A white-faced sin – No’ach
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Gen. 9:6) – there is no doubt about it: murder is wrong, and its punishment is severe.
Though later generations were reluctant to apply the full force of the law by imposing the death penalty, our revulsion against murder is undiminished.
There is a second level on which the law applies. The Talmud says, hamalbin p’nei chavero barabbim, ein lo chelek la’olam haba – “One who publicly shames a fellow human being has no place in the World to Come” (Bava Metzia 59a). Literally hamalbin p’nei chavero means, “One who makes a person’s face white”. By shaming a person publicly so that the blood drains from their face and they become deathly white, you lose your place in the World to Come.
Insulting or gravely embarrassing another person is not literally murder, but you have destroyed their reputation and dignity and the punishment is severe.
