Arakhin 3:5
When is verbal assault considered worse than physical damage?
במוציא שם רע להקל ולהחמיר כיצד, אחד שהוציא שם רע על הגדולה שבכהנה ועל הקטנה שבישראל, נותן מאה סלע. נמצא האומר בפיו יתר מן העושה מעשה. שכן מצינו שלא נחתם גזר דין על אבותינו במדבר אלא על לשון הרע, שנאמר (במדבר יד) וינסו אתי זה עשר פעמים ולא שמעו בקולי.
The rule governing defamation may be considered lenient or strict. How so? Whether one defamed the girl of the most prestigious priestly family, or the girl of the most humble Israelite family, he must pay a fine of 100 sela. This shows that what one says orally is treated more severely than a physical outrage! [cf. the previous mishnah, which fined a seducer only 50 sela] And so too we find that the decree that our ancestors [must die] in the wilderness was sealed only as a result of defamation, as it says, “they have tested me these ten times, and have not heeded My voice.” (Num. 14:22)
Comments
This tractate of Mishnah, Arakhin, deals with pledges to the temple that are pegged to the market value of a person in the slave market. It also considers the “cost” of various types of damage one person might do to another, and how to determine restitution. Our mishnah demonstrates an egalitarian principle. Defaming a woman’s honor is fined equally whether the woman (or girl) came from an elite or common family. This flat fine of one-hundred sela is “strict” if one defamed a commoner, but “lenient” if the victim was high-class, since one might expect penalties to rise according to class. The second half of the mishnah focuses on the surprising severity of penalties for defamation compared to those for physical violation. Midrashically, it then connects this concept to the incident of the spies, saying that only when the Israelites defamed the land did God finally punish them.
Questions
- How would you evaluate the “cost” of various sorts of violations? One rabbinic idea is the amount a person would accept in order to volunteer, say, to be slapped in public, or beaten. Does this seem practicable?
- Can you think of times in which defamation could be more damaging than even a physical assault? What does this concept say about the value of honor in ancient Jewish society? Which do we prioritize—physical integrity, or honor? What does this say about our society?
