SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON Day 17 – 18 (sponsored in memory of a friend by Anonymous) Rabbi Raphael Hamburger, in his work Marpei Loshon, offers another insightful explanation of the verses, “Which man desires life ... guard your tongue from evil ...” He bases his thoughts on the following passage from Sefer Chovos HaLevavos (Sha’ar HaKeniah, ch. 7): On the Day of Judgment, many people will find themselves credited with meritorious deeds which they did not do. “These are not mine!” each one will declare. He will be told, “These are the deeds of those who spoke disparagingly of you [and thereby caused their merits to be transferred to your account].” And the one who spoke disparagingly will be told, “These deeds were taken from you when you spoke against So-and-so.” Conversely, some will find acts of guilt on their account which they never committed. When each one will protest, “These are not mine!” he will be told, “These were taken from the account of So-and-so, against whom you spoke ...” The above is found in other sacred works as well. A person may spend a day or two earning for himself eternal bliss through Torah and mitzvos, only to exchange these merits for his neighbor’s sins by speaking against him. A few more days might go by as he accrues more reward, only to lose it all in the same manner when another opportunity for evil talk comes his way. This pattern might continue until his day of death, when he departs this world stripped of all his “possessions,” that is, the Torah and mitzvos in which he invested much time and effort. Therefore, David first exhorts us, “Guard your tongue from evil,” and only then does he say, “Turn from evil and do good.” The way to ensure that the reward of mitzvah observance remains ours for all eternity is by refraining from speaking ill of our fellow Jew. Midrash Shochar Tov (Tehillim 52:2) states: It was taught in the academy of R’ Yishmael: Whoever relates loshon hora commits grave sins which equal the Three [Cardinal] Sins of idolatry, immorality and murder.1 [This can be deduced as follows]: Regarding loshon hora it is written, “May Hashem cut off all equivocating lips, the tongue which speaks haughty words [gedolos]” (Tehillim 12:4). Regarding idolatry it is written, “I implore! This people have committed a great sin [gadola]” (Shemos 32:31). Regarding immorality it is written, “How can I perpetrate this great evil [Hagedola]?” (Bereishis 39:9). And regarding murder it is written, “Is my sin too great to be borne [gadol]?” (Bereishis 4:13). [Thus, the plural form [gedolos] is found only with regard to loshon hora.] Alternatively: When someone commits murder, he kills a single soul, but one who speaks loshon hora destroys three: the subject of his words, his listener and himself. From where do we see this? From Doeg, who spoke loshon hora concerning Achimelech (I Shmuel chs. 21-22) and thereby destroyed Shaul, who accepted the report; Achimelech, about whom it was spoken; and himself. Shaul, who accepted it, [died because of it] as it is written: “Shaul died for the faithlessness with which he acted towards Hashem” (I Divrei HaYamim 10:13); Achimelech [died because of it], for about him it was said [by Shaul], “Die, you shall die, Achimelech (I Shmuel 22:16); and Doeg was banished from the World [to Come], as it is written, “Likewise, God will shatter you for eternity” (Tehillim 52:7). And what caused this? Loshon hora. 1. The Midrash cannot mean that speaking loshon hora is a greater sin than any of the Three Cardinal Sins, for they carry the death penalty while speaking loshon hora does not. The Midrash means that speaking loshon hora can lead to the transgression of many severe sins (Maharsha).
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 19:06:37 +0000
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