an online book by David Gurteen
Lashon hara (or loshon horo, or loshon hora) (Hebrew: לשון הרע; "evil tongue") is the halakhic term for speech about a person or persons that is negative or harmful to them, even though it is true. It is speech that damages the person(s) who is talked about either emotionally or financially, or lowers them in the estimation of others.
Lashon hara differs from the more severe prohibition of hotzaat shem ra, "making a bad name," in that hotzaat shem ra consists of untrue statements.
Lashon hara is considered to be a very serious sin in the Jewish tradition. The communicator of lashon hara (which is included in rechilut) violates the Torah prohibition of lo telech rachil b'ameicha, translating to "thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people" (Leviticus 19:16 KJV).
Credit: Wikipedia - lashon_haraOne man spread a rumor about another. He later felt regret and went to the rabbi to ask how to make amends. “Go to the store and buy a bag of seeds,” said the rabbi, “then go to a big open field and scatter the seeds into the wind. Do so and report back to … Continue reading How to Make Amends for Derogatory Speech Unknown
Lashon Hara is a Jewish religious term for derogatory speech about a person. Fascinatingly, in the Jewish tradition, it is considered a grave sin to speak it even if true. Continue reading Lashon Hara Jewish religious term for derogatory speech
An interesting conundrum arises when considering the Jewish religious law forbidding Lashon Hara (speaking derogatorily about someone) and building social trust through gossip. Why would Jewish religious law consider gossip bad while anthropologists consider it good? Continue reading Gossip and Lashon Hara Conversation about other people
Show respect: We often show disrespect for people with whom we disagree. This is damaging to the relationship and society. However, we do not need to respect someone or their ideas to show them respect. Continue reading Show Respect Failing to respect one another negatively impacts the future for all of us
