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SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
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Day 132 ¨C Rechilus When Attempting to Avoid Rechilus?????????
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It is forbidden to tell someone, ¡°I¡¯d rather not tell you what so-and-so said about you,¡± for this is implying that ¡°so-and-so¡± said something negative about the listener. If the speaker honestly ¨C though naively ¨C intended to avoid
speaking rechilus, he violated only the rabbinical prohibition of ¡°avak rechilus.¡± However, if the implication was intentional, then the remark is classified as outright rechilus and he has transgressed the Scriptural prohibition.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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Scoffing
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One of the root causes of loshon hora is scoffing. Some people are accustomed to scoffing at anything, and attach themselves to people who are of their own kind. It is natural for such people to scoff at others who are outside their circle and to speak degradingly
of them. Therefore, one who seeks to cleanse his soul should ponder the terrible sin of such behavior.
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Our Sages teach that scoffers are one of four groups that will not merit to greet the Divine Presence (Sotah 42a). In addition to his own sins, a scoffer is guilty of causing others to join him in his ridicule. It is well known that to cause others to sin is
an extremely grave offense, and prevents the perpetrator from being granted Heavenly assistance to repent (Avos 5:18).
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Aside from all of the above, to idle one¡¯s time away, even not in a sinful way, is to waste precious time that could be used for studying Torah and accruing reward for the World to Come. According to one Talmudic opinion, the verse ¡°... for he scorned the word
of Hashem¡± (Bamidbar 15:31) applies to one who squanders the opportunity to study Torah.
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How ashamed, then, should one be to have spent hour upon hour in the company of scoffers! Moreover, were they to restrain themselves from speaking the forbidden, they would thereby merit eternal life, for, as the Midrash states, for each moment that a person
refrains from speaking the forbidden, he merits a hidden light that no angel can fathom.
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Keep reading Day 133, the lesson for Shabbos
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SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
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Day 133 ¨C Praise
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When sincerely praising an individual¡¯s generosity in the presence of others, one should not do so in a way that may cause his family or business partner to be upset with him for having been charitable at their expense. Acknowledging a major donation in the
presence of the donor¡¯s spouse or offspring may arouse feelings on his or her part that the family¡¯s money is being mishandled. If the recipient had good intentions only, he would be guilty of speaking avak rechilus.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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Loser of Two Worlds
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A? scoffer is liable to suffer retribution in this world for his sinful behavior. As the Talmud states (Avodah Zara 18b): ¡°Whoever scoffs will have affliction visited upon him, as it is written, ¡®And now, do not scoff, lest your retribution intensify¡¯ (Yeshayahu
28:22). Said Rava to the rabbis, ¡®I ask you not to engage in scoffing, so that affliction not come upon you.¡¯ ¡± The Talmud further states (ibid.) that scoffing causes one to be denied his material needs.
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Scoffers bring punishment upon the entire world, as the Talmud (ibid.) states, ¡°Whoever scoffs brings about destruction in the world.¡¯¡¯ It is forbidden even to sit in the company of scoffers, as it is written, ¡°Praiseworthy is the man ... that sat not in the
company of scoffers¡± (Tehillim 1:1).
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The Vilna Gaon writes in his famous letter:
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To the verse, ¡°All man¡¯s toil is for his mouth¡± (Koheles 6:6), the Sages comment (Midrash Koheles ibid.) that all the mitzvos and Torah study of a person are not sufficient to negate that which he utters [sinfully] with his mouth. They further state: ¡°Which
craft should man pursue in this world? He should strive to emulate a mute [and avoid evil talk] (Chullin 89a), and press his lips together like two millstones [which grind against one another]¡±.
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Therefore, one must distance oneself from scoffers so that he will not learn from their ways; rather, he should sit where Torah is being spoken. Praiseworthy will he be, in this world and in the World to Come.
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