The Sages were eloquent on the subject of
lashon hara, evil speech, the sin they took to be the cause of
tzaraâat. But there is a meta-halachic principle: âFrom the negative you can infer the positiveâ So, for example, from the seriousness of the prohibition against
chillul Hashem, desecrating G-dâs name, one can infer the importance of the opposite,
kiddush Hashem, sanctifying G-dâs name.
It therefore follows that alongside the grave sin of
lashon hara, there must in principle be a concept of
lashon hatov, good speech, and it must be more than a mere negation of its opposite. The way to avoid
Jewish Ledger
Torah Portion – Miketz
T
ypically, this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Miketz (Genesis 41:1-44:17), is read during Chanukah. This year is an exception. This Shabbat, we read Miketz on the day after Chanukah.
Since my early childhood, I’ve associated the day after Chanukah with sad feelings, feelings of loss. After all, for eight consecutive days, we celebrated with hallel vhodaah, with praise and thanksgiving, with special foods and songs, and gifts. We lit candles every night, culminating in the night before last when we lit eight candles. Then, suddenly, abruptly, we cease all celebration–no more candles!
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Yaakov had a difficult life. He had to leave home because his brother, Esav wanted to kill him and then 22 years later, when he returned he was still worried that Esav would still be after him.
Yaakov lived in Lavan’s home while he was in Padan Aram. Lavan tricked Yaakov by giving him Leah as a wife even though he asked to marry Rachel and worked seven years for her. Lavan tricked Yaakov in business as well and made his life very difficult.
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