This is in the merit of my wonderful mother in honor of her birthday and in recognition of the boundless love she has shown me.
Tazria/Metzora
Very often, we find ourselves disagreeing with other people or with organizations. Very often, we feel that not only are they are wrong but that they are also causing great harm. Very often, we feel the need to speak out.
Assuming that our fears are founded and that we really do need to give criticism, how does the Torah say it should be given?
I believe that one important principle of criticizing can be found in this week's Torah reading.
The laws of tzaraas (commonly translated as leprosy but really understood by most classic commentators as some sort of spiritual disease) require that the priest pronounce the individual with tzaraas unclean (Leviticus 13:3) which requires that plagued individual temporarily dwell outside the camp. However, the priest must also leave the camp in order to purify the sick person (Leviticus 14:3-4).
On the basis of this, Rav Soloveitchik says that when we criticize others, we must also practically help them. (Fate and Destiny, by Rav Soloveitchik, translated from the Hebrew by Rabbi Lawrence Kaplan, page 40)
It is not enough to point fingers but rather we must be helpful, constructive, and beneficial. We must give them practical advice and aid them in repairing whatever went wrong.
Simply blaming might be the worst thing we can do because blaming usually results in counter-blaming and a deterioration of the situation. At the very least, we should refrain from focusing on blame. At the very least, things will not get worse and more importantly, by not thinking about blame, we will be able to focus on practical solutions (Harmony with Others, by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, page 24).
Tazria/Metzora
Very often, we find ourselves disagreeing with other people or with organizations. Very often, we feel that not only are they are wrong but that they are also causing great harm. Very often, we feel the need to speak out.
Assuming that our fears are founded and that we really do need to give criticism, how does the Torah say it should be given?
I believe that one important principle of criticizing can be found in this week's Torah reading.
The laws of tzaraas (commonly translated as leprosy but really understood by most classic commentators as some sort of spiritual disease) require that the priest pronounce the individual with tzaraas unclean (Leviticus 13:3) which requires that plagued individual temporarily dwell outside the camp. However, the priest must also leave the camp in order to purify the sick person (Leviticus 14:3-4).
On the basis of this, Rav Soloveitchik says that when we criticize others, we must also practically help them. (Fate and Destiny, by Rav Soloveitchik, translated from the Hebrew by Rabbi Lawrence Kaplan, page 40)
It is not enough to point fingers but rather we must be helpful, constructive, and beneficial. We must give them practical advice and aid them in repairing whatever went wrong.
Simply blaming might be the worst thing we can do because blaming usually results in counter-blaming and a deterioration of the situation. At the very least, we should refrain from focusing on blame. At the very least, things will not get worse and more importantly, by not thinking about blame, we will be able to focus on practical solutions (Harmony with Others, by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, page 24).
posted by Mordechai18 at 7:23 PM
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