SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
Day 91 ¨C When Listening is Lowly
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Not only is speaking loshon hora a lowly act not befitting the divine image in which man was created, but to listen as someone else speaks loshson hora is lowly as well. The Torah states, Do not accept a false report (Shemos 23:1).
The Chofetz Chaim is apparently of the opinion that merely paying attention to loshon hora being spoken constitutes giving it some degree of credence, and is in violation of this prohibition.
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Just as it is wrong to select the shortcomings of others as subject matter for one¡¯s own speech, so too it is wrong for one to focus his attention on negativity being expressed by others.
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Just as it is wrong to cause harm to others by way of speech, so too it is wrong to serve as a listener as potentially harmful information is being conveyed.
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In short, derogatory or harmful speech should never earn one¡¯s attention. Listening to loshon hora, even if one does not believe it, is in violation of Torah prohibition.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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The Need to Talk
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People who find themselves inclined towards melancholy feel a need to speak freely to others and are, understandably, afraid to focus themselves on developing the quality of silence. Should this be the case, one should at least accustom himself to not speak
about others, whoever they might be; his friendly conversations should focus on matters of interest, and not on people of interest. When he does find it necessary to discuss others, he should be as brief as possible.
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I have heard it said regarding the great Torah genius, Rabbi Raphael of Hamburg, that he resigned his post as rabbi four years prior to his passing. From that time and on, he would ask of those who visited him that as long as they were within the confines of
his home, they should not speak about other people. I have also heard regarding another leader of his generation that he was exceedingly careful never to discuss others.1
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Certainly one must be careful not to discuss a storekeeper with his competitor, nor a craftsman with other members of his craft. Such conversations often lead to loshon hora, especially when the storekeepers or craftsmen are known to bear ill will toward one
another.
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This restriction applies not only to singing the storekeeper¡¯s praises, regarding which our Sages warned: ¡°One should never speak the praises of his fellow [excessively], for praise will inevitably lead to criticism¡± (Arachin 16a).2 One should refrain entirely
from discussing an individual with that person¡¯s competitor, for the listener will quite possibly steer the conversation in a direction that will allow him to vent his negative feelings. If one finds it absolutely necessary to engage in such discussion for
some constructive purpose, he should keep the conversation as brief as possible; otherwise, it will inevitably lead to loshon hora.
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1. Toward the end of his life, the Chofetz Chaim was visited by someone who broached the subject of a dispute in his home town. The Chofetz Chaim interrupted him, ¡°For years, I have avoided the sin of loshon hora. Do you wish that I now be caught in its web?¡¯¡¯
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2. When one praises another excessively, it is inevitable that the speaker or someone else present will point out one or more of the subject¡¯s faults (Rashi ad loc.). See Sefer Chofetz Chaim Part I, ch. 9.
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