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The Power of Speech: Understanding Lashon Hara — The Evil Tongue

This blog  delves into a few sources in the Chabad chassidic thought that talk about the prohibition of Bad Tongue: Lashon HaRa. From those sources a person can understand how terrible this sin is. It applies to Non Jews also.

The subject is Lashon Hara — speaking badly about others, the “evil tongue.”
This topic is vast and deep, with many details and spiritual implications. It’s not just a good moral practice — it’s a mitzvah, an actual commandment. And interestingly, it’s not only for Jews. It’s also deeply connected to the Bnei Noach, the righteous non-Jews who keep the Seven Noahide Laws.

Why is that? Because the purpose of the seven Noahide commandments is to build a normal, ethical, and moral society — one where people can live together in harmony, friendship, and happiness.
Lashon Hara destroys exactly that. It tears apart families, communities, friendships, and even marriages. So if the goal of the Noahide code is to foster good relationships, then Lashon Hara is its complete opposite.

No rabbinical authority would disagree on this: Bnei Noach must also guard their speech. Of course, Jews are also commanded to do so — but this principle extends to all humanity.

The Chofetz Chaim and the “Garden of the Tongue”

If you truly want to learn the details — what counts as Lashon Hara, what doesn’t, and how to avoid it — there’s an entire book dedicated to this subject:
“Shmirat HaLashon” (The Guarding of the Tongue) by the Chofetz Chaim, written in the late 1800s–early 1900s.
It explores hundreds of examples and laws in extraordinary detail.

But before studying the “how,” it’s crucial to understand the “why.”
In this presentation, we’ll look at several sources from Chassidic thought, especially from Chabad teachings, to explore the deeper meaning and spiritual effects of Lashon Hara.

The Alter Rebbe’s Letter — Don’t Even Think It

In one letter, the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad) addresses his followers — not about gossip, but about business advice. Still, at the end, he adds a powerful spiritual note:
He urges his chassidim to make the greatest effort to love their fellow Jew with all their heart and soul.

He writes:

“Do not think about the bad or evil qualities of another person. Do not let such thoughts rise in your heart. And if they do — push them away like smoke, because you cannot breathe in smoke.”

And then he adds something astonishing:

“Thinking negatively about another person is like idolatry.”

Even if you say nothing — just thinking badly of someone is already spiritually destructive. It damages not only the other person but also your own soul.

The Alter Rebbe explains that thought is even more powerful than speech — for good or for harm.

“Small” Sins That Add Up

In another teaching (from Iggeret HaTeshuvah, Chapter 7), the Alter Rebbe discusses how even “small” transgressions can separate a person from G-d — just like a thick curtain can block sunlight after enough thin layers are added.

He quotes the Talmud, which compares Lashon Hara (evil speech) to the three most severe sins in the Torah — idolatry, forbidden relationships, and murder — because all of them destroy connection: between people and between humans and G-d.

The Triple-Tongue: It Kills Three

The Talmud says:

“The Lashon Hara, the evil tongue, kills three.”

En Baal Shem Tov (founder of Chassidut) explained that the “three” are:

  1. The one who speaks,
  2. The one who listens,
  3. And the one spoken about.

Even if the harm isn’t physical, it’s spiritual — which can be even more serious.
Words have spiritual energy. They travel. They affect reality. They can uplift or destroy.

When You Hear Bad News About Someone

The Baal Shem Tov taught another powerful principle:
If you hear something bad about another person — even if you don’t know them — you should feel pain.
Because whether it’s true or not, something not good is happening:

Either way, there’s spiritual darkness involved — and that should cause us sadness, not entertainment.

The Deeper Meaning of Lashon Hara: Three Effects

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained that every act of Lashon Hara has three layers of harm:

  1. It damages the person being spoken about — spiritually and emotionally.
  2. It reveals evil — bringing negativity from hidden potential into visible expression.
  3. It creates separation — between people, between souls, between communities.

That last point is the most serious.
When people speak negatively, they emphasize differences and division:

“He’s bad — I’m not like him.”

That separateness goes against the very foundation of holiness.
G-d chose Israel because they are one people — united.
Division contradicts that divine choice.
So Lashon Hara doesn’t just harm others — it undermines the very reason for our spiritual existence.

The Creative Power of Words — for Good or for Harm

Words have the power to reveal. When you speak, you take something hidden — a thought or emotion — and bring it into the open.

So when you speak negatively about someone, you literally draw out y activate that negativity in them. Even if they don’t hear you, your words affect their soul.

But this means the opposite is also true.

When you speak good about someone — even a simple compliment — you draw out the good within them.
You create goodness in them. You awaken their positive traits.

That’s why the Torah speaks well about Noah, even though he was already righteous. The Torah isn’t flattering him — it’s empowering him, revealing his potential to inspire goodness in others.

The Rambam defines “love your fellow as yourself” as:

“Speak well of them.”

Because speaking well about others is an act of love — and it literally brings more light and blessing into the world.

Don’t Speak Badly About Yourself, Either

Finally, the Rebbe added something profound:

“It is forbidden to speak Lashon Hara even about yourself.”

When you say, “I can’t,” “I’m not good enough,” “I’m a failure,” — you are speaking evil tongue about your own soul.
And just like gossip about others, those words have power. They shape your reality. They limit your spirit.

Instead, speak light. Speak potential. Speak truth with kindness.
Use your tongue — the most sacred tool G-d gave you — to build, not to destroy.

Conclusión

Lashon Hara is not just about words — it’s about energy, unity, and spiritual creation.
Every time we speak, we either bring heaven closer to earth or push it farther away.

So let’s use our speech to connect, to encourage, to bring out the best in others — and in ourselves.
That’s not just good manners — it’s divine service.

With thanks to Rabbi Tuvia Serber for the shiur and the feedback.

Power Point



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