5784/2024

We read in this week’s Parashah about Tzara’at and its correlation to the Aveirah of Lashon Hara. In teaching this idea, the Midrash points to a well known Passuk in Tehillim (34:13) that states, ״מי האיש החפץ חיים״ (Who is the person that wants life), and then continues with the following story:

There was once a peddler who traveled through the cities near ציפורי and he would yell in the streets, 'Who wants to buy the potion of life?'. People would crowd around him, and one time, רב ינאי was sitting in his boat and heard the peddler. רב ינאי answered him, 'Come to me, I would love to buy some life’. The peddler saw רב ינאי and said to him, 'You don't need this, nor do people who are like you need this'. But רב ינאי was persistent and shouted back at him, 'I want life! Please sell it to me.' So, the peddler came to him, took out his book of תהלים and showed him the פסוק in פרק לד that says ׳׳מי האיש החפץ חיים׳׳, and he continued, ״נצור לשונך מרע ושפתיך מדבר מרמה סור מרע ועשה טוב״ (Guard your tongue from bad, stay away from bad and do good). רב ינאי then responded to this peddler that in משלי also, Shlomo HaMelech says "a person who guards his mouth and his tongue, he guards himself from difficulties that come his way", but my whole life I would read this פסוק in תהלים and I never realized how simple it was until you came to me and said ״מי האיש החפץ חיים״. 

The question that is asked on this Midrash, however, is what in the peddler’s message was רב ינאי so intrigued by? What did it really teach him and what can it teach us?

We might think that life is not something that can be acquired since it is a gift we already have and can’t gain ‘more of’ once we are brought into this world. But what the peddler is trying to ask is ״מי האיש החפץ חיים״, 'Who wants to acquire life'? He was trying to teach us that we can do something in this world that can help us acquire a better life and attain the most incredible life possible. However, what is the way to achieve this? By ״נצור לשונך מרע ושפתיך מדבר מרמה״, by using our mouths the way we're supposed to and not in ways that can be detrimental to ourselves and others. Our כח הדיבור, the power of a person’s speech, is our most powerful tool and is also our secret weapon. It can bring us down, but it can also uplift us, connect us to others, and even change our lives forever. 

The Gemara in Ketubot (64) tells a story about רב ינאי who had a son-in-law named רבי יהודה. Every Friday, רבי יהודה would go to רב ינאי’s house, and when he would walk, there would be a pillar of fire that would accompany him since he was such a tremendous תלמוד חכם. One Friday, רב ינאי noticed that it was late and רבי יהודה seemed to have been running later than usual, so he turned to the people in his house and said, 'Go prepare the shrouds because he's probably not alive anymore'. Ultimately, רב ינאי's words were unfortunately true and רבי יהודה did pass away. Based on this גמרא, Rav Elchanan Wasserman explains the following: why did רבי יהודה pass away? Usually, when we see a great צדיק’s blessing or curse actually occur, it is because ה׳ fulfilled the will of that צדיק. But in this specific case, it would've never been רב ינאי's desire for his son-in-law to die! Therefore, through telling this story, the גמרא is trying to teach us that it must be that the speech of a person is naturally effective even without intent, and so it is of fundamental importance to be careful with what we say and to always try to improve in this aspect of our lives.

The חזון איש was once asked by a student what he should work on while being in yeshiva. The answer he was given was to focus on strengthening his תורה learning and refining his speech. The פרשה expresses to us that צרעת originates from using our דיבור in the wrong ways and from failing to fulfill our potential of becoming an איש החפץ חיים. But as we enter into Pesach, which the Arizal mentions is composed of the words “פה סח” (the mouth speaks), and we say והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא, and sing Hallel to praise ה׳, we should remind ourselves that there are so many ways of using our speech for the good. We should be זוכה to embody מי האיש החפץ חיים, people who want life by always working on our דיבור for the better, for תורה, תפילה, and ואהבת לרעך כמוך, and in turn, ה׳ will protect us from our enemies and lead us to the גאולה שלימה במהירה בימינו.