Arakhin 15b (טו:) — the Talmud in English

a.

As it is written:

Israel were commanded

“Do not go out”

on Shabbat to gather [the manna] (“And Moses said, ‘Eat it today, for today is Shabbat for the Lord; today you will not find it in the field’”—Otzar Balum), and it is written that they transgressed the commandment:

“and they went out”, [“

and on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather”].

b. It is written: Israel were commanded

“Do not leave any of it over” [“And Moses said to them, ‘Let no man leave any of it until morning’”]. And it is written: “But they did not heed Moses,

and they left

some of it until morning

”.

Twice

Israel tested [God]

with the quail: with the first quail and with the second quail:

a.

With the first quail,

as it is written: “And the Children of Israel said, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt,

when we sat by the meat pot

when we ate bread to satiety.’” And they were answered concerning this with the quail that descended together with the manna, as it is written there: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘I have heard the complaints of the Children of Israel, etc.’ And it came to pass in the evening that the quail ascended and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew, etc.”

b.

With the second quail,

after a long time, when they lusted even more, as it is written:

“And the rabble that was among them”

lusted a lust, etc., and they said, “Who will feed us meat?” And it is written there: “And to the people you shall say: ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept, etc., saying, “Who will feed us meat?” etc.’” And at the end it is stated: “And a wind went forth from the Lord and swept up quail from the sea, etc.”

One

was with the Calf, as it is stated

in the portion of Ki Tisa: “And he made it into a molten calf, and they said, ‘This is your god, Israel,’ etc.”

And one

was in the wilderness of Paran, as it is stated

in the portion of Shelach: “Send for yourself men, and let them spy out the land of Canaan, etc.” And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, etc.

Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The Lord save my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.

What shall He give you and what shall He add to you, deceitful tongue?”

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the tongue

in response to its request, “Save my soul, etc.”: a.

All of a person’s limbs stand erect, but you,

the tongue,

lie down

[you lie]. b.

All of a person’s limbs are on the outside, but you are on the inside; and not only that, but I have surrounded you with two walls: one of bone,

namely, the teeth,

and one of flesh,

namely, the lips. And since this is so:

“What shall He give you”

—what further protection can the Holy One, blessed be He, give you so that you will not speak lashon hara, besides the teeth and the lips—

“and what shall He add to you”

—what further protection can the Holy One, blessed be He, give you so that you will not stand erect and speak lashon hara—

“deceitful tongue!” [

This was explained according to the first interpretation of the Iyun Yaakov and according to the Maharsha].

And Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: Whoever speaks lashon

hara is as though he has denied the fundamental principle, as it is stated:

“May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks proud things;

those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are with us’”

—and we will speak lashon hara, and it is as though they said—

“Who is master over us?”

for they deny the fundamental principle. [For it is impossible that a person should prepare for another a destructive instrument and bitter harm without gaining anything for himself, unless his inclination has trapped his soul and he has cast off the yoke of Heaven. And second, because he says in his heart that his lips are under his control; and since speech involves no action, he considers himself master over his tongue and decides that he need not restrain his lips from saying whatever occurs to him, while the limbs alone are not under his control when he sins with them—Shaarei Teshuva, Gate Three, section 4, and Rabbi Eliyahu, abridged].

And Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: Whoever speaks lashon hara, afflictions

come upon him, as it is stated: “Whoever secretly slanders his fellow, him I will cut off”.

It is written here, “I will cut off,”

and it is written there:

“And the house that is in the city that does not [have—read] a wall”

“shall be sold in perpetuity”

to its purchaser,

and we render it: “completely” [

meaning that the house becomes permanently the purchaser’s, and the seller may no longer redeem it],

and we learned

that the expression “permanently” refers to leprosy:

“There is no difference between a leper quarantined and a leper declared confirmed, except for uncovering the head and rending the garments.”

Mnemonic

for the three statements of Reish Lakish before us:

“Torat Nahash Gadol.”

And this is

what we said earlier, that one who speaks lashon hara is visited by leprosy: it refers to

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, for Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “This shall be the law of the ‘leper’”

[rather than “the law of the afflicted one”—Maharsha, see Iyun Yaakov]?

