SO BE A DENTIST…

Most of this week’s parshas, Tazria & Metzora, discuss the laws of tzaras, which is a spiritual disease of spots appearing on a person’s body, clothes, or house. Our Sages list numerous reasons why a person would get this disease but the most famous one is that the person spoke Lashon Hara (slandering another person). Since this is a spiritual disease, there is a spiritual cure. The person needs to sit in solitude outside of camp of Israel for one week. After the week is up, a Cohen (priest) checks this person again. If the tzaras is still there, the person needs to sit in solitude for another week until the disease disappears. The disease will stay there until Hashem feels the person properly did tshuvah (repentance) for the terrible sin of Lashon Hara and then the person will be able to come back to the camp of Israel with everyone else.

This disease no longer exists today. If you think about it, this is really NOT to our benefit. A person getting tzaras could be seen as something positive because the person would then know that they sinned and need to repent. Wouldn’t it be great if we could see tzaras and be reminded that we need to avoid Lashon Hara? Why can’t we have something that is a continuous sign that we need to avoid this terrible sin?

I’d like to offer that we do have numerous signs that remind us that we need to avoid Lashon Hara. I think a few of them are as follows:

Which body part do people take care of the most each day? Average people take one shower a day. The American Dental Association, though, tells us that we must brush twice a day. And brushing is not enough. We also need to floss our teeth and mouthwash is recommended. This is to remind us that our teeth are what we need to take care of.

Which doctor does the average person see most during the year? It is recommended that people see their primary doctor once a year, but they should meet with their dentist twice a year. Not only that but there is even special insurance that is solely for your mouth – dental care. Our heart is also very important but there is no heart insurance. Our mouth is our primary focus.

For a baby all of this is different. A baby sees the pediatrician at least 10 times during the first year of his life, but never goes to a dentist. The first trip to the dentist is when the child is usually 3 or 4. The reason is because the child does not have any teeth and the child does not need any teeth. A baby does not talk and therefore does not need to be reminded to avoid Lashon Hara.

It is very important that we brush our teeth daily. This is not only so we have a beautiful smile (which is definitely something important to have). It is to remind us that our mouth is our most precious body part. This is the one thing that we need to take care of more than anything else in the world. Today we do not have tzaras, but we definitely have other reminders that we need to avoid Lashon Hara. Lashon Hara started this bitter exile 2000 years ago. Let’s learn from the signs we have today that we should be careful with what we say and we will see the coming of Moshiach and peace in the world, quickly in our days.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
[email protected]
www.chesedclub.com (Torah Study>Parsha) or www.divreisimcha.com

By Rabbi Yaacov Seltzer
[email protected]
(305) 652-0186