30 | APRIL 15 • 2021 

THE CORE IDEA

1. 
Lashon hara can destroy lives, but not just the 

life of the subject of the hateful speech. The 
person who speaks it and the person who listens 
are both negatively impacted by engaging in this 
behavior. Their reputations may well be affected, 
too, and the way they perceive the subject will 
change from discussing them. There is no such 
thing as a passive, innocent bystander when it 
comes to evil speech.

2. Everyone who has a presence on social 
media, no matter how young, has wit-
nessed hateful speech. Researchers 
believe an extraordinarily high per-
centage of young people have 
suffered from this firsthand, and 
even those that haven’t have 
witnessed it in some form. 
Perhaps the saddest occur-
rences are when young people 
witness adults using this kind of 
language in their social media 
posts. Children learn from the 
models provided by the adults in 
their lives.

A

ccording to the Sages, Tazria and Metzora are 
about the power of speech to heal or harm. 
These parshiyot deal at length with tsaraat, 
the skin condition that was a punishment for lashon 
hara, evil speech. The word metzora, meaning, one who 
was suffering from this condition, was, 
the Sages said, a shortened version of the 
phrase motzi shem ra, one who says bad 
things about another person (slander).
They proved this from the case of Miriam 
who spoke badly about Moses, and then 
suffered tsaraat as a result (Bamidbar 12). 
Moses mentions this incident many years 
later, urging the Israelites to take 
it to heart: “Remember what the Lord your 
God did to Miriam along the way after 
you came out of Egypt” (Devarim 
24:9).
The rabbis said some powerful 
things about lashon hara. They 
said that it is worse than the three 
cardinal sins — idolatry, adultery 
and bloodshed — combined. It 
harms three people: the one who 
speaks it, the one about whom it is 
spoken and the one who listens to it. 
The story of Joseph began when he 
spoke negatively about some of his broth-
ers, and their relationship turned bitter. The 
entire generation that left Egypt was not allowed to 
enter the Promised Land because they had spoken badly 
about it. They Sages said that one who speaks lashon 
hara is like someone who does not believe in God.
In our day and age, social media has become a place 
overflowing with hateful speech, and we need the laws of 
lashon hara more than ever! 

From Covenant & Conversation Family Edition

SPIRIT

The consequences of evil speech.

For
Family
Discussion

Rabbi Lord 
Jonathan 
Sacks

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

1. 
Why do you think the rabbis said that 
lashon hara also harms the person 
speaking it and the person listening to it?

2. Have you ever seen hateful speech on 
social media. How did it make you feel?

 (See answers below)

KEY IDEA 
OF THE WEEK 

WE NEED TO BE 
CAREFUL HOW WE USE 
OUR WORDS, FOR THEY 
HOLD GREAT POWER 
WITHIN THEM.

