Shemirat HaLashon שמירת הלשון

And sometimes lashon hara originates in despair. That is, the yetzer entices them [into believing] that it is impossible for a sociable man to abstain from it unless he separates himself completely from the affairs of the world — and this is impossible. And they rationalize by citing (Bava Bathra 165a): "And all [are guilty] of lashon hara," wherefore they despair completely of observing this.

And, in truth, this is a great error. For if so, why did the Torah command this [(abstention from lashon hara)] by a negative commandment? Is it not known that "the Holy One Blessed be He does not deal despotically with His creatures"? The Torah, then, should have included this only in the class of middoth [desirable character traits], like other holy middoth, that are addressed only to unique individuals, [and not as a mitzvah]. But certainly the Creator of man put it in the power of each and every Jew that if he only puts his eyes and his heart to his ways he can avoid this [(speaking lashon hara)]. As we find in Sifrei, Parshath Ha'azinu (Devarim 32:4): "He is a G-d of trust, without wrong." That is, He did not create men to be reshaim, but to be tzaddikim. (For if not so, there is wrong, G-d forbid, in the ordinance of the Blessed One in the punishment that He metes out to them afterwards.) And thus is it written (Koheleth 7:29): "G-d made man just and they sought out many [devious] accountings." And thus is it stated in Tanchuma, Parshath Bereshith 7: "G-d made man just" — The Holy One Blessed be He, who is called "tzaddik and yashar [just]," created man in His image only to be tzaddik and yashar, as He is. And if you ask: "Why, then, did He create an evil inclination, of which it is written (Bereshith 8:21): 'For the inclination of a man's heart is evil from his youth'? You say: 'It is evil. Who can make it good?' The Holy One Blessed be He answers: "You made it evil. You were a child and did not sin. You grew up and you sinned. [That is, a man draws it (the yetzer) upon himself by his acts and by his affairs. For the Holy One Blessed be He gave man the power to withstand it and to make it his servant in many areas for the ultimate end, as it is written (Bereshith 4:17): "And you shall overcome it." And it is written (Mishlei 29:21): "One who indulges his servant from youth, etc." The words lend themselves to much elaboration.] And how many things there are in this world tougher than the yetzer hara and more bitter than it, yet you 'sweeten' them. There is nothing more bitter than lupine, yet you exert yourself to soak it and to season it in water seven times until it is sweet, and so with mustard and caper. Now, if the bitter things which I have created, you season to your needs, the yetzer hara, which is given into your hands, how much more so!"

And so it is in our case. If a man puts his eyes and his heart to his ways, and resolves to heed the openings of his mouth, that he open it only for what is needed and not for evil and deceit, certainly it will not be withheld from him to do so, and "One who comes to purify himself is aided [by Heaven]." And, as Chazal have said: "If a man [truly] wishes to be a tzaddik, the Holy One Blessed be He assigns him an angel which leads him in the way of a tzaddik. And if he wishes to be a chasid, [saintly], He assigns him an angel which leads him in the way of a chasid.

As to Chazal's having stated (Bava Bathra 165a): "And all [are guilty] of lashon hara," do they not conclude immediately: "Can you say "lashon hara"? [i.e., this is unthinkable.] Say, rather, the 'dust' [avak] of lashon hara." And even in respect to avak Maharsha writes [(Chiddushei Alladoth 164b)]: "The intent of 'All' is only that if a man does not put his eyes and heart to his speech and only leaves it to its nature, then certainly, all will stumble into it, as opposed to theft and illicit relations, which even if he leaves them to their nature he can sometimes rescue himself from for some time. This is not so with lashon hara, which is linked to his speaking. But Chazal did not intend to say, G-d forbid, that a man cannot rescue himself at all from avak lashon hara." (see the Preface, where we have explained this at length)

And sometimes the cause of habituation to his sin originates in hefker ["abandonment"], i.e., his seeing that this thing [i.e., guarding one's tongue] has been "abandoned" by many people in our many sins, and [that lashon hara] is not considered a sin at all, so that he becomes weakened in his observance.

A remedy for this is to imagine that he and the people of his city came down with a severe malady, G-d forbid, to the point that all the doctors of the city despaired of finding a cure for it, and it was heard that there had come to the city a great doctor, universally renowned and unrivaled for his treatments of this malady, which restored the hopeless patient to his former state, so that no trace of the malady was visible in him. Would he hesitate to send immediately for this doctor to come and see him in his suffering on his sickbed in the hope that he might cure him of his illness? And if one of his loved ones would ask him: "Why are you more zealous than others?" would he not answer: "Fool, where my life is at stake, I would not look at others even if there were a possibility of a possibility [that I might be saved]! How much more so with this doctor, whom we know, ourselves, from the past and who is universally renowned for his awesome cures of all desperate illnesses, would I abandon my life for the sake of these fools who have no mercy on their lives?" And if this is so with the [life of the body], how much more so with the soul! For we know that one who guards his tongue from evil will merit living eternal life in the world to come, as it is written (Psalms 34:12-13): "Go my sons … Who is the man who desires life, etc." And who is a more trusted physician than our lord, David, may peace be upon him? And, otherwise, [i.e., if we did not follow his regimen], there is no cure for this illness eternally. And in this world, too, in the end there will come upon him because of this [lashon hara] great suffering and pain. How much more so should he pay no heed in this to others!