Hello one and all!

This week was a very stormy week. I'm not just talking about the large amount of rain that fell this week, rather additionally about the storm which was caused by the new "Slander law". What is this law and why has it been so stormy?

The new law dictates that anyone who writes false information, even if it doesn't cause substantial damage, will be obligated to pay the victim a minimum of 300,000 shekels. Many Journalists are fuming about the new law saying that it is "the silencing law" and that it is anti-democratic. Anti-democratic or not, the roots of this law are very ancient

Judaism has always maintained the creative force of words. The world itself is said to have been created by speech. Take the well known phrase " Abracadabra ". The word originates from the Hebrew Abara (I will create) , KeDabera (as is spoken) referring to the structure of creation in Genesis.

The status of words in the Hebrew language is more than just the things that leave one's mouth and evaporate into the air, rather that they create a new reality. During the Talmudic period, the Gemara, (Baba Metzia Tract), writes that "All who whiten the face of his fellow man publically (embarrass); it is as if he has spilt his blood". Jewish thought understands with great sensitivity the feelings of the embarrassed man and even more than this the power of words.

The Midrash Tehilim writes (120) "The tongue is compared to an arrow. Why? Because if a person draws a sword to kill his fellow man, the intended victim can beg for mercy and the attacker can change his mind and return the sword to its sheath. But an arrow, once it has been shot and begun its journey, even if the shooter wants to stop it, he cannot" (translated by Buber).

Words spoken about a man and even more so words written about a man are very strong and sometimes have the power to change reality. All this is so even if what is said is true, but if the statement is false, just think how much worse that is. And now the question remains, is 300,000 shekels enough to pay to a man whose life has been ruined because of a lie?