RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: WHEN INSULTED, DO NOT ANSWER
INSULTS AND NEGATIVE TRUTHS PROMPT SILENCE AND FORGIVENESS
BLUFFTON SUN, BLUFFTON, SC, JANUARY 2013
BY
Shalom and Peace:
Today we continue with a bit more of Jewish Ethics (Derek Eretz 1:4) from the Talmud. Ellen and I wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful 2013!
''When you hear others insult you, do not answer them.''
Falsehoods spoken about us require no response; we remain silent. Why? From a spiritual point of view, we don't need to explain ourselves. Our friends know the truth; our enemies won't believe it.
We use the bedtime Shema prayer every night to ask God to allow us to forgive anyone who has harmed us: "Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me…whether through speech…"
We also remain silent when negative truths are spoken about us. In that moment, the gossiper, despite the sinfulness of his behavior, is our best teacher. We must spend time alone in quiet reflection. We need to own up to the truth of our defects of character.
The word 'insult' in Verse 1:4 does not necessarily refer to gossip. When verbally abused, we Jews, as our fellows in other faiths, are to turn the other cheek. (Physical assault, however, is a different issue; Judaism is not a pacifistic religion.) When someone insults us, we respond with loving kindness. Arnold Toynbee (1889–1975, England) said: "Love is the ultimate force that makes for the saving choice of life and good against the damning choice of death and evil. Therefore, the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word."
As Donna Brazile is quoted on the endorsements on the back cover of my 5th book, "Great is Peace,'' : "People are hungry for civility. Love is the key to many of our problems. I will not let anyone occupy my heart with hate. It is not what someone calls you, but what you answer to."
We must remember humility. "Know from where you came and to where you are going and before Whom you are destined to give account and reckoning. From where have you come? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To the place of dust, worms, and maggots" (Pirkei Avot 3:1). When we truly humbly understand and believe we are nothing more than a putrid drop from our fathers, and that our end is food for worms, what insult can top it?
Rabbi Arthur Segal is an international lecturer, author, and teacher. Visit him at www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org . Follow him on FaceBook at 'Arthur L Segal', on Twitter at RabbiASegal, or his blog at http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com . Email at RabbiASegal@aol.com .
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Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
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