It also means the prohibition, or speaking, or the telling of gossip, or of negative, disparaging and damaging remarks about a person or party who is not present... Interestingly enough, the Torah calls 'evil language', anything negative, even if it's true. In sharp contrast to the Western adage about sticks and stones not hurting, Judaism looks very gravely upon misuse of speech. Tradition teaches that 'loshon hara' can destroy many lives, even unintentionally, in one fell swoop:

The person speaking,
The person spoken about,
...and the person spoken too...

...The person speaking: Although you briefly become the center of attention when you dish out a juicy piece of gossip, in the long run people start mistrusting you. 'I wonder what he/she says about me when I'm not around.' People don't trust gossips, and will avoid confiding in you... In the end, you're killing your own reputation. Furthermore, because you are misusing the gift of speech that G-d gave you, you are also lessened in his eyes... 

...The person spoken about: The person under discussion is, of course, being killed in everyone's eyes. Whether the information is true or false, it is hard to take back defamatory words already spoken and undo the character assassination already committed. That person's reputation is forever blemished... 

...The person spoken to: Interestingly enough, this is the person who is the most culpable, even though he/she is seemingly the innocent one. All he/she did was listen! But the Talmud says that listening to loshon hara is even worse than speaking it; the person had the power to stop it and didn't. Now the transgression is complete... 

Beware of the excuses people often use for speaking loshon hara...

...'But it's true!' - loshon hara specifically refers to sharing derogatory information when it is true. Spreading vicious lies is far worse!

...'If he/she were here I would say it to his/her face.' - Maybe you would, and maybe you wouldn't. In any case, it is still forbidden.

...'Everyone knows about it.' - Does this justify you adding fuel to the fire? Even if it is on the front page of the newspaper, you are still forbidden to speak about it. If the speech is untrue, the sin is called 'motzie shaim ra' translated literally means... 'causing a bad reputation'... If the speech is spoken to the victim that the speech was against, the prohibition is called 'rechilus' or 'tale bearing'.

The prohibition is not limited just to 'evil speech', it also includes all negative communications including hints, gestures, making faces and statements which can be interpreted negatively, or statements which cause a negative response in another. However, sometimes we speak loshon hara, because we forget that in many cases, truth can be subjective (the same as... 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder') or elusive, in that we don't always know the whole picture, and can often make the wrong assumptions, or perhaps even draw the wrong conclusions...

One of the most fundamental commandments related to the subject of loshon hara is Leviticus 19:15 - 'in righteousness shall you judge your kinsman'. This verse commands us to give the benefit of the doubt. Very often, there are situations in which several 'stories' are possible. In the case of a G-d fearing person, we are expected to judge favourably, even to believe that there may have been facts of which we were not aware.

On many occasions, gossip reflects a denial of the possibility of mitigating circumstances, that can shed light on the person's intentions (often good) or other background information... The main prohibition against loshon hara is derived originally from the old testament. Specifically, in Leviticus 19:16: [1] 'Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour'. In some cases it is a Mitzvah (the fulfillment of a positive commandment) to listen to the disparaging words one says against another. For example, if the listener determines that through listening to the entire story he will then be able to show the speaker or other listeners that the information is inaccurate, or some other explanation to exonerate the subject of the loshon hara...

There are many external websites that cover the subject. By clicking here, you will get an animated look and understanding, into the laws of loshon hara...

PLEASE NOTE: The comments and information concerning loshon hara, that may appear on this site are intended to be as a guide and for information purposes only... It is not to be considered as an exhaustive authority upon the subject, and is based solely upon the author's own knowledge, understanding, and research of the subject, which it is fully accepted by the author is open to personal interpretation...