Editing Lashon hara

{{short description|Halakhic term for derogatory speech}}
{{Hatnote|The related terms "hotzaat shem ra"/"hotzaat diba",<ref>'hotzaat shem ra' / 'hotzaat diba' - ''spreading a bad name''</ref> "motzi shem ra",<ref>'motzi shem ra' - ''lit. putting out a bad name'', see [[Tazria#Leviticus chapter 13]], [[Metzora (parsha)#Leviticus chapter 14 2]]</ref> and "rekhilut"<ref>'rechilut' - ''talebearing that incites hatred and resentment''</ref> all redirect here.}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:Leshon ha ra.JPG|thumb|"No ''lashon hara''" sign in the [[Mea Shearim]] quarter of [[Jerusalem]]]]
'''''Lashon hara''''' (or '''''loshon horo''''', or '''''loshon hora''''') ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|לשון הרע}}}}; "evil tongue") is the [[halakha|halakhic]] term for speech about a person or persons that is negative or harmful to them, even though it is true.<ref name="Deot-7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Human_Dispositions.7?lang=bi|title=Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions 7|website=www.sefaria.org|access-date=2022-08-30|archive-date=2022-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830102122/https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Human_Dispositions.7?lang=bi|url-status=live}}</ref> It is speech that damages the person(s) who is talked about either emotionally or financially, or lowers them in the estimation of others.<ref name="Telushkin">Telushkin, Joseph.  ''A Code of Jewish Ethics: Volume 1 - You Shall Be Holy''. New York: Bell Tower, 2006. p. 332.</ref>

''Lashon hara'' differs from the more severe prohibition of [[:he:הוצאת שם רע|''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 [[Jewish views on sin|sin]] in the [[Judaism|Jewish tradition]]. The communicator of ''lashon hara'' (which is included in ''rechilut'') violates the Torah prohibition of ''lo telech rachil b'ameicha,''<ref name="Deot-7"/><ref>{{lang|he|לֹא-תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ}} – {{bibleverse|Leviticus|19:16|JPS}}</ref><ref name=torah.org-lashonhara-prohibition>{{cite web|last=Morgenstern|first=Arthur B.|title=The Prohibition of Communicating Lashon Hara|url=http://www.torah.org/learning/halashon/chapter1.html|work=Ethics of Speech - Shmiras ha-Lashon|publisher=Project Genesis Inc.|access-date=20 March 2014|archive-date=24 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624084107/http://www.torah.org/learning/halashon/chapter1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> translating to "thou shalt not go up and down as a {{linktext|talebearer}} among thy people" (''Leviticus 19:16'' KJV).

==Definition==
Speech is considered to be ''lashon hara'' (detraction) if it says something negative about a person or party, is not seriously intended to correct or improve a negative situation, and is true. Statements that fit this description are considered to be ''lashon hara'', regardless of the method of communication that is used, whether it is through face-to-face conversation, a letter, telephone, or email, or even body language.

By contrast, ''hotzaat shem ra'' ("spreading a bad name") – also called ''hotzaat diba'' or ''motzi shem ra'' (lit. "putting out a bad name") – consists of [[lie]]s, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation" (calumny). ''Hotzaat shem ra'' is an even graver [[sin]] than ''lashon hara''.<ref name="Telushkin" />

