SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
? Day 159 ¨C The Prohibition
? As in the case of loshon hora, one must do his best to ignore someone who is about to begin or has already begun to speak rechilus.? If someone begins talking of how one person has wronged another, to willfully listen as he continues
to speak is, according the the Chofetz Chaim, in violation of ¡°Do not accept a false report¡± (Shemos 23:1).? Just as it is lowly to speak gossip, so too it is not befitting a respectable human being to listen to gossip.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON ? The Whole of Man ?
In summation: One must strive to fulfill each and every mitzvah, be it between man and God or between man and his fellow, for each is an expression of Hashem¡¯s will. Thus does the Torah state: ¡°Apply your hearts to all the words... with which you are to instruct
your children, to be careful to perform all the words of this Torah. For it is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life...¡¯¡¯ (Devarim 32:46-47). Let no one think that even a single mitzvah is extraneous, a matter left to those who seek exceptional refinement
of character or spiritual attainment. For it is your life. No part of the human body is extraneous; each serves an important function without which the body would be unsound. Similarly, each mitzvah provides its own unique spirituality and is vital to the
soul¡¯s well-being.
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Thus do we conclude the reading of the Book of Koheles: ¡°The sum of the matter when all is considered: Fear God and keep His commandments, for that is the whole of man¡± (Koheles 12:13). To be the adam hashaleim, man of spiritual perfection, one must fear God
so that he will refrain from doing that which the Torah prohibits, and he must keep His commandments, that is, all positive commandments. That is the whole of man.
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