This week’s Torah portion beautifully illustrates how the physical word reflects the spiritual world.

A spiritual contamination caused by speaking lashon hara, negative speech, manifests as a physical blemish on the skin, clothing, or house. The first stage of rectification for this blemish is total confinement. When someone, God forbid, is a physical hazard to society, then confinement away from others seems appropriate. However, why would isolation be a necessary first step in rectifying a spiritual blemish?

Lesson:

We know that eating unhealthy food is harmful to our body. But how would we know if we’re doing something unhealthy to our neshama, soul? In God’s abundant kindness, He sends a physical symptom so that we become aware of our spiritual contamination. Even after the awareness of having done something wrong, God tells us that we need to go into confinement; we need to be with no one except ourselves. This situation lends itself for introspection and self-assessment, necessary requisites to rectify our behavior, and change to become better.

We like to justify our behavior to fit our motives and desires, casting off guilt and responsibility. “That piece of negative speech is justified because that person did something really atrocious; or it was not really so bad to speak negatively about that person because I was just venting about how I felt. Or it’s not really so bad because I could have said a lot more, whereas I just hinted at my disdain for someone.” We like to rationalize our actions because admitting we were wrong is hard. And just as difficult is holding back what we want to do or say.

It is easier to be distracted than to admit fault within ourselves and create tangible ways to rectify them. By being in total confinement, God is telling the person to be still. Stop running. Stop producing. Stop with distractions, entertainment, and disruptions. Stop thinking about outward things but instead look inward. Reflect on your life. Think about where you are going and where your actions are taking you. Consider areas of your character that require improvement. Consider relationships in your life that can be mended and enhanced. We can only accomplish this when we are still, alone, quiet.

God gives us all this amazing gift of an opportunity to truly stop, reflect, and make those changes necessary to propel us to the next level of our highest selves. And when we do, we can achieve amazing spiritual heights! If someone wants to eat a cookie, and they refrain, then they have not gained any weight, but they have not lost any either; it is a neutral situation. In God’s abundant kindness, not only does holding yourself back from anything negative save you from a transgression but propels you higher spiritually! When we stop and reflect on areas that require improvement and make subsequent positive changes we will be propelled to amazing heights, even more so than before and fulfill our highest, holiest potential, please God.

Lesson: Confine yourself for ten minutes, no phone, no distractions. Think about something you can improve upon and a tangible way to make that happen. Then do it.