Vayikra: Making Manners Great Again

VaYikra, “Making Manners Great Again”:  All too often, ours is a society in which politeness, not of the which fork and which knife do I use variety, but in the sense of it is a valuable thing to consider how one’s actions might impact on others, seems to be forgotten. 

The very first verse in Leviticus, which we start to read this week, reminds us not to forget the value of acting towards and communicating with others in ways that show respect:  "And the Lord called unto Moses, and spoke unto him" [Lev. I.1]. Why was it need to call first, and then to speak? The Torah teaches good manners, that a man should not communicate to another anything before he tells him that he wishes to speak to him. And this is in support of R. Hanina, who has said the same.

Said R. Menasseh the Great: How is it known, when one person communicates something to another, that one has no right to tell it to a third without permission? It is written, "spoke unto him.”

God is teaching that speaking is no simple thing – it is very important and must be done correctly.  Some of our biggest sins come from talking when we shouldn’t.  And some of our greatest errors come in gossiping about others and sharing things we shouldn’t.  It’s no surprise we get a lesson like this then.

The trick of course is to remember it – perhaps that is why we return to the Torah again and again every year – it’s valuable and even simple lessons can still be hard for us to learn!