Our hearts mourn the loss of those killed by the terrible tornado in Moore, Oklahoma this week. Our prayers and thoughts are with the injured and the affected families.
Amazingly, meteorologists conclude that the tornado packed more energy than an atomic bomb – by far. Many estimates claim that there was 600 times more energy devastating Moore than the energy dumped on Hiroshima.
The cold air and warm air that meet in the formation of a tornado cause intense spiraling and winds that concentrate into the most dangerous of phenomena.
Tornadoes form over land, while their cousin hurricanes form at sea. Nonetheless, we know surprisingly little about tornadoes. We can forecast tropical storms and hurricanes with relative accuracy, but tornadoes remain largely shrouded in mystery.
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In this week’s parsha, Behaalosecha, we read of the dangers of lashon horah (negative speech about others). Miriam spoke accurately about her brother Moshe’s way of life. But it was derogatory and she was not privy to the true reasons for his actions.
Like a tornado, we do not necessarily see the danger of the words we speak until the damage is done. And the harm can be devastating. Lashon horah packs an intense amount of negative energy into a few words. These words form a life of their own, often defying the odds, and surpassing the intentions of the one who uttered them to life.
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Thankfully, we also can reverse the effects of lashon horah. Through speaking – and certainly acting – kindly toward and about each other, we can form endless waves of goodness.
As we sadly witnessed the destruction of one tornado, we became party to to the beauty and blessing of another sort of tornado. A tornado of kindness, selflessness and heroism – as displayed so valiantly by people like Rhonda Crosswhite who draped her body across six students inside a Plaza Towers Elementary School bathroom stall. And as demonstrated by Rabbi Ovadia Goldman in Oklahoma City, who transformed his Chabad center into a shelter and relief center, comforting and feeding those in need (over 20,000 pounds of meat alone!).
These are the positive tornadoes that contain even more energy – positive, holy energy – than all the EF5 tornadoes and atomic bombs combined.
It’s these courageous individuals that inspire and touch us to get to work creating a spiral of good – one that will conclude with the peace and harmony of Moshiach’s arrival.