SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM ?
Day 11 ¨C Common Knowledge
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? A derogatory statement is considered loshon hora even when the information is common knowledge for, as stated above, to speak negatively of one¡¯s fellow Jew is shameful in itself.
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Negative information about Jews appearing in newspapers may not be repeated.? Newspapers often publish articles based on hearsay and thus, one is not even permitted to believe such information if the newspaper is its only source.? Even after one has verified
the information, he may nevertheless not repeat it.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON ? Equal to All ?
Talmud Yerushalmi (Pe¡¯ah 1:1) states that the reward for studying Torah is equivalent to that of all other mitzvos combined, and the punishment for speaking loshon hora is equivalent to that of all other sins combined. Thus, the antithesis of Torah study, the
greatest of all mitzvos, is loshon hora. Their respective primacy can be explained as follows:
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Of the four basic elements of nature ¡ªfire, wind, water and earth ¡ªthe intangible (fire and wind) are far more powerful than the tangible (water and earth). Fire can engulf material objects and totally destroy them, and the power of wind is awesome, as it is
written, ¡°A great and mighty wind which breaks apart mountains and shatters stones¡± (I Melachim?19:11).
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The same is true in the spiritual realm. Torah study impacts in the Upper Worlds in a way that no other mitzvah can. This is because all other mitzvos are related to the physical ¡ª for example, to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis, one dons a garment, a material
object; a lulav is held, a physical act; a shofar must be blown, etc. Torah study, however, is performed through the power of speech, which, essentially, is a function of the soul.1 This is why the reward of Torah study is equivalent to that of all other mitzvos
combined.
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The converse is true of sin. The spiritual damage caused by loshon hora is infinitely greater than that caused by other transgressions, because it is committed through the power of speech. Its effect in the Upper Spheres is awesome. Therefore, its punishment
is equivalent to that of all other sins combined.
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? 1. As mentioned above, Targum Onkelos translates ¡°and man became a living being¡±
(Bereishis 2:7), as ¡°and man became a speaking spirit.¡±
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