Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Hilchos Lashon Hara, Opening – negative commands (7-8)


The speaker sometimes also transgresses the negative command (Vayikra 19:17), "Do not hate your fellow in your heart," if he speaks peacefully in front of a person and speaks badly of him before others. How much more so if he explicitly orders them to not go and inform him that he certainly transgresses this negative command.


Sometimes, the speaker also transgresses the negative command (Vayikra 19:18), "Do not take revenge and do not bear a grudge," if he hates the person for some reason, such as if he asked him to do him a favor such as a loan, and he did not help him, and he therefore harbors hate against him in his heart. Then, when he sees something bad about him afterwards he publicizes it among people. First, by keeping it in his heart, he transgressed the negative command of, "Do not bear a grudge," and afterwards when he took revenge against him due to the bad things he saw of him, he also transgresses the negative command of, "Do not take revenge." Rather, he should erase the matter from his heart.