Lashon Hara

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Help, O God, for the pious are no more; the loyal have vanished from among men. Men speak lies to one another; their speech is smooth; they talk with duplicity. May the Lord cut off all smooth (deceitful) lips, every tongue that speaks greatness. They say, “By our tongues we shall grow great; our lips are with us, who can rule over us?! (Psalms 12:2-5)

King David said pious people are defined by their speech. How is speech essential to piety? The rabbis also teach that one must be like the Ark of the Covenant which was gold inside and gold outside. Meaning one’s heart (inside) and his speech (outside) must be identically as good as gold: one’s speech must not differ from his true feelings and thoughts. What imperfection is this?

“Men speak lies to one another; their speech is smooth; they talk with duplicity”

What motivates lying? What’s the corruption? What is the objective? 

What is a lie? Corrupt man conceals from others his devious schemes. He knows that if he reveals his true corrupt intentions, others will reject him. But as he values his reputation and his need to gain from others, he takes subvert advantage of others through deceit, shielding him from facing social consequences. This is achieved by exhibiting a false friendly attitude and lies. Such people wrongly value their lives more than others. They have no concept of human equality, which is God’s will in creating many people. God wants all to coexist with justice, kindness and charity. This verse describes corrupt actions. 

“May the Lord cut off all smooth (deceitful) lips, every tongue that speaks greatness”

King David says there is no remedy for deceitful people. Therefore they should be cut off. There is no remedy, since they feel most important, so changing their ways to accommodate others is not tolerable in their egoistic fantasies.

They speak greatness as an egoistic person cannot believe his egoism in his head alone; he needs a sense of reality to confirm his ego. That sense is attained only when he feels others recognize his greatness, and that’s attained only through speech. This verse explains why they must talk. 

“By our tongues we shall grow great; our lips are with us, who can rule over us?!”

R. Yochanan in the name of R. Yosi ben Zimra says the speaker of Lashon Hara denies God. After deluding himself of his greatness, ultimately, the egoistic person confronts God, Who threatens his feelings of greatness. But again this is intolerable, so he must deny God. “Our lips are with us” expresses the deep feeling of full control one has over his speech, he feels invincible. “Who can rule over us” denies God. This verse describes the power of ego, the cause of its irreversibility. 

Speech is the mark of piety as it displays whether one views others as equals. The pious person will not mislead others as he values truth. His life is in search of God’s will and in upholding God’s will. The self is not his focus, so he does not seek social status, but only equality. The pious person recognizes all others as equal creations of God, deserving the same good. God destroyed Noah’s generation as there was social corruption of robbery and rape. But God spared generation of the Tower of Babel, as they had peace between themselves.