The sages teach us that the affliction of tzara’at, the skin disease discussed in this week’s parashah, is a direct consequence of speaking lashon ha-ra (gossip). So serious is this offence that it required the removal of the metzora (the one afflicted by the disease) from the community – an ancient solitary confinement requiring the metzora to remain outside the camp for seven days before reintegration into the community. Remarkably, this punishment is unique to lashon ha-ra.

Perhaps we are missing a deeper meaning, though, if we see it as a punishment. Maybe the removal of the metzora is less about the individual who committed the offense, and more about a mechanism for repairing the community from the damages of negative speech. If the sages understood negative speech as a malignancy that spreads, then extraction of that malignancy makes sense, as it permits the community time and space to heal.

A further clue that laws pertaining to the metzora may be more about society and less about the individual is the wording of the famous prohibition against gossip: “You shall not go out as a gossiper amongst your people.”

Curiously, the words “amongst your people” are not attached to any other prohibitions in the Torah. This is an amazing statement about the connection of lashon ha-ra to the nation. Gossip harms not only the gossiper and the one being gossiped about, but most significantly, the fabric of society.

The laws of the metzora shed meaningful light on what kind of society the Torah is modelling. According to the sages, a society infected by negative speech is unhealthy. Just like a sick person, it is weak and languishing. Conversely, a society free of negative speech is better equipped to thrive. Unburdened by the fear of being negatively spoken about by one’s community members, people are more free to take risks and be creative, which in turn fosters a culture of innovation. The seemingly arcane laws found in Metzora contain valuable insight that should inspire us today.