On Tish’ah B’Av, Mr. David Linn, author of an upcoming sefer on sh’miras ha’lashon, Shmirah Ba’Shavua, and longtime teacher of sefer Chofetz Chaim, shared an inspiring shiur on the purity of speech at the Jewish Heritage Center in Kew Gardens Hills and at Havurat Yisrael in Forest Hills. It was sponsored by Lewis and Beth Gray in memory of their dear friend Israel Zwick – Yisrael ben Yosef z”l.
Mr. Linn shared that the presentation was all about how to be a mentch which is someone who can be relied upon, who takes care of his family, and takes care of every Jew. This is who Israel Zwick was.
He noted how so many of the punishments in Eichah relate to food or the mouth. It says, for example, that people were sighing because of food, and the tongue of the suckling child clung to his palette, etc.
The midrash says that we sinned with our mouths. Every mouth spoke disgusting things. Sin was through the mouth, so punishment was with the mouth. The Rambam teaches that Tish’ah B’Av is a day of t’shuvah, which is true for all fast days. However, Tish’ah B’Av mimics Yom Kippur, as the restrictions of Yom Kippur apply to it.
The Chofetz Chaim taught that the sin of Lashon HaRa is the reason we are in exile, and we have to work on sh’miras ha’lashon in order to earn back the Beis HaMikdash. Lashon HaRa is what keeps us from going back into the land.
In B’reishis, it says that Hashem blew into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life. Onkelos says: Then, man became a speaking being. Rashi notes that the animals are also alive, but man was given the intelligence and the ability to speak. This is what makes us greater than animals.
There are four aspects to the world. They are: inanimate things like rocks, growing things like vegetation, animals, and finally, the m’dabeir – man.
If man is not using his power of speech properly, then he is more disgusting than every animal in the world.
The Jewish nation is compared to dust and stars. When we fall to the bottom, we are like dust; but when we rise, we are like stars. When we are living up to the standards we are supposed to, then we are like stars.
He then shared how the Torah refers to certain animals in regard to lashon ha’ra. The snake is the archetype. It spoke the first lashon ha’ra in the world. In the haftarah of Tish’ah B’Av, it says that Hashem will send snakes to attack us and He will make a city a lair for snakes. A snake is the most cunning of beasts. It spoke slyly and softly, and it lured Chavah into sin. Lashon ha’ra lulls you and you don’t realize how terrible it is. The snake bite doesn’t look so bad. It’s just two tiny holes, but the venom from the snake, like venom from lashon ha’ra, is insidious and deadly. The punishment of the snake is it strikes at the heel. The word akeiv means heel. The m’farshim say that referring to the heel means taking things lightly. Lashon ha’ra is a mitzvah that is taken too lightly.
Next, there is the mad dog. The midrash says that Hashem can protect you from anything, but you have to run away from lashon ha’ra as you have to run from a mad dog. No one can save you from it except yourself. You have to learn the halachos so you know when to get away.
The Gemara compares an habitual speaker of lashon ha’ra to a mad dog. A mad dog’s mouth is always open, ready to bark at any moment. The speaker of lashon ha’ra is always looking for an opportunity to speak lashon ha’ra. The mad dog is always drooling and leaves a disgusting trail of saliva in the same way a speaker of lashon ha’ra leaves a disgusting trail of impurity. Also, its ears are drooping, and it walks on the side of the road. It’s slyly making itself look like it’s not listening and stays unnoticed until it decides to strike. Also, if you rub against the mad dog, you will get sick, in the same way that lashon ha’ra is contagious. If the dog bites you, you will die. If you get drawn into lashon ha’ra, the Chofetz Chaim teaches that three are killed by it: the person speaking, the person spoken about, and the person listening. Mishlei teaches that life and death are in the hand of the mouth. In addition, dogs travel in packs, and if one barks, then all the others bark, too. We must be careful not to join a pack speaking lashon ha’ra.
There is an idea of the voice of Yaakov and the hands of Eisav and only one of these can prevail. If Jewish children are chirping like birds, meaning learning Torah, then the other nations can’t hurt us. However, if they aren’t learning Torah, then the hand of Eisav can hurt us.
The leper, one punished for speaking lashon ha’ra with leprosy, takes two birds to atone as a korban. There are two types of chirping: One is Torah and t’filah, saying positive, encouraging, kind words, and the other is lashon ha’ra. With this korban, the kohen kills one bird and he lets the other go free. This symbolizes killing our improper speech and using our proper speech.
Habitual speakers of lashon ha’ra are compared to flies. Flies land on open sores and wounds. In the same way, speakers of lashon ha’ra focus on people’s flaws or blemishes. Flies have very poor vision. We have to have a good eye and view people as a whole and not focus on faults.
Bar Kamtza blemished his korban on the lip or the eye. Both hint that we are in galus because of lashon ha’ra or a bad eye. We live by different rules than the other nations in terms of speech: Just as the type of blemish on Bar Kamtza’s animal would have been acceptable for the other nations though it wasn’t acceptable for us.
In Eichah, it says foxes roamed on Har Tziyon. Foxes are subtle and sly. They trick.
Anger is one of the midos that the Chofetz Chaim says causes lashon ha’ra. To work on this midah, we need the opposite midah. which is patience. An animal acts on urges. We don’t want to be like that. Habitual speakers of lashon ha’ra harbor a lot of anger.
Rav Shlomo Wolbe offered some practical ways to develop patience, which can stave off anger. Choose the most challenging time for you and commit to being patient for 15 minutes during that time. If it’s necessary to react, do so in a measured, calm way.
The community thanks David Linn for this beautiful vital presentation! If you are interested in being added to the WhatsApp group, please visit This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive the weekly parshah sheet related to sh’miras ha’lashon.
By Susie Garber