The act of [[gossip]]ing is called ''rechilut'', and is also forbidden by halakha.<ref name="OU">{{cite web|url=https://outorah.org/p/5887|title=Rechilus: The prohibition against gossipping|work=[[Orthodox Union]] site|access-date=12 January 2023}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The phrase consists of the noun {{Transliteration|he|lashon}} ("tongue"), the [[definite article]] {{Transliteration|he|ha}}, and the adjective {{Transliteration|he|ra}} ("evil"). The Hebrew noun {{Transliteration|he|lashon}} means "tongue" and – as in many languages – "speech" or "language". The phrase is generally translated as "evil speech". The term corresponds to the idea of an "evil tongue" in other cultures, such as the Latin {{lang|la|mala lingua}},<ref>''A Commentary on Catullus'' - page 19. Robinson Ellis - 2010. re the [[Virgilian]] motto: "{{lang|la|baccare frontem cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro}} [...] would seem to show that the notion of witchcraft was originally that of the evil tongue ({{lang|la|mala lingua}}) rather than the [[evil eye]]."</ref> the French {{lang|fr|mauvaise langue}},<ref>John A. Lent -Third World mass media and their search for modernity Page 179 1977 "Lewis, writing about the features of [[West Indian]] society that make it more traditional than modern, delineated a number of interpersonal communications traits: Passion for intrigue; malicious gossip, the famous [[Trinidad]] {{lang|fr|mauvaise langue}}</ref><ref>Caroline Sweetman. ''Men and Masculinity'' - Page 50. 1997 "... to less acceptable but more aggressive methods of power enforcement such as spreading malicious rumours or {{lang|fr|mauvaise langue}}".</ref> and the Spanish {{lang|es|mala lengua}}.<ref>Cuban-American literature and art: negotiating identities - Page 24. Isabel Álvarez-Borland, Lynette M. F. Bosch - 2009 "The difference between the two organs is that whereas the diseased body is put in the care of medical specialists, responsibility for the ailing tongue, for la mala lengua, rests with the speaker alone. The only treatment available to ..."</ref><ref>Cassell's Spanish dictionary: Spanish-English, English-Spanish Edgar Allison Peers - 1968</ref><ref>''Speaking for themselves: Neomexicano cultural identity'' Doris Meyer - 1996 "An article entitled "La lengua" [The tongue], appearing about the same time in El Nuevo Mundo [May 18, 1899], begins with the traditional equation between moral character and probity of speech. The image of a "mala lengua" [evil tongue]"</ref>

==Sources==
[[File:Bus lashon hara ad.jpg|thumb|Advertisement on a bus saying "Lashon hara doesn't speak to me!" in Hebrew]]
The term ''lashon hara'' is not mentioned in the [[Tanakh]], but "keep thy tongue from evil" ({{Script/Hebrew|נְצֹר לְשֹׁונְךָ מֵרָע}}) occurs in [[Psalm]] 34:14.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2634.htm|title=Psalms 34 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|work=mechon-mamre.org|access-date=22 January 2015|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308102307/https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2634.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Torah]] contains a general injunction against ''rekhilut'' (gossip): "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour: I am the {{LORD}}."<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|19:16|HE}}</ref> The Biblical curse on one who "strikes his fellow in secret"<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|27:24|HE}}</ref> is understood by the rabbis to refer to ''lashon hara'', as it is a form of harming a person without their knowledge.<ref>[[Rashi]] to Deuteronomy 27:24</ref>

The [[Talmud]] lists ''lashon hara'' as one of the causes of the Biblical malady of ''[[tzaraath]]''.<ref>''[[Arakhin]]'' 15b</ref> Elsewhere, it declares that habitual speakers of ''lashon hara'' are not tolerated in God's presence.<ref>Sotah 42a</ref> Similar strong denouncements can be found in various places in Jewish literature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jsafe.org/pdfs/Lashon%20Hara%20and%20Abuse.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2007-03-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223335/http://jsafe.org/pdfs/Lashon%20Hara%20and%20Abuse.pdf |archivedate=2007-09-27 }}</ref>

In [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] chapter 12, Miriam gossips with her brother Aaron, questioning why Moses is more qualified to lead the Jewish people than anyone else. God hears and strikes her down with ''[[tzaraath]]''. Miriam had to stay outside of the camp for a week due to the ''tzaraath''. During this time, all of Israel waited for her.

