The Power of Speech
Judaism is intensely aware of the power of speech and of the harm that
can be done through speech. The rabbis note that the universe itself was
created through speech. Of the 43 sins enumerated in the Al Chet
confession recited on Yom Kippur, 11 are sins committed through speech.
The Talmud tells that the tongue is an instrument so dangerous that it
must be kept hidden from view, behind two protective walls (the mouth
and teeth) to prevent its misuse.

The harm done by speech is even worse than the harm done by stealing or
by cheating someone financially, because amends can be made for monetary
harms, but the harm done by speech can never be repaired. For this
reason, some sources indicate that there is no forgiveness for lashon
ha-ra (disparaging speech). A Chasidic tale illustrates this point: A
man went about the community telling malicious lies about the rabbi.
Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He
went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do
anything he could to make amends. The rabbi told the man, "Take a
feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds." The
man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task,
and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the rabbi that he had
done it, the rabbi said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you
can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can
recollect the feathers."

Speech has been compared to an arrow: once the words are released, like
an arrow, they cannot be recalled, the harm they do cannot be stopped,
and the harm they do cannot always be predicted, for words like arrows
often go astray.

Tale-Bearing
There are two mitzvot in the Torah that specifically address improper
speech: Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people
(Lev. 19:16), and ye shall not wrong one another (Lev. 25:17, which
according to tradition refers to wronging a person with speech).

Tale-bearing is, essentially, any gossip. The Hebrew word for
tale-bearer is "rakheel" (Resh-Kaf-Yod-Lamed), which is related to a
word meaning trader or merchant. The idea is that a tale-bearer is like
a merchant, but he deals in information instead of goods. In our modern
"Information Age," the idea of information as a product has become more
clear than ever before, yet it is present even here in the Torah.

It is a violation of this mitzvah to say anything about another person,
even it is true, even if it is not negative, even if it is not secret,
even if it hurts no one, even if the person himself would tell the same
thing if asked! It is said that the telling of gossip leads to
bloodshed, which is why the next words in the Torah are "you shall not
stand aside while your fellow's blood is shed." The story of Do'eig the
Edomite (I Samuel Chs. 21-22) is often used to illustrate the harm that
can be done by tale-bearing. Do'eig saw Achimelekh the Kohein give David
bread and a sword, a completely innocent act intended to aid a leading
member of Saul's court. Do'eig reported this to Saul. Do'eig's story was
completely true, not negative, not secret, and Achimelekh would have
told Saul exactly the same thing if asked (in fact, he did so later).
Yet Saul misinterpreted this tale as proof that Achimelekh was
supporting David in a rebellion, and proceeded to slaughter all but one
of the kohanim at Nob.

The person who listens to gossip is even worse than the person who tells
it, because no harm could be done by gossip if no one listened to it. It
has been said that lashon ha-ra (disparaging speech) kills three: the
person who speaks it, the person who hears it, and the person about whom
it is told.

In Jewish law, all things are considered to be secret unless a person
specifically says otherwise. For this reason, you will note that in the
Torah, G-d constantly says to Moses, "Speak to the Children of Israel,
saying:" or "Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them:" If G-d did
not specifically say this to Moses, Moses would be forbidden to repeat
his words! Nor is there any time-limit on secrets. The Talmud tells the
story of a student who revealed a secret after 22 years, and was
immediately banished from the house of study!

The gravest of these sins of tale-bearing is lashon ha-ra (literally,
"the evil tongue"), which involves discrediting a person or saying
negative things about a person, even if those negative things are true.
Some sources indicate that lashon ha-ra is equal in seriousness to
murder, idol worship, and incest and adultery (the only three sins that
you may not violate even to save a life).

It is forbidden to even imply or suggest negative things about a person.
It is forbidden to say negative things about a person, even in jest. It
is likewise considered a "shade of lashon ha-ra" to say positive things
about a person in the presence of his enemies, because this will
encourage his enemies to say negative things to contradict you!

One who tells disparaging things that are false is referred to as a
motzi sheim ra, that is, one who spreads a bad report. This is
considered the lowest of the low.

It is generally not a sin to repeat things that have been told "in the
presence of three persons." The idea is that if it is told in the
presence of three persons, it is already public knowledge, and no harm
can come of retelling it. However, even in this case, you should not
repeat it if you know you will be spreading the gossip further.

When Tale-Bearing is Allowed
There are a few exceptional circumstances when tale-bearing is allowed,
or even required. Most notably, tale-bearing is required in a Jewish
court of law, because it is a mitzvah to give testimony and that mitzvah
overrides the general prohibition against tale-bearing. Thus, a person
is required to reveal information, even if it is something that was
explicitly told in confidence, even if it will harm a person, in a
Jewish court of law.

A person is also required to reveal information to protect a person from
immediate, serious harm. For example, if a person hears that others are
plotting to kill someone, he is required to reveal this information.
That is another reason why the commandment not to go about as a
tale-bearer is juxtaposed with "you shall not stand aside while your
fellow's blood is shed."

In limited circumstances, one is also permitted to reveal information if
someone is entering into a relationship that he would not enter if he
knew certain information. For example, it may be permissible to tell a
person that his prospective business partner is untrustworthy, or that a
prospective spouse has a disease. This exception is subject to
significant and complex limitations; however, if those limitations are
satisfied, the person with the information is required to reveal it.

