Shiurim

Back to Shiurim List

The Roots of Lashon Hara

By: SFW Students & Alumna
Sarah Hirsch ('08)

            The sin of lashon hara is speaking negative truths about another person. Speech is extremely powerful and, if misused, can cause irreparable damage to one’s reputation and stature.  There is a pasuk in Mishlei that states, "mavet v’chaim b’yad halashon", death and life are subject to the control of the tongue.  Hashem has provided us with the ability to speak, but the Torah is warning us to use caution, for our words carry much weight.  The Gemara in Archin 15: describes the severity of speaking lashon hara, by equating it to the three cardinal sins, as it says:"shkola lashon hara k’neged avodah zara v’gilui arayot v’shfichut damim".  Although it is often difficult to guard one’s tongue from evil, one must, in fact, realize the strength of his words and the gravity of the sin of speaking lashon hara.

            There exists a hierarchy of creation that begins with inanimate objects, and continues on with plants, animals, and above them all, man.  Though man and animal have similar capabilities, Hashem raised man to a higher level by instilling within him the gift of speech as it says, "v’motar ha’adam mi hab’hema".  Since the power of speech can be used either positively or negatively, the Torah warns us against speaking slander. 

In Parashat Ki Tetze, Rashi comments on the connection between two psukim (24:8-9), the first a warning to be careful of tzara’at and the second, a commandment to remember what happened to Miriam in the desert.  Here, Rashi explains that we must be careful to refrain from speaking lashon hara so as not to get tzara’at.  By remembering that Miriam was afflicted with tzara’at, we will be conscious of how seriously Hashem regards evil speech. 

            In Parashat Tazria, the Torah describes many different physical blemishes that are considered tzara’at.  The Torah describes each blemish in such great details stressing that the physical appearance of a blemish, whether it be size, hair, or color, plays a determining factor in whether a person is considered tamei or tahor.  Speech is something completely internal, yet one who transgresses the mitzvah of lashon hara receives a physical punishment, that plagues his body.  Why, would the punishment for evil speech, which stems from a spiritual source, be the appearance of a physical affliction on the guilty party’s body?

The Yalkut Lekach Tov addresses this question and explains that physicality is the root of the sin.  One who speaks lashon hara is focusing only on the physical manifestation of his fellow.  He is oblivious to the importance of spirituality and of the neshama, which compose the true essence of a person.  The only way to rectify one’s concentration on the physical is to lower his image of himself.  This is why a slanderer receives tzara’at, not to cause him pain, but to humble and lower him in his own eyes and in the eyes of others.  When a person speaks lashon hara, he is not just speaking negatively, but rather elevating himself at the expense of someone else.  He is using his speech to degrade and single out another person.  For this, the Torah must exact justice by causing the sinner to suffer the same embarrassment he brought on someone else.  Once he becomes afflicted with tzara’at, he too becomes singled out and isolated from the camp.  By being separated from the rest of the camp, the matzora is able to contemplate his sin and his actions and eventually understand that spirituality is of primary importance. Tzara’at comes to teach him that his physical body is a temporary costume, but his true essence is his pure neshama.  When the sinner sees that the plague affects his physical body alone, and not his neshama, he will realize that he must put more emphasis on the spiritual rather than on the physical.

Thank you to those who helped me with this Dvar Torah

Sources: Yalkut Lekach Tov and Orchot Tzadikim