow man.
Once a Persian king fell ill and, as a result, lost weight and became weak. His physician's suggested that the only cure to invigorate and restore his waning strength was to imbibe the milk of a lioness. At a loss to know how to obtain milk from a lioness, the king dispatched messengers and money to King Shlomo in Yerushalayim who was world renowned for his wisdom, begging him to contrive a plan whereby such milk might be gotten. Shlomo entrusted his advisor Benayahu ben Yehodaya with that task.
"I want ten goats to be given to me," ordered Benayahu. Then he requested one of Shlomo's servants to search the forest for a lion's den. The servant wandered deep into the thicket and finally discovered a den in which a lioness was suckling her cubs. Benayahu ordered the servant to show him the way and brought along a goat. Standing at a safe distance from the den, Benayahu threw in the goat which was immediately seized and devoured by the lioness. Each day he went a few steps closer and threw another goat, drawing progressively neared to the den until the lioness was used to his presence. Eventually, she allowed him to touch her without harming him. she abandoned all suspicion, and Benayahu was able to milk her.
As soon as Shlomo received the milk, he sent his servant to bring it to the Persian king.
While on the road the messenger's limbs began to argue with each other as to who deserved the credit for having accomplished such an amazing feat.
"We are wonderful," boasted the feet. "We are superior to all the other limbs for had we not walked to the den, the milk could not have been obtained."
"Not true," objected the hands. "We were instrumental in the task. Had we not milked the lioness, the milk would not be ours now.
"What about us?" exclaimed the eyes. "Did we not discover the path to the den? Without us the entire plan could not have been accomplished.
"You ignore me," complained the heart. "I was the one which thought of the brilliant idea in the first place!"
The general uproar was interrupted by the high-pitched sound of the tongue which broke in vociferously, "You are all worth nothing, if not for me, where would you be?
After this, all the limbs cried out in protest, "How dare you compare yourself to us? You possess no bones as we do, you are merely a soft lump confined to a dark cave!" Insulted, the tongue responded, "Just wait and see that I am master of you all!"
The messenger arrived at the Persian king's court and was hurried to the throne. He presented the milk and wanted to deliver a message from King Shlomo, but instead, the words tumbling from his tongue were " I present to you, O Majesty, the dogs milk which you requested!"
The king though that he was being ridiculed and, flying into a rage, gave orders that the messenger be hung immediately. The poor man was led away to the gallows, all of his limbs in a state of tremor. "Do you now see that , compared to me, you all matter nothing?" declared the tongue triumphantly. "We confess it," all the organs cried out in unison. You command life and death!" The tongue was satisfied and cried out, "I have an important message for the king, please take me back to him for one moment."
"Why should I be executed?" asked the messenger.
"You brought me dogs milk!" shouted the king.
"I assure you," said the messenger, "that this milk will cure you. My words were only the slip of a tongue since in the language of our country, the same word is used for both a dog and a lion." The king believed him. He drank the milk and recuperated. He then pardoned the messenger and let him return home. (Midrash Shochar Tov)
This midrash is one of many that show us the power of the tongue, the power of speech. The tongue is the organ which, of all the limbs and organs moves with the least difficulty and greatest speed. Consequently, lashon harah is one of the sins committed most frequently. On the other hand the Chofetz Chaim explains that the reason the tongue was created with the ability to move more swiflty than all the other organs is a special kindness of Hashem. The rewards for every word of Torah surpasses that of all other mitzvos. Therefore, Hashem, in His kindness, enabled a person to speak thousands of words within minutes in order to ensure that he would gain the greatest possible reward.
We need not look far to find people who dislike us, the Jewish people. What we do need is to stop slandering ourselves, and to come together to greet the Mashiach, speedily! In our days! Amen!
Have a wonderful Shabbos, It's good to be back!!!
Etan
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