BibelSvar: You shall not go around as a gossip monger amidst your people - When to speak and when to be quiet, that is the question ?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

You shall not go around as a gossip monger amidst your people - When to speak and when to be quiet, that is the question ?

Jesus explains His view of the law very early in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill "   (Matthew 5:17).

Leviticus 19

16. You shall not go around as a gossipmonger amidst your people. You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the Lord.

17. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your fellow, but you shall not bear a sin on his account.

18. You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Acts 15

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” (Old Testament can be learned in the synagogue)

--- From Torah.org (instead of going to a synagogue)

Definition of Lashon Hara:   Negative Comments, Whether True or False

It is forbidden to speak disparagingly of one's "chaveir" (lit. friend -- we will discuss who this technically includes later). Even if the information is entirely truthful, it is called Lashon Hara. If the information also contains any fabrication, it is also called motzi shem ra (lit. putting out a bad name). The speaker of Lashon Hara violates the prohibition of "Lo telech rachil b'ameicha (Lev. 19:16)."

--- Biblical Source for the Prohibition Against Lashon Hara

Leviticus 19:16 explicitly prohibits Lashon Hara and Rechilut (talebearing that incites hatred and resentment), yet there are many more commandments that bear on the speaking of Lashon Hara, as discussed in the introduction.

--- Habitual Speakers of Lashon Hara

The above, the seriousness of speaking Lashon Hara relates to someone who incidentally includes something inappropriate in his speech. But those who make it a habit to talk about others in a derogatory manner ("Did you hear.....", "Do you know she.....", etc.) are labeled ba'alei lashon hara (lit. masters of Lashon Hara, in that such speech is an integral part of themselves), and their transgression is far more severe. They regularly create a chilul Hashem (desecration of the name of God; cf. Lev. 22:32) because of their rebellious manner.

Though they may view their activities as social tools, such behavior cuts them off from many good things in the world around them.

--- Profound Consequences of Speaking Lashon Hara

Ba'alei Lashon Hara are also cut off from something else: olam habah (the World to Come).

--- Various Methods of Conveying Lashon Hara

Whether spoken, written, or hinted with gestures or any other way (if you looked at the Rashi in Lev. 19:16 you saw that winking was described as a characteristic behavior of holchei rachil- those who go about slandering), any communication of Lashon Hara is prohibited. This also applies if you weren't the writer of a piece disparaging someone.

--- When is it permissible to repeat something negative about another?

While the speaker should first try to influence the individual directly, if he observes certain negative character traits in the individual, such as arrogance or anger, or that the individual is an idler at the expense of Torah growth, it is proper for the person to speak to that individual's children or studentsand caution them not to learn from his behavior. The principle defined by the Torah prohibition against speaking Lashon Hara even if true, is if the speaker's intention is to disparage his fellow and rejoice in the other's disgrace. If, however, the speaker's intention is to protect another friend such that he will not learn from the actions of the other, it is clearly permissible, even a mitzvah (positive action).

When a speaker intends to warn others, we see that the speaker is required to tell the listener his reason for speaking Lashon Hara, so that the listener should not err by freely speaking Lashon Hara about the subject as a result of the conversation. It is also important for the speaker to state his purpose so that the listener will not think that he is a hypocrite, sometimes saying it is forbidden to speak L"H yet now the speaker is speaking it himself, for it is a great mitzvah to help distance young children from the sin of Lashon Hara