The Tongue Is Stronger Than The Sword

Sticks and stones may break your bones but words cut to the heart. In Jewish thought, few habits and behaviors are treated as repulsively as tale bearing and evil gossip. The pain of discovering that someone you know is talking behind your back is heart-wrenching; when that someone is your friend, the pain can be earthshattering. It’s no surprise that the worst characters in history where branded by their ability to badmouth others. Haman was a master of this craft; Hitler and his demonic gang were infamous for their expertise and ‘craftsmanship’. But most people are not evil; they may even mean no harm when thoughtlessly relating information that puts another person in a bad light. Unfortunately, the issue runs deeper. Modern culture labels the sharing of embarrassing information ‘entertainment’. The Torah calls it Lashon Hara.

A common misconception is that true information does not fall into the category of Lashon Hara. If it’s true, what harm can I be doing already? But our Sages paint a different picture: “With three sins a man forfeits his life in this World and in the Future World. These sins are idol worship, murder, and adultery. Yet, the sin of Lashon Hara equals all of them”. This is harsh. We are all moving towards the ‘Future World’. Think about it. All of human growth and suffering and advancement and refinement are leading up to a glorious finale, and yet, those who speak ill of others are equal to those who are barred entry. Why? What’s the big deal? Our sages explain that a person who continuously and brazenly disregards Hashem’s presence in the world and acts as if He cannot hear or see the words that maliciously tear people apart behind their backs… such a person has divorced himself from reality and has lost his portion in Hashem’s Eternity.

The other side of the coin is listening to and accepting Lashon Hara. Such behavior is just as evil. Though ‘passive’ during the character assassination, a person who listens to Lashon Hara facilitates the damaging effects of this cruel sin. A listening partner in this sin may not realize how his subconscious is developing a negative image of the maligned subject, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t responsible for it.

Everything we have discussed so far concerns Lashon Hara communicated about a single person. Can you imagine the magnitude of damage caused by one who maligns a pair or group of people? How can such a person ever seek forgiveness and fix his wrong? The tongue is sharper than the sword; a careless tongue pierces the palate of a careless speaker. Such a person destroys himself and society. Our Sages teach us that the Prosecutor in the spiritual world, Satan, is only given the power to bad mouth the Jewish nation when the Jewish nation is busy bad mouthing itself. This is measure for measure.

We must stay away from the habit of speaking negatively about any person, pair, family, group, faction or community. We have so much to fix without the added baggage, let’s not give Satan freebies.

 By BJL Staff