This shall be the law of one who brings out an evil name!

And Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “If the serpent bites without enchantment, and there is no advantage to the master of the tongue”? In the future

all the animals will gather and come to the serpent, and they will say: “The lion mauls and eats

[immediately, and is not afraid], and it has enjoyment!

The wolf tears

and carries [its prey] to its lairs

and eats

there [because it fears people], and it has enjoyment!

But you,

who bite people and kill them [yet never taste anything but the taste of dust—Etz Yosef],

what enjoyment do you have?!” The serpent says to the animals

:

“And what advantage does the master of the tongue have,

who speaks lashon hara even though he derives no enjoyment?” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring them to judgment before the serpent, so that it will be ashamed because it enticed Adam, and those who speak lashon hara will be ashamed together with it. [This statement was explained according to Rashi in Taanit 8; see Iyun Yaakov].

And Reish Lakish said: Whoever speaks lashon hara increases his sins

of his

up to the heavens

40, as it is stated: “They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.”

Mar Ukva said: Whoever speaks lashon hara deserves to be stoned

with a stone,

for

it is written here:

“Whoever secretly slanders his fellow,

him I will cut off,” and it is written there: “They have utterly cut me off in the pit of life and cast a stone at me.”

And Rav Hisda said in the name of Mar Ukva: Whoever speaks lashon hara, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: “I and he cannot

dwell in the world together,” as it is stated: “Whoever secretly slanders his fellow, him I will cut off; one who is haughty of eye and broad of heart, him I cannot tolerate.”

The phrase “him I cannot tolerate” applies to both: to the speaker of lashon hara [“whoever secretly slanders his fellow”] and to the arrogant [“haughty of eye and broad of heart”].

Do not read: “him” I cannot tolerate, but “with him”

to dwell in the world

I cannot! And some teach this statement as referring only to the arrogant,

and not to the first clause [according to the Maharsha in Sota 5].

And Rav Hisda said in the name of Mar Ukva: Whoever speaks lashon hara, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angel of Gehinnom: “I am above him, and you are below

him; we shall judge him

together!”

As it is stated: “Sharp arrows of a warrior, with coals of broom tree”; “arrows” refers only to lashon hara, as it is stated: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow; it speaks deceit”; “warrior” refers only to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord shall go forth like a warrior”; “coals of broom tree”—this refers to Gehinnom.

Rabbi Hama, son of Rabbi Hanina, said: What is their remedy

[Rashash]

for those who speak lashon hara

after they have spoken it?

If he is a Torah scholar, let him engage

in Torah, as it is stated: “The healing of the tongue

is a tree of life”; “tongue” refers only to lashon hara, as it is stated: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow; it speaks deceit.” And “tree of life” refers only to Torah, as it is stated: “It is a tree of life

[the Torah]

to those who grasp it.”

And if he is an am ha-aretz, let him humble his mind, as it is stated:

“The healing of the tongue is a tree of life,”

“but perversity in it is a breaking of the spirit”;

one who perverts it and wishes to remove it from himself—let him break his spirit!

Rabbi Aha, son of Rabbi Hanina

disagrees and

said: Once one has spoken

lashon hara,

he has no remedy, for David has already cut him off

[the language of karet]

through Divine inspiration, as it is stated: “May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks proud things!” Rather, what is his remedy

so that he will not come to speak lashon hara? If he is a Torah scholar, let him engage in Torah. And if he is an am ha-aretz, let him humble his mind, as it is stated: “But perversity

in it is a breaking of the spirit”! The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Whoever speaks lashon hara increases his sins to correspond to

three transgressions: idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed!

For

it is written here

with regard to lashon hara:

“A tongue that speaks ‘great’ things!”

And it is written with regard to idol worship

[in the episode of the Calf]:

“Alas, this people has sinned a great sin.”

And

with regard to forbidden sexual relations it is written

[in the episode of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife]:

“How can I do this great evil?”

And

with regard to bloodshed it is written

[concerning Cain, who killed Abel]:

“My iniquity is greater than I can bear.”

And we challenge this: How do we learn that he increases sins to correspond to all three transgressions? Since it is written, “A tongue that speaks

‘great’

things,” and the minimum of a plural is two,

say

that you can learn only

two?

