“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but hard words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15: 1). “Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).
RECENTLY, JEWS BEGAN reading the book of Deuteronomy, where Moses reviews the lessons given to the Israelites throughout the Torah. The Hebrew name for this book is Devarim, which means “words,” coming from the first words of the portion, “And these are the words that Moses spoke to all of the people Israel.” Rabbi Chaim Stern says the theme of the first portion of Devarim is wisdom, pointing out the importance of Moses’ wisdom in reminding us how to live a holy life.
Our words are a window into how we live our lives. The Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah teaches us that every word, even every thought, has a ripple effect in the world. We may not know how or when, but our words can have an impact in powerful ways. A kindness extended to someone might be the first shown to them in a long time, and it could change their lives. It may cause them to reach out to others, returning the kindness, making the world a better place.
Sadly, the reverse is also true.
Hatred and lies have their own ripple effect, and sometimes it’s easier to hate. When people feel left out, marginalized or insignificant, they can be manipulated by fear and grievance, believing only what they want to hear. Sustained lies only reinforce their sense of righteous anger.
The words of Hitler, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed,” is an ominous reminder of where a path of repeated deception can lead.
When lies, fear and hatred rule, people who are normally compassionate and kind begin to believe that “the other” is not deserving of those considerations. The ends begin to justify the means, and “winning” to end their aggrieved status becomes the primary goal. It doesn’t matter that their actions are based on falsehoods, thus doing irreparable harm to others and disrupting society.
When voices of hatred and cruelty begin to dominate a society, the ability to be thoughtful and empathetic in discourse is lost in the desire to shout the loudest, creating a state of anxiety and chaos. “Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel” (Proverbs 11:17).
I fear we are seeing a surging of actions in society where cruelty seems to be the point.
Philosophers and religious leaders have long warned about the power of lies.
Avraham Ibn Hadai, an 11th century Jewish philosopher, physician and political figure, encouraged people of faith and integrity to avoid them: “Prefer death to a lying word, for the ripple-effect of its plunder is worse. When a man dies, he dies alone, but many are slain with the lie and its curse.”
All faith traditions warn us to avoid bearing false witness. The Buddhist Eightfold Path and the 10 Commandments of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all stress the importance of honesty.
Exodus 23:7 reminds us to be “distant from falsehood.” The Talmud teaches that truth is the very foundation of the world. A civilized, moral society is in danger when deceit becomes normal and truth is ignored. It seems this normalization is occurring in our country and the world today is shaking that very foundation.
It would be prudent for everyone, but especially political leaders, to follow the lesson of the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides (1135-1204): “Let the truth and right by which you are apparently the loser be preferable to you to the falsehood and wrong by which you are apparently the gainer.”
Over the last nine years, I have written multiple columns on the dangers of lies, especially amongst our leaders, and the importance of truth in our society. It is a tragedy that this topic is still so relevant today.
Abraham Joshua Herschel taught: “Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed.”
I pray that all our words always speak the truth and thus lead to deeds that help repair of our very broken world.
Kein yehi Ratzon … may it be God’s will. Shalom.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Suzanne DeBey is a lay leader of the Port Angeles Jewish community. Her email is debeyfam@olympus.net.