SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
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Day 123 ¨C Cynicism
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It is forbidden to relate to a member of a community, family or organization that someone spoke cynically of his group; to do so is to speak rechilus. This is true even when members of that community, family, or organization regularly
joke about themselves. It is common for people to poke fun at themselves, yet be offended when others make similar comments.
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The same applies regarding a school. Students who regularly joke about their school or class are often offended when outsiders make similar comments. Therefore, mentioning to students that someone spoke negatively of their school is speaking rechilus.
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[It should be noted that joking about one¡¯s own school generally involves loshon hora or at least avak loshon hora.]
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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Children of Hashem
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Denial of God¡¯s glory is possible only in this world. Only in his earthly existence can man, with his corporeal desires, be drawn away from His service and thus deny that which is true and sacred. In the upper world, however, all the Heavenly angels perceive
Hashem¡¯s glory, recognize how He sustains and guides them, and declare His praise and bow before him, as it is written, ¡°And the hosts of Heaven bow before You¡± (Nechemiah 9:6).
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In truth, this world is not even like a tiny seed when compared to the totality of worlds Above, where countless Heavenly contingents exist, each consisting of an infinite numbers of angels, as it is written, ¡°A thousand thousands serving Him, and myriad myriads
standing before Him¡± (Daniel 7:10). Thus, the wicked¡¯s flouting of His will in this world is of little significance when viewed within the scope of creation in its entirety.
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In this world, the Holy One, Blessed is He, takes pleasure in the Jewish people, who are so beloved to Him that they are called ¡°Children of Hashem¡± (Devarim 14:1). He takes pleasure, as it were, in the voice of their prayer and study, as it is written, ¡°Let
Me hear your voice¡± (Shir HaShirim?2:14). Shouldn¡¯t we be ashamed not to trust in the One Who gives
life to all the worlds and the myriads of angels? How can man fret and worry, ¡°Whence will come my sustenance, the fulfillment of my needs?¡¯¡¯ Indeed, such worry and concern is cause for greater wonder than the concern of the fool in the above parable, who
worried that the rebellion of an insignificant village would deprive the king¡¯s bird of its sustenance!
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It is incumbent upon us to strengthen ourselves spiritually, to concentrate on fulfilling God¡¯s will ¡ª and not to worry about our material situation. As ¡°Children of Hashem¡± we are like children of a king, who need not worry that they may go hungry. |
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