In all of these exceptions, a person is not permitted to reveal
information if the same objective could be fulfilled without revealing
information. For example, if you could talk a person out of marrying for
reasons other than the disease, you may not reveal the disease.

Wronging a Person through Speech
Leviticus 25:17 says, "You shall not wrong one another." This has
traditionally been interpreted as wronging a person with speech. It
includes any statement that will embarrass, insult or deceive a person,
or cause a person emotional pain or distress.

Here are some commonly-used examples of behavior that is forbidden by
this mitzvah:

a.. You may not call a person by a derogatory nickname, or by any
other embarrassing name, even if he is used to it.
b.. You may not ask an uneducated person for an opinion on a scholarly
matter (that would draw attention to his lack of knowledge or
education).
c.. You may not ask a merchant how much he would sell something for if
you have no intention of buying.
d.. You may not refer someone to another person for assistance when
you know the other person cannot help (in other words, it's a violation
of Jewish law to give someone the run-around!).
e.. You may not deceive a person, even if no harm is done by the
deception; for example, you may not sell non-kosher meat to a non-Jew
telling him that it is kosher, even though no harm is done to the
non-Jew by this deception.
f.. You may not sell a person damaged goods without identifying the
damage, even if the price you give is fair for the goods in their
damaged condition.
g.. You may not offer a person a gift or invite a person to dinner if
you know that the person will not accept.
h.. You may not compliment a person if you do not mean it.

"GodFree" <gmvoeth@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b4b81$42b25a48$4f033a4$12112@DIALUPUSA.NET...
:I must add one other thing.
: If I could tell the terrorist in Iraq and
: the rest of the Moslem world what to
: concentrate on I would tell them to
: concentrate their efforts only on the Western academia.
: Western Religious Academia are the only major threat to them.
: Religion takes many forms besides beliefs in God.
: They are every flag waver, every economic fanatic.
: Every nationalistic person.
:
: BuddyBoy
:
:

Ok, and issues with paranoia...




"GodFree" <gmvoeth@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:281a9$42b25868$4f033a4$12062@DIALUPUSA.NET...
: LOL
: you know not of what you speak.
: Until they come down on you I recommend not trying
: to argue with me.
: They will make you sorry for the day you were born.
: You will want to kill them as badly as I do.
: Doctors are the puppet masters running the USA.
:
:
:
: "ריעין ברתון‎/Riain Barton" <riain@zion.org.il> wrote in message
news:cIqse.23756$zm.9005@bignews4.bellsouth.net...
: > And I suspect you have some major psychological issues, not to
mention
: > self-esteem and trust issues.
: >
: >
: >
: > "GodFree" <gmvoeth@yahoo.com> wrote in message
: > news:35ea5$42b21f56$4f015d1$10695@DIALUPUSA.NET...
: > : Most brilliant people are unsound.
: > : I suspect he has learned to tickle the
: > : system in just the right way to make big bucks.
: > :
: > : "ריעין ברתון‎/Riain Barton" <riain@zion.org.il> wrote in message
: > news:lBose.22826$zm.4002@bignews4.bellsouth.net...
: > : > Dr. Phil is a brilliant and sound man. It is too bad that not
all
: > : > therapists are like him!
: > : >
: > : >
: > : >
: > : >
: > : > "Susan Cohen" <flavia18@verizon.net> wrote in message
: > : > news:Umnse.19498$gL4.18091@trnddc07...
: > : > :
: > : > : <catbrier04@yahoo.com> wrote in message
: > : > : news:1118933372.854533.291580@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
: > : > : >
: > : > : >
: > : > : > Susan Cohen wrote:
: > : > : >> <catbrier04@yahoo.com> wrote in message
: > : > : >>
news:1118671100.962076.135190@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
: > : > : >> >
: > : > : >> >
: > : > : >> > Susan Cohen wrote:
: > : > : >> >>
: > : > : >> >> You are extremely polite to even bother to ask him to
: > rethink
: > : > his
: > : > : >> >> sexism.
: > : > : >> >> Spelling it out like this will not help, but it was a
lovely
: > : > post.
: > : > : >> >
: > : > : >> > Thank you Susan. I think Ilya wants to grow up to be a
"guru"
: > or
: > : > cult
: > : > : >> > leader or something.
: > : > : >>
: > : > : >> At the very least, he wants women to listen to him.
: > : > : >
: > : > : > I tend not to read extremely long posts because I prefer
actual
: > : > books.
: > : > : > You know, a cup of tea, sitting in my favorite rocker by the
: > window,
: > : > : > quiet moments.
: > : > : >
: > : > : >> > Personally, I think the world has more than enough
: > : > : >> > of them.
: > : > : >>
: > : > : >> Certainly of the types who have nothing to offer.
: > : > : >> FWIU, "Dr. Phil" has helped a lot of people and isn;t even
: > *trying*
: > : > to be
: > : > : >> a
: > : > : >> jerk
: > : > : >> :-)
: > : > : >>
: > : > : >> Susan
: > : > : >
: > : > : > I have heard of Dr. Phil but don't know a single thing about
: > him. He
: > : > : > isn't like that dreadful theocrat James Dobson is he?
: > : > :
: > : > : I don't know much about him, either, but I do know he's not
: > selling
: > : > any
: > : > : religion whatsoever - which I assume James Dobson is....?
: > : > :
: > : > : Susan
: > : > : >
: > : > : > Cat
: > : > : >
: > : > :
: > : > :
: > : >
: > : >
: > :
: > :
: >
: >
:
: