Lashon Harah ~ The Evil Tongue

Words are very powerful. They have the power to build up and the power to destroy. Judaism is very conscious of the power of words to destroy, so much so that there is a term for destructive words – Lashon harah, or the Evil Tongue. Lashon harah destroys three people – the speaker, the listener, and the target of the words.

The harm done by speech is considered even worse than stealing. Material goods can be replaced. Words, once spoken, can never be retracted.

One of my favorite Chasidic tales explains the dangers of Lashon Harah: An old woman went about telling stories and lies about her neighbors. After doing so for many years, she began to feel bad and went to the Rabbi for forgiveness. The Rabbi told her to go take her best feather pillow, cut it open, and throw the feathers to the wind, then return to him. She thought this was a strange request, but she wanted to atone for her ways, so went out and did as the Rabbi instructed. After she had completed this task, she went back to the Rabbi for further instructions. The Rabbi told the woman to go back out, collect all the feathers and return them to her pillow. “But, Rabbi,” cried the old woman, “that’s impossible! The feathers are all gone!” “Aha!” said the Rabbi, “your words are like the feathers. Once they leave your lips, they cannot be retrieved and you have no control over where the words will land.”

Talmud teaches that the tongue had the power to be so dangerous that it must be kept hidden from view ~ behind the protection of two walls, the lips and teeth, to prevent its misuse.