Shemirat HaLashon שמירת הלשון

In the preceding chapters there has been described the punishment of the speaker of lashon hara in this world. And now we shall explain the greatness of his punishment in the world to come.

Chazal have explained that the class of slanderers is one of four classes who do not behold the Shechinah, viz. (Sotah 42b): "R. Yirmiyah b. Abba said: Four classes do not behold the Shechinah: the class of flatterers, the class of liars, the class of scoffers, and the class of slanderers … The class of slanderers, viz. (Psalms 5:5): 'For You are not a G-d that desires wickedness; evil will not sojourn with You.' You are righteous, O L-rd; evil will not sojourn in Your dwelling place.'" This section deals with the sin of lashon hara, as Rashi explains there. And the speaker of lashon hara is even called "evil," as we find in Aggadath Mishlei on the verse (Mishlei 12:20): "There is deceit in the heart of plotters of evil" — R. Chamma b. R. Chanina said: "One who speaks with his friend and eats and drinks with him and speaks lashon hara against him, the Holy One Blessed be He calls him 'evil,' etc." He is also judged in the fourth level of Gehinnom for this sin, as stated in Midrash Hane'elam on Ruth.

Consider the greatness of their punishment. Because of the greatness of their sin, it is almost impossible for Gehinnom to cleanse them of it, as explained in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu 18: "Just as the wicked speak lashon hara, which ascends until the Throne of Glory, so, angels descend from the mouth of the Omnipotent One and take those evildoers and cast them into the [nethermost] depths of Gehinnom. At that time, Gehinnom responds and says to the Holy One Blessed be He: 'Master of the universe, I cannot punish them as much as they deserve to be punished, and the whole world cannot punish them enough. Did this speaker of lashon hara not sin from the earth until the heavens? But first send Your arrows from above, and then they will get from me coals of the broom bush from below, as it is written (Psalms 120:3-4): 'What will He give you and what will He add to you, you tongue of deceit? Sharpened arrows of the Mighty One, together with coals of the broom bush.' 'the Mighty One' is none other than the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written 'the G-d who is great and mighty, etc.'" (We find the same in Arachin 15b.) And how much must the man of heart strengthen himself and stand guard against this bitter sin, in reflecting upon this awesome punishment, which the great prison house of Gehinnom itself is powerless to inflict unless it also be assisted from above!

And all that a man speaks with his mouth, all is written down above, as we find in the Midrash Rabbah, Tetze 6 on Koheleth 5:5: "Do not allow your mouth to sin against your flesh, etc." What does this mean? When the mouth speaks lashon hara it sins against the body, causing it to be smitten. Thus: 'to sin against your flesh' — the mouth sinning against the flesh. What is the intent of 'Do not say before the angel: "It is a mistake"?' Do not say: 'I shall go and speak lashon hara and no one will know.' The Holy One blessed be He says: "Know that I am sending an angel, and he will stand at your side and write down all that you are saying against your friend." As stated by the GRA in his book, Alim Litrufah: "He will bring all into judgment; all talk, and not even small talk will be lost. Therefore, I exhort you to train yourself as far as possible to sit alone, for the sin of the tongue encompasses all, as our sages of blessed memory have said: 'These are the things … and lashon hara against all.' And what need is there to elaborate on this sin, which is greater than all? Our sages of blessed memory have said: 'All of a man's toil is with his mouth' All the mitzvoth and learning of a man do not suffice for what he utters with his mouth. (Chullin 89a): 'What is a man's craft in this world? Let him make himself mute and close his lips like two millstones, etc.' And every "slinging" [of the soul after death], all (comes from) the breath of idle words. For every vain utterance, he [i.e., his soul] must be slung from one end of the world to the other. All this, for superfluous talk. But for forbidden talk, like lashon hara and levity and oaths and vows and quarrels and curses, especially in the house of prayer and on Sabbaths and festivals — for this, one must descend deep into Sheol. And it is impossible to conceive of the greatness of the suffering and the anguish that one must undergo for one utterance. And not even one word is left unwritten. [Heavenly] informers accompany each man at every moment and write down each and every word. (Koheleth 10:20): 'For a bird of heaven will carry the voice, and the winged one will tell the thing.' 'Do not allow your mouth to sin against your flesh, and do not say before the [recording] angel that it is a mistake,' etc."

And he himself afterwards becomes a "chariot" to the unclean "shell" called "lashon hara," as it is written in Sefer Charedim 3:4. And know further that the Kabbalists have written (Sefer Charedim 7) that the man of lashon hara, after his death, is reincarnated in inanimate matter, in the stones of the field. "And sometimes the man of lashon hara is reincarnated as a dog."

And, likewise, one who is accustomed to eat unkosher meat or to feed it to a Jew. And this is intimated in the Torah, it being written (Shemoth 23:1): "And men of holiness shall you be to Me, and flesh torn in the field you shall not eat. To the dog shall you throw it," after which it is written (Ibid. 23:1): "You shall not spread a false report." It emerges, then, that the verse of "To the dog shall you throw it" is found between these two sins — eating treifah [torn flesh] and speaking lashon hara, to teach us that for these two sins, a man may be reincarnated as a dog. And this is what King David, may peace be upon him, intimated in (Psalms 22:21): "Rescue from the sword, my soul; [rescue] from the dog, my soul," followed by "I will speak Your name to my brothers, etc." That is, I do not use my tongue to speak lashon hara, to be punished therefor by this dreadful reincarnation, but I use it to praise You and to exhort Israel, that they should fear You and praise You. And know that the Kabbalists have said that even though when a man is reincarnated in the form of another man he is unaware of his prior state, still when he is reincarnated as an animal or as a bird, he is aware of his prior state and suffers terribly at having descended from heaven from the form of a man to the form of a beast. Therefore, every man should fear and tremble and be soft of heart while he yet lives, while he yet has free will and knows his G-d, so that He forgives his sins and removes His wrath from him. And when his soul leaves him he will rest in peace and repose in His shade in Gan Eden. For He is gracious and merciful and abundant in lovingkindness. And (Berachoth 34b): "In the place where penitents stand, absolute Tzaddikim cannot stand." Until here, the words of the Sefer Charedim, in short.