The Chofetz Chaim enumerated 31 Torah Commandments which may be violated when a person speaks or listens to loshon hora. There are 17 prohibitions and 14 positive Commandments - a total of 31 Commandments.
Prohibitions number 10: The posuk in Devorim 19:15 says:
"One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin"
If a solitary witness testifies against someone before a Bais Din in a non-financial matter, he violates this prohibition besides being guilty of speaking loshon hora. In financial matters the testimony of a single witness has practical effects. (It can obligate someone to make an oath.) In non-financial matters, however, the Bais Din cannot accept the testimony of only one witness. Therefore, his coming to testify merely blackens the reputation of the person he speaks against without any beneficial results.
Prohibitions number 11: The posuk in Shemos 23:2 says:
"You shall not follow a multitude to do evil" If you join a group to speak or hear loshon hora, you violate this prohibition.
(Guard Your Tongue - Rabbi Zelig Pliskin)
A One Minute a Day Torah Thought !
"One who is happy with all the good that HaShem has bestowed upon him, is fulfilling the mitzvah of kiddush HaShem. People will see how fortunate Torah observers are. A religious Jew who is depressed and speaks only of what is missing from his life, causes others to look down upon Torah observance. This is the ultimate chilul HaShem!".
(Rabbi Yehudah Leib Chasman ZT"L - Sefer Torah Tavlin)
The Power of Prayer!
The continuity and salvation of Israel in every period of history is due to the power of prayer. This is brought out very clearly in the Midrash Shemos Rabbah 38:4 which states: "G-d said, "When your fathers were enslaved in Egypt, wasn't it through prayer that I redeemed them?"
For the Torah states in Shemos 2:23, "And the children of Israel groaned from the work and they cried out.". The Ramban in Shemos 12:42 says that they were not worthy of being redeemed, but because they cried out, G-d accepted their prayer. So we see that Israel's entire exodus from Egypt in order to become the Nation of G-d was due to the power of prayer!"
(Pathway to Prayer, Rabbi Meyer Birnbaum) |
