The following is the latest column by my wife, Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob, in the Culpeper Star-Exponent
Humor me as I take a moment to share a story. It is a very old story, and, as with most Jewish stories, it teaches a lesson This is the tale of a boy whose slanderous gossip had the potential to cause havoc as it spread through the town. Realizing too late the potential harm that would be done by spreading misinformation as one villager told the next, and at a loss as how to rectify the deed, he ran to the wise rabbi for advice. Note that in Jewish stories, the rabbi is always wise. “Go quickly to your house,” said the rabbi “find a feather pillow and a kitchen knife. Slash the pillow’s case, then run back here as fast as you can!” Obeying the wise rabbi’s order, the boy retrieved the pillow, slashed it with a knife and ran back breathlessly, spewing a cloud of white goose feathers as he ran. Handing the pillow over to the rabbi the boy said, “Here, rabbi, I’ve done exactly what you asked of me. Here is the pillow!” “Very good,” said the rabbi. “What shall I do next, rabbi?” “Next I want you to take your pillowcase and put all the feathers back in. Search through the village until you’ve collected every feather!” “But Rabbi!” the boy cried with a look of incredulity, “there is no way to retrieve them all!”
The lesson was not lost on the boy, and hopefully not lost on us either. It is about guarding your tongue. Slanderous words, once spoken are like those feathers: irretrievable. You can try to walk them back, do a little public relations dance, apologize without saying you’re sorry, explain that YOU mis-spoke, or WE mis-heard, all to no avail. Lying, misrepresenting and twisting the truth, defaming character and making libelous accusations have real consequences.
Two verses from the Book of Psalms (120:3-4) ask the question: “What can you profit, what can you gain O deceitful tongue? A warrior’s sharp arrows…” Why an arrow and not a sword? Because if a person draws a sword to kill his fellow man, the intended victim can beg mercy and the attacker can change his mind and return the sword to its sheath. But an arrow, once it has been shot, even if the shooter wants to stop it, he can’t.
Our tongues are like arrows – once we have shot off our mouths, our words proceed to destroy and there is nothing we can do to stop them. Once uttered, words take on a life of their own, spreading, echoing, distorting at a pace humanity has never witnessed before. In the age of ubiquitous Internet use, anyone in any place in the world can share their message, without filtering or mincing words. Their words, their messages are not just heard, but amplified. From the cruel, vindictive words of teenagers to the malicious language of hatred targeted at “the other,” the vocabulary of bigotry, chauvinism, injustice, and intolerance that are disseminated and distorted by the Internet, weaponizes or warps almost every discussion of race, gender, religion, ethnicity and color. Postings by conspiracy theorists of every ilk play into the hands of the psychotic and/or politically motivated, and, as we’ve seen since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Russian propaganda has worked overtime to shape their message for the Internet by creating a narrative of faux reality.
You can hop on the Internet merry-go-round at any point for a spin of malice, threats, scams and incitement to anarchy while Internet providers wring their hands and hash out HOW they will handle malicious messaging disguised as news or truth and information while simultaneously guaranteeing protection of our First Amendment Rights.
Case in point. This past year the Internet has upped the ante as a conduit for anti-Semites who openly spout anti-Semitic tropes, resulting in acts of violence, desecration, terrorism, murder and character assassination, targeting Jewish institutions, places of worship, businesses, politicians and financial and industry leaders. The hatred and misinformation are no longer whispered, but unapologetically shouted out. Jews have historically been the test case for “how much the traffic will allow,” and have, historically, been dubbed, “The Canary in the Coal Mine,” that unfortunate caged bird with tiny lungs who succumbs to the first traces of carbon monoxide down in the mine, and whose sacrifice sounds the alarm for others. This fowl idiom has come to mean a ‘warning of coming danger’. Whether a Jewish canary, a Black canary, an Asian, Hispanic, Immigrant or LBGTQ ++ canary, a threat to one is a potential threat to each and every flock.
I’ll leave you with a quote from The French writer, philosopher, poet, dramatist, and historian, Voltaire, to ponder as we enter this season of Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men. A keen observer of human behavior, I think he nailed it, way back in the 1700’s, when he stated: “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
Here is wishing you a blessed holiday season and good health. Protect yourself, your family, and friends by getting your flu shot, and those friendly epidemiologists at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourage everyone, believers and non-believers, to wear good quality masks to reduce the spread of Covid, flu and RSV as we gather together to celebrate the New Year.