==Chofetz Chaim==
Rabbi [[Yisrael Meir Kagan]] wrote two major [[halakha|halakhic]] works on the evil tongue: ''[[Chofetz Chaim]]'' ("Desirer of Life", {{bibleverse|Psalms|34:13-14|JPS}}) and ''Shmirat HaLashon'' ("Guarding the tongue"), both 1873. The ''Chafetz Chaim'' lists 31 speech-related [[613 mitzvot|commandments]] mentioned in the Torah. An English adaptation, ''Guard Your Tongue'' (2002), anthologizes the teachings of these two books.<ref>Zelig Pliskin, ''Guard Your Tongue''. Bnay Yakov Publications (2002)</ref>

==''Baalei lashon hara''==
The expression ''baalei lashon hara'' literally means "masters of evil tongue", and it refers to habitual speakers of ''lashon hara''. The serious prohibition of communicating ''lashon harah'' relates foremost to somebody who incidentally did so. Someone who makes it his habit to talk ''lashon harah'' about others ("did you hear ...", "do you already know ...", etc.) is called a ''ba'al lashon hara''. By repeatedly communicating so, lashon hara became an integral part of this person, and his/her sins are far more severe, because this person regularly creates a ''[[chillul hashem]]'', a "desecration of the name of [[HaShem]]" ({{bibleverse|Leviticus|22:32|JPS}}). ''Lashon hara'', ''rechilut'' and ''motzi shem ra'' are not accepted social tools in Judaism, because such behavior cuts the person who does in this manner off from many good things in the world around them. It is often phrased that one should stay away from people who communicate ''lashon hara'', because any day, one will almost certainly become an object of derogatory communication by the same people.<ref name=torah.org-lashonhara-prohibition />

==Exceptions==
Reporting abuse, especially if the abuse is [[Dina d'malkhuta dina|illegal]], is not Lashon hara, regardless of [[hashkafa]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-07 |title=Sometimes Silence Is Lashon Hara - Parsha from OU |url=https://outorah.org/p/118110/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=OU Torah}}</ref>

There are times when a person is permitted or even required to disclose information whether or not the information is disparaging. For instance, if a person's intent in sharing negative information is for a ''to'elet'', a positive, constructive, and beneficial purpose that may serve as a warning to prevent harm or injustice, the prohibition against ''lashon hara'' does not apply. ''Hotzaat shem ra'', spouting lies and spreading disinformation, is always prohibited. It is important to note that even with positive intentions, there are many important limitations regarding when it is permitted to speak ''lashon hara''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}}

==See also==
* [[Detraction]]
* [[Privacy laws of the United States#Public disclosure of private facts|Public disclosure of private facts]]
* [[Shmiras halashon|Shmiras Halashon]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://www.academia.edu/5157596/From_Principles_to_Rules_and_from_Musar_to_Halakhah_-_The_Hafetz_Hayims_Rulings_on_Libel_and_Gossip Benjamin Brown, 'From Principles to Rules and from Musar to Halakhah - The Hafetz Hayim's Rulings on Libel and Gossip']
* [http://shmirashalashon.blogspot.com Translation of Sefer Shmiras HaLashon]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223335/http://jsafe.org/pdfs/Lashon%20Hara%20and%20Abuse.pdf Let Them Talk: The Mitzvah to Speak Lashon Hara by Rabbi Mark Dratch, JSafe]
* [http://www.aish.com/family/mensch/Stopping_Lashon_Hara.asp A primer on how to raise our children to look at the positive and speak well about others] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622101005/http://www.aish.com/family/mensch/Stopping_Lashon_Hara.asp |date=2013-06-22 }}
* [http://www.torah.org/learning/halashon/intrcomm.html 31 mitzvot of speech]
* [http://www.torah.org/learning/halashon/ Hilchot Lashon Hara (L"H)]
* [http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=8321 Negative Speech (Lashon Hora) | Chabad.org]
* [http://www.shemayisrael.com/rabbiforsythe/zivug/loshonhora.htm Finding Your Zivug or Mate Loshon Hora and Information-Seeking in Shidduchim]

{{Halakha}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lashon Hara}}
[[Category:Defamation]]
[[Category:Jewish ethical law]]
[[Category:Negative Mitzvoth]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law]]

[[yi:לשון הרע]]