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 12: The posuk in Bamidbar 17:5 says:
"You shall not act similar to Korach and his company"
This posuk forbids us to maintain disputes (Sanhedrin 110a). If you will cause the continuation of a quarrel by relating loshon hora, you violate this prohibition.
Prohibitions number 13: The posuk in Vayikra 25:17 says:
"You shall not wrong one another"
This posuk forbids us to say anything that will insult or anger another person (Bava Metzia 58b).
Some examples of this would be:
(1) Reminding someone about his previous misdeeds,
(2) Embarrassing someone for his family background,
(3) Ridiculing someone for his lack of Torah knowledge,
(4) Insulting someone for his lowly status,
(5) Asking someone how he would answer a certain question when you know that he is not competent to reply.
If you relate loshon hora to others in the presence of the victim, besides being guilty of speaking loshon hora, you also violate this prohibition.
(Guard Your Tongue - Rabbi Zelig Pliskin)
A One Minute a Day Torah Thought !
The Ben Ish Chai, writes that had the Jewish people remained in the Holy Land, never to experience the solitude of exile and the bitterness of slavery, they would have come to take for granted all the benfits that HaShem bestowed on them upon entering Eretz Israel.
In their minds, they would "have it coming to them," as would befit the descendants of Avram, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Thus, the harsh galus Mitzrayim was necessary, so that B'nai Israel would truly appreciate the goodness of HaShem, and thank and praise Him for every bit of goodness that he did for them.
(Parshas Shemos - Sefer Torah Tavlin)
The Power of Prayer!
The Midrash says, "in the days of Yehoshua wasn't it through prayer that I made miracles for you? . . . And in the days of the Judges, wasn't it through crying that I heard your prayer? . . . And in the days of Shmuel, wasn't it through prayer that I heard you? . . . And as for the people of Jerusalem, even though they angered me, since they cried in front of me, I had mercy on them.".
We see from this Midrash that in every period of time the Jews were saved by the power of prayer.
(Pathway to Prayer, Rabbi Meyer Birnbaum) |
