Good Lives Matter

According to the Gemara, Hashem afflicts you with a skin condition called tzura’at for committing one of seven following sins:  

• Evil speech, such as gossip and slander 
• Murder, shedding blood 
• False oaths 
• Illicit intimacy 
• Haughtiness 
• Robbery 
• Stinginess

Hashem gives it to you on your body, then on your clothes, and finally in your home.  

You can be worth $1 billion as head of smartcow.com, friends of the president, invincible. Then, a small green spot appears on your wall, the size of a fingerprint.  

A week later, you are homeless.  

You are in Jewish prison. Everybody knows it. Money, power, influence, reputation, Hashem takes it all away because you forgot to be a decent person.  

It’s interesting to note that all of these sins relate to how we treat one another.  

Guarding Shabbat, praying three times a day, wearing tzitzit – these are commandments that are between God and man and they do not appear on this list at all.  

We should all take serious note: Hashem loves each of us so much that if anyone were to hurt us, He will destroy them. They lose their home. They lose their reputation. They lose their membership to society.  

This is how vital it is to treat everyone with basic decency. If we harm any of His creations, this will happen to us.  

It’s a blessing. 

If I am rich, powerful, and socially untouchable, how will I know if I am off course? If I am treating everyone around me like a servant, speaking lashon hara (evil speech) nonstop, who will have the courage to tell me the emperor is naked?  

A tzura’at affliction is an act of Divine mercy. The King of kings is telling you to make improvements before it’s too late. The message loud and clear.  

This is the Biblical equivalent of Hashem sending you an SMS to your cellphone. It’s the ultimate Yellow Card that offers the surest way to know where you stand with Hashem and others around you.  

The Blessing of Eretz Yisrael 

This blessing is only available in the Land of Israel. You don’t get this level of guidance anywhere else.   

Now you know why life here in Israel is so hard: The eyes of Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. (Devarim 11:12) 

In Eretz Yisrael Hashem helps you. He is harder on you. He pushes you to the right path by placing traps and obstacles all over the sidelines.  

A startup founder said it best: “America is the land of opportunity. Israel is the Land of challenges.” 

The constant trials and tribulations are all designed to make you a better person in the eyes of God and in the eyes of everyone around you.  

Imagine what people will say about you for every day you don’t have the Divine affliction:  

• Evil Speech – “You know, he never bad mouths anyone.” 
• Murder – “I can get into an argument with him about anything and we always end up laughing at the end.” 
• False Oaths – “He’s honest. A straight-up guy we all trust.” 
• Illicit Intimacy – “So many guys pretend to be nice, but they are just hitting on me. He is a gentleman.”
• Haughtiness – “He never makes me feel like garbage.” 
• Robbery – “He never nickels and dime you. People like that you can do business with. We should elect him president of the synagogue.” 
• Stinginess – “I was short some cash so I couldn’t leave a nice tip for the waitress. He put 20 shekels on the table before we left for both of us.” 

Defund the Police  

There is a reason the city of Bnei Brak has a completely defunded police force. There isn’t a single police precinct in the all-Torah Jewish city because everyone fears Hashem. They follow His commandments as if the breach of a single one will result in a lesion appearing on their arms.  

The entire community is safe because people don’t break the law.  

With admission comes privileges. If you are upholding the mitzvot between people, you earn the right to exist in a community where everyone is observing these rules. You can go for a stroll in the park at 11:30 PM. You can leave your door unlocked. You can pass by anyone at any time without a care in the world.  

There is no discrimination between women, people of color, or any type of minority because their very presence in the community means they are upholding the same Divine standards of decency as everybody else.  

When someone gets arrested, or they see a mark on their body, clothes, or home – you know it is absolutely just because the True Judge has made the arrest. There are no protests because in this community, a Torah community, good lives matter.  

People living bad lives are tossed aside as second-class citizens until they make repentance and join everyone else. No special treatment is given to anyone who flaunts the law.  

Isn’t that the world we are all striving to be a part of? 

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David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, a high-tech center, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, the local camel. David’s Israeli startup, Center Stage Content, makes your business the star of the show by creating SEO optimized, ROI driven, easy to understand content.