בס”ד
The Power of Words: Why Rabbi Jonah is My Hero
In Jewish tradition, lashon hara (negative speech) plays a significant role. It refers to speaking ill of others, which not only causes harm to the person being spoken about but also to the speaker themselves. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim, teaches us that controlling our speech is essential for a good life, both in this world and the next. Leviticus 19:16 warns us:
| 16 You shall not go around as a talebearer | טז לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל |
Negative speech has two forms:
- Harmful Speech: This includes words that cause physical harm, financial loss, or emotional distress, even if the words are not derogatory. Examples:
- Physical harm: You direct an attacker to the hiding place of their victim.
- Financial harm: You share information that causes someone to lose a business deal.
- Emotional harm: You spread personal information that causes someone pain.
- Derogatory Speech: These are remarks that put someone down, such as calling them stupid, ugly, or incompetent. Even if these remarks do not directly cause harm, they are still considered forbidden.
Maimonides, a great Jewish scholar, explains that harmful and derogatory speech can exist independently of each other. For example, speech can be harmful without being derogatory, such as revealing someone’s hiding place. And speech can be derogatory without directly being harmful, such as making negative remarks about a celebrity who will never hear them.
The prohibition of lashon hara goes beyond causing harm. Even if the person you are speaking about never suffers any damage, it is still forbidden. Why? Because negative speech contaminates the moral and spiritual atmosphere, both for the speaker and the listener. Rabbi Jonah, an important Jewish thinker, emphasizes in his book Sha’arei Teshuva (Gates of Repentance) that our words reflect our inner state and have an impact on the world, even if it is not immediately visible.
Rabbi Jonah of Gerondi is my hero because of his courage in admitting his mistakes. After the burning of Maimonides’ books by Christian authorities in France, Rabbi Jonah recognized his criticism of Maimonides as a mistake and dedicated his life to repentance. He wrote Sha’arei Teshuva, where he emphasized the harm caused by negative speech. “Flies always rest on dirty places,” he said. There are people who are like flies, they search out the dirt in others, but only get filthy themselves. Contrast a fly to a bee; a bee seeks out the good, and makes something sweet from it.
This lesson inspired me to change my focus. I began writing down one positive thing about someone each day, even about people who annoyed me. After a few months, I noticed a fundamental change in my view of others.
Rabbi Jonah teaches us that heroism is not about being flawless, but about having the courage to acknowledge our mistakes and strive for improvement. Let us try to be like bees: seek the good and make something sweet out of it – for ourselves and the world around us.
Conclusion
Negative speech, whether harmful or derogatory, should be avoided. Learning to control our words is not only essential for a good life in this world, but also for our spiritual growth. In future lessons, we may delve into circumstances where speaking is necessary for the well-being of others or society. But for now, the focus is on guarding our tongues and building a positive world through our words., this paves the way for the complete redemption with the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.
Talk from Rabbi Menachem Salasnik
The above is a representation of the spoken text converted to written text.
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