LaShon HaRa-The Evil Tongue

Or

Does Your Tongue Need Healing? Part 1

Slide #1 Lashon Hara - Definition

n Lashon Hora (lit. evil talk) is defined as information which is either drogatory’ or potentially harful’to another individual. A derogatory statement about someone is Lashon Hara, even it it will definitely not cause that person any harm. To focus on the shortcomings of another person is in itself wrong. A statement that could potentially bring harm to someone-be it financially, physical, psychological or otherwise-is Lashon hara.

Slide #2 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n The harm done by speech is even worse than the harm done by stealing or by cheating someone financially, because amends can be made for monetary harms, but the harm done by speech can never be repaired

Slide #3 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n Speech has been compared to an arrow: once the words are released, like an arrow, they cannot be recalled, the harm they do cannot be stopped, and the harm they do cannot always be predicted, for words like arrows often go astray

Slide #4 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n Tale-bearing is, essentially, any gossip. The Hebrew word for tale-bearer is “rakheel” (Resh-Kaf-Yod-Lamed), which is related to a word meaning trader or merchant. The idea is that a tale-bearer is like a merchant, but he deals in information instead of goods. In our modern “Information Age”, the idea of information as a product has become more clear than ever before, yet it is present even here in the Torah.”

Slide #5 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n The person who listens to gossip is even worse than the person who tells it, because no harm could be done by gossip if no one listened to it. It has been said that lashon ha-ra (disparaging speech) kills three: the person who speaks it, the person who hears it, and the person whom it is told.

Slide #6 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n Leviticus 25:17 – “You shall not wrong one another” This has traditionally been interpreted as wronging a person with speech. It includes any statement that will embarrass, insult or deceive a person, or cause a person emotional pain or distress.

Slide #7 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n Some commonly-used examples of behavior that is forbidden by this mitzvah – Lev. 25:17 “You shall not wrong one another”

n You may not call a person by a derogatory nickname, or by any other embarrassing name, even if he is used to it.

n You may not ask an uneducated person for an opinion on a scholarly matter (that would draw attention to his lack of knowledge or education)

n You may not ask a merchant how much he would sell something for if you have no intention of buying.

Slide #8 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n Some commonly-used examples of behavior that is forbidden by this mitzvah – Lev. 25:17 “You shall not wrong one another”

n You may not refer someone to another person for assistance when you know the other person cannot help (In other words, it’s a violation of Jewish Law to give someone the run around.

n You may not deceive a person, even if no harm is done by the deception; for example, you may not sell non-kosher meat to a non-Jew telling him that it is Kosher, even though non harm is done to the non-Jew by this deception.

Slide #9 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n Some commonly-used examples of behavior that is forbidden by this mitzvah – Lev. 25:17 “You shall not wrong one another”

n You may not sell a person damaged goods without identifying the damage, even if the price you give is fair for the goods in their damaged condition.

n You may not offer a person a gift or invite a person to dinner if you know that the person will not accept.

n You may not compliment a person if you do not mean it.

Slide #10 Lashon Hara - Jewish Understanding

n One must carefully evaluate a situation before talking about it, for at the moment that he speaks he is in grave danger of transgressing the laws of Lashon Hara, if he does not guard himself with regard to all the conditions….In this regard we can say :Life an death are in the power of the tonque. If one does not think before he starts speaking about an issue, and consider how to divulge the information, he will certainly falter. Heaven forbid, because when he does communicate the matter his anger will get the better of him and incite him to say more than he should. Halashon-Hilchot Lashon Hara 10:15 – E. Soloman

Slide #11 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Psa 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

n Psa 34:12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

n Psa 34:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Slide #12 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Pro 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction

n Pro 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

Slide #13 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Pro 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

n Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Slide #14 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Everyone of us has seven openings in our head

n 7 Openings

n 2 eyes

n 2 ears

n 2 nostrils

n 1 Mouth- God knew one was more then enough!

Slide #15 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Food For The Soul

n The human body is composed of 248 organs and 365 sinews, corresponding with these are the 248 spiritual organs and 365 spiritual sinews of the soul. The various parts of the body are referred to as “Clothing” and ‘Covering” for they clothe and cover the soul within men. Each physical organ corresponds to a specific aspect of the soul.

Slide #16 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n YHWH/God has given us 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments which relate to the particular parts of the body with which they are performed. By performing a given ‘Mitzvot” through a given organ, a spiritual light comes to rest upon the corresponding component of the soul, it is from this light that this component draws eternal vitality.

Slide #17 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Thus, when a person fulfulls all of the Torah’s commandments, he transforms himself into an adam hashaleim, man of spiritual perfection, whose every fiber is sanctified unto YHWH/God.

n The converse is true as well. If a person commits a transgression and does not repent for it, then the component of the soul which corresponds to that prohibition will suffer accordingly.

n (Sefer Shmiras Haloshon)

Slide #18 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

n Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

n Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

n Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Slide #19 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n James/Ya’akov 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

Slide #20 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Psalms 34:11-13

n The fear of the Lord begins with “The Tongue”- We cannot really have good lives if we do not control our tongues and our lips

Slide #21 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Proverbs 13:3

n Your soul is your whole personality. It is the real you. This is the area where weaknesses will be manifested first and where the enemy will gain access first. If you want to guard your soul, you must guard your lips. But if you speak rashly, you will come to ruin. The alternatives are very clear. If you control your tongue, then you have protection; but if your tongue gets out of control and you are not master of your words, then the end is ruin. It si so clear, there are no blurred edges.

Slide #22 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

Proverbs 21:23

n If you guard your mouth and tongue, then you guard your soul and life. Your are SAFE!

Slide #23 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Proverbs 15:4 - Lit Hebrew “The healing of the Tongue”

n “The healing of the tongue is a tree of life”. Notice again the close connection between life and the correct use of the tongue. The alternative is “perverseness, therein is a breach in the spirit” Perverseness means “The wrong use”. The misuse of the tongue is a breach, or a leak, in the spirit.

n DO YOU LEAK?

Slide #24 Lashon Hara-Death & Life DO YOU LEAK?

n You must keep a tight reign on your tongue, if you are going to contain the blessing of the Lord. It is one thing to be blessed, it is another thing to contain the blessings.

n PLUG UP THOSE LEAKS!

Slide #25 Lashon Hara-Death & Life Proverbs 18:21

n The tongue is the decisive member, Death and Life are in the power of the tongue.

n You will reap what you sow

Slide #26 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

Galatians 6:7 Reaping and Sowing

n Derrick Prince “There’s a warning against deceiving ourselves, imagining that we can sow on thing and reap something different. Imagining that we can get away with things that God won’t see, that we won’t be caught up with the consequences of our actions. The Bible warns us this is not so. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. If we sow bitter words, we will reap bitter words. But if we sow peace, we will reap peace, if we sow love we will reap love etc.

Slide #27 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Derrick Prince Cont.

n Are you dissatisfied with your life? Are you dissatisfied with the way that things are? Remember that what you are reaping is the result of what you have sown. If you want to reap differently, you’ll have to begin to sow differently.

Slide #28 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Mat 12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

n Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

n Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

n Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

n Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Slide #29 Lashon Hara-Death & Life

n Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.