And we answer: Since all three transgressions contain an expression of greatness, as does lashon hara,

which of them will you exclude

[which of the three transgressions will you exclude from the comparison]?!

In the West

[in the Land of Israel]

they say: A third tongue

[a third tongue], the tongue of tale-bearing, which is third between one person and another, revealing a secret to him ,

kills three

[it kills three]:

the one who tells it,

who is the tale-bearer himself,

the one who accepts it, and the ones about whom it is told

[Bach]. For as a result of the quarrel that arises between the two, they kill one another; afterward, the blood avengers kill the tale-bearer, through whom the killing came about [according to Rashi in the Ein Yaakov].

Rabbi Hama, son of Rabbi Hanina, said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Death and life are in the hand of the tongue”? Does the tongue have a hand

to kill others, like a hand [Maharsha]

?! It is to tell you: Just as a hand kills, so too a tongue kills!

One might have thought:

Just as a hand kills only when it is near its victim, so too a tongue kills only when it is near its victim,

when one informs against him in the presence of all three, but otherwise it does not kill [Rashi in the Ein Yaakov].

The verse therefore states: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow,”

which kills from a distance like an arrow [there]. One might have thought:

Just as an arrow

does not kill

beyond forty or fifty cubits

[not specifically—there],

so too a tongue

does not kill

beyond forty or fifty cubits? The verse therefore states: “They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.”

and their tongue walks through the earth.”

And we challenge this:

But once it is written: “They set their mouths against the heavens

and their tongue walks through the earth,” and we have learned that the tongue kills even beyond forty or fifty cubits, why do I need

the derivation from “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow”

[Maharsha]?

And we answer:

This

verse, “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow,”

comes to teach us that it kills

lashon hara

like an arrow!

We further challenge this:

But once it is written, “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow”,

and we have learned that lashon hara kills like an arrow, why do I need

the derivation from “Death and life are in the hand of the tongue”

[Maharsha]?

And we answer: It comes to teach that “death and life are in the hand of the tongue,” meaning: “through the power” of the tongue [Maharsha],

as in the statement of Rava, for Rava said: Whoever desires life

[one who desires life]—

with his tongue

he should engage in Torah with his tongue

! Whoever desires death

[one who desires death]—he too

with his tongue,

should use his tongue for foolish and obscene speech!

What are the circumstances of evil speech? Rabba said: For example, when he says: “There is a fire at so-and-so’s house!”

This implies that he is wealthy, and that a fire is always available in his house for cooking dishes.

Abaye said to Rabba

:

What has he done

by saying this?!

It is merely making information known,

since he is not saying it in an evil manner, but is informing those who seek fire, “Go to so-and-so’s house.”

Rather,

there is no prohibition except when it is

expressed in an evil manner

[when he utters it in an evil manner],

saying: “Where can fire be found

[where will you find fire]

except at so-and-so’s house

[only at so-and-so’s house will you find it],

where there is meat and fish

[where meat and fish are found]. That is, he is wealthy, possessing meat and fish and lacking nothing; he could benefit others, yet he does not benefit them— [Rashi in the Ein Yaakov].

Rabba said: Any statement that is said in the presence of its subject

[the owner], meaning that the tale-bearer says it in the presence of the one about whom he is speaking,

does not have

the status of evil speech!

Abaye said

to Rava: When he says it in his presence,

all the more so it is

impudence and evil speech,

so how did you permit it?

He said to him:

Rava said to Abaye:

I hold in accordance with Rabbi Yosei, for Rabbi Yosei said: “In all my days I never said a matter and then turned back

to see who was standing behind me; for even in the presence of the owners I say it! Thus, this is not lashon hara. Another explanation: If the owners came and asked, “Why did you say that?” I did not retract my statement by saying, “I did not say it!” Rather, I acknowledged it in their presence, [because I originally spoke the truth—Rashi, Shabbat 118b]. [See Hafetz Hayim, כלל ג', in Be'er Mayim Hayim, note 2, in the name of the responsa of Rabbi Yosef Bruna, in explanation of Rashi's words].