SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
? Day 27 ¨C Repentance
? If one has uttered a potentially harmful statement about someone, he has committed a sin that is both bein adam la¡¯Makom, between man and Hashem, and bein adam la¡¯chaveiro, between man and his fellow.? Confession, regret and resolution
for the future can only serve as teshuvah (repentance) for one¡¯s sins before Hashem.? For sins against man, one must approach the person and beg forgiveness.
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This only applies to a situation where one¡¯s speech has already caused damage. If a potentially damaging statement was made but no actual harm has resulted as of yet, it is the speaker¡¯s responsibility to do his best to prevent this from happening.
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A practical way of accomplishing this would be to approach anyone who has heard the harmful information, and explain that it was inaccurate.
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? SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON ? The Poor Man¡¯s Treasure ?
A very noteworthy concept can be derived from the Talmud¡¯s teaching that the world exists in the merit of the Torah study of children, and that their study is superior to that of the generation¡¯s leading sages. This concept can be better understood with a parable:
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A poor man found a very rare, precious gem, which was commonly found only in the crowns of kings. This was a gem which could be used for a variety of very important purposes, a fact of which the poor man had no notion. The king of that country asked the poor
man to give him the gem, and in return, rewarded him with great wealth and a position of prominence. Thus, the poor man received great reward not for what he knew, but for what he possessed.
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Torah study is the rare, precious gem and the young children, who are unaware of the Torah¡¯s awesome sanctity and the depth of its wisdom, are like the poor man who does not perceive the gem¡¯s true worth. Though they lack this understanding, nevertheless, they
are personally sanctified and sustain the world through their study. This is because the awesome sanctity of Torah is an unchanging fact and is not dependent on any mental or other preparation on the part of the student. Whenever anyone studies Torah, he is
naturally bound up with its sanctity. Thus does the prophet allude to the study of Torah when he says, ¡°... whenever I speak of him I remember him more and more. Therefore, My inner self yearns for him...¡± (Yirmiyahu 31:19).
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However, when a person defiles his power of speech by speaking that which is forbidden, then the degree of spiritual light which he draws from the study of Torah is diminished.
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We can now better understand the Sages¡¯ discussion cited above. R¡¯ Pappa asked Abaye, ¡°What of our Torah study? Do not the sacred thoughts which are so essential to our study make it superior to that of young children?¡± Abaye responded, ¡°There is no comparison
between breath that is tainted by sin and breath that is free of sin,¡± meaning that the purity of the children¡¯s study outweighs whatever it lacks.
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