As we count the days to matan Torah, we mourn the loss of Rabbi Akiva¡¯s 24,000
talmidim. Chazal tell us that a lack of kavod between them caused this calamity.? Let us take this to heart and prepare ourselves for
matan Torah by improving bein adam lachaveiro. A great way to ensure that each day we count is a day of growth, is to learn two halachos of Shmiras Haloshon Yomi. Join us on this journey to
kabalas Hatorah, and may we arrive together, k¡¯ish echad b¡¯lev echad!
Good Chodesh!
Dedicated l¡¯zecher nishmas Berel ben Hirsh z¡±l, by his children Dr. and Mrs. Reuven Shanik
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SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
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Day 30 ¨C Without Names
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All forms of loshon hora are prohibited even when no names are mentioned, if it will be possible for people to determine who is being discussed.
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Furthermore, if names are omitted but the story will reflect badly on an entire group of people, it may not be spoken.? Speaking critically about an unnamed student at a yeshiva is often taken as a statement about the entire student body or as a reflection
on yeshiva students in general.? If this is the implication, the statement is a more serious form of loshon hora, for it reflects on a multitude of Jews.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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Rewards
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Zohar states (Parashas Chukas) that one who is zealous in avoiding forbidden speech becomes enveloped in a spirit of sanctity.
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Midrash Tanchuma (Tehillim 52:2) states: ¡°The Holy One, Blessed is He, said: ¡®If you seek to escape [the punishments of] Gehinnom, distance yourselves from loshon hora. Through this, you will be deemed meritorious in this world and the next.¡¯ ¡±
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The Torah states: ¡°You shall not eat flesh of an animal that was torn in the field; to the dog shall you throw it¡± (Shemos 2:30). In fact, it is permitted to dispose of such meat in other ways as well. However, the Torah says to throw such meat to dogs as a
way of reward for their not having howled at any Jew on the night of the Exodus (ibid. 11:7), for Hashem does not deprive any creature of its just reward. Surely, then, there is infinite reward reserved for man, who, through his own free choice, refrains from
speaking the forbidden (Mechilta, Parashas Mishpatim 20). |
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Keep reading Day 31, the lesson for Shabbos
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SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
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Day 31 ¨C Slander
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All forms of loshon hora are prohibited even when the information is true and accurate.? (Only in very specific circumstances is it permissible to say something that would otherwise be considered
loshon hora; this will be discussed later.)
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Slander, which is information that is not true, referred to as hotzaas shem ra (lit., spreading a bad name), is worse than
loshon hora which is derogatory but true.
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To relate derogatory information that is essentially true but includes either exaggerations or even slight altering of facts is also considered
hotzaas shem ra.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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The Quality of Peace
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Through shmiras haloshon one is blessed with the precious quality of peace. By refraining from speaking ill of others, one ensures that he will not be the object of their enmity; to the contrary, others will love him and confide in him, and surely
will not speak ill of him.
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Peace is precious, for in its merit, God does not allow Satan to harm the Jewish people, even when idolatry is found among them (Bamidbar Rabbah
11:16).1
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One who accustoms himself to speaking favorably of others merits that God refers to him as
Peace, which is one of God¡¯s own Names.2 Conversely, with regard to the gossiper, the Sages state: ¡°One who dines with his fellow and then speaks disparagingly of him is referred to by the Holy One, Blessed is He, as,
evil, as it is written, ¡°Deceit in the heart of those who plot evil¡± (Mishlei
12:20).
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One who belittles others will, in the end, be the object of scorn ¡ª aside from the retribution that he will incur. The early commentators find an allusion to this in the verse, ¡°Just as he inflicted a wound upon a person, so will be inflicted upon him¡± (Vayikra
24:20). Moreover, by speaking loshon hora, one becomes an object of contempt even in the eyes of his listener, who accepted his sinful words as truth. As the Sages put it, ¡°False witnesses are contemptible even in the eyes of those who hire them¡±
(Sanhedrin 29a). And his listeners will forever suspect that he might one day speak ill of them.
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1. See Day 19.
2. as derived from Shoftim 6:24.
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Dedications and Sponsorships??????
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