Arakhin 16a — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Rabbah bar Rav Huna said: Every matter that is said in the presence of three

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has no aspect of evil speech—

that the owners said it in the presence of three people, one who reveals it

has no aspect of evil speech.

What is the reason?

For the owners who said it made their intention known: that if one reveals it, they do not care, because the owners know that when they said it in the presence of three, it is destined to become revealed. For

your fellow

who heard the words

has a fellow

and reveals it to his fellow,

and your fellow’s fellow

when he hears it, also

has a fellow

and reveals it to him, until the matter becomes known. [And even if one does not reveal it, the two will testify against him, and he will not be able to deny it—Maharsha].

When Rav Dimi came, he said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “One who blesses his fellow with a loud voice early in the morning

that blessing

shall be accounted a curse to him”

to his fellow? In what manner?

For example, when he happens upon an inn

he stays at an inn,

and they exerted themselves before him properly

and they exerted themselves before him well,

on the next day he goes out and sits in the marketplace

and on the next day he goes out and sits in the marketplace,

and says: May the Merciful One bless so-and-so

for he exerted himself before me so

may God bless so-and-so, the host, for he exerted himself before me so.

And people hear

violent people that so-and-so is wealthy,

and they go and forcibly take from him

they go and forcibly take his property. Another interpretation: they will stay with him until his property is exhausted.

Rav Dimi, the brother of Rav Safra, taught: A person should never speak excessively of the goodness of his fellow

more than necessary,

for through his goodness

he comes to his harm,

for when he speaks of his goodness excessively, he himself says: “Except for this bad trait that he has,” or others hear that he praises him and say: “But surely this bad trait is in his possession.”

There are those who say:

It was not Rav Dimi who said this; rather, this was the incident:

Rav Dimi, the brother of Rav Safra, became ill

he became ill,

Rav Safra went to inquire after him

Rav Safra, his brother, entered to visit him.

He said to him

Rav Dimi said to Rav Safra:

May it come to me

that I fulfilled everything that the Sages said

that I fulfilled all the words of the Sages!

He said to him

Rav Safra

this too

even this

have you fulfilled: A person should never speak excessively of the goodness of his fellow, for through his goodness he comes to his harm?! He said to him

Rav Dimi:

I had not heard this matter, but if I had heard it—

I would have fulfilled it

I would have fulfilled it!

Rav Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: For seven

things afflictions come: for evil speech, for bloodshed, for a vain oath, for forbidden sexual relations, for haughtiness, for robbery, and for narrowness of the eye.

For evil speech, as it is written: “One who slanders

in secret his fellow, him I shall cut off,”

as explained above, this implies leprosy.

For bloodshed, as it is written: “

And Abner returned to Hebron, and Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him deceitfully, and struck him there in the abdomen, and he died, and so forth. And David heard afterward and said, and so forth:

‘Let there not be cut off from the house of Joab one who has a discharge or is afflicted with leprosy, and so forth.’”

And for a vain oath, as it is written: “

And [Naaman] returned to the man of God [Elisha], and so forth, and he said: ‘Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; and now, please take a blessing from your servant.’ And [Elisha] said: ‘As the Lord lives, before whom I have stood, I will not take,’ and so forth, and he urged him, but he refused. And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said: ‘Behold, my master has spared this Aramean Naaman, by not taking from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.’ And Gehazi pursued, and so forth, and he said [to Naaman]: ‘All is well; my master sent me to say, and so forth: Please give a talent of silver and so forth.’”

And Naaman said, “Consent”

he swore that Elisha had sent him!

“Take two talents,” and so forth. And it is written:

And [Elisha] said to him [to Gehazi], and so forth: “Was it a time to take the silver, and so forth?”

“And the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your seed forever, and so forth.”

And for forbidden sexual relations, as it is written

when Pharaoh took Sarah:

“And the Lord afflicted Pharaoh with great afflictions, and so forth.”

And for haughtiness, as it is written: “And in his strength

of Uzziah

his heart became haughty, to destroy, and he acted treacherously against the Lord his God

and he entered the Temple of the Lord to burn incense on the incense altar. And Azariah the priest entered after him, and with him priests, and so forth. And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him: “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense,” and so forth. And Uzziah became angry, and in his hand was an incense pan to burn incense, and in his anger with the priests

the leprosy shone on his forehead.”

And for robbery, as it is written

concerning afflictions of houses:

“And the priest shall command, and they shall clear out the house,”

and

the tan­ nay taught: He

the owner of the afflicted house

gathered property that was not his

but from robbery;

let the priest come and scatter his property!

And for narrowness of the eye, as it is written

concerning afflictions of houses:

“And he who owns the house shall come”

and tell the priest, saying: “It appears to me that there is an affliction in the house,”

and the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: One who designates his house

his utensils

for himself

and does not lend them to others!

And we raise an objection:

Is that so?!

How did you say that afflictions come for evil speech,

but Rabbi Anani bar Sasson said

that the priestly garments atone for it, for he said:

Why was the passage of the priestly garments

in the passage of Tetzaveh

juxtaposed to the passage of sacrifices

of the inauguration?

To tell you: Just as sacrifices atone, so too the priestly garments atone,

and as is explained below, evil speech is atoned for by the robe:

The tunic atones for

the entire public, who are punished because of

bloodshed

of an individual who killed [as it is written: “For blood, it pollutes the land, and so forth”],

as it is written: “And they dipped

Joseph’s brothers

the tunic in blood,”

and this is a hint to the future, that the atonement for bloodshed is through the tunic, for immersion is atonement [Rashi, Zevaḥim 88].

The trousers atone for

the entire public, who are punished because of

forbidden sexual relations

of an individual [as it is written: “And the land became defiled [through forbidden sexual relations], and I reckoned its iniquity upon it”],

as it is written: “And make for them

for the priests

linen trousers to cover the flesh of nakedness,”

to cover forbidden sexual relations [Rashi there].

The turban atones for the haughty, as Rabbi Ḥanina said, for Rabbi Ḥanina said: The Holy One, blessed is He, said: Let an object that is high

on the head

come and atone for an act of height

which is haughtiness and pride of heart.

The belt atones for the thoughts of the heart—

it atones

where it is found

for the place where the belt is found, since the priests girded the belt opposite their elbows, that is, opposite the heart, as they learned in Zevaḥim 19 from “They shall not gird themselves with sweat” [Rashi there].

The breastplate atones for judgments, as it is written: “And you shall make a breastplate of judgment.”

The ephod atones for idolatry, as it is written: “For there is no ephod—

and teraphim,”

when there is no ephod, there is the sin of teraphim.

The robe atones for evil speech: The Holy One, blessed is He, said: Let an object that produces sound

for the bells of the robe produce sound

come and atone for the act of sound

which is evil speech.

The frontplate atones for the act of brazen-faced people—

it is written here

on the frontplate:

“And it shall be upon the ‘forehead’ of Aaron,” and it is written there: “And the ‘forehead’ of a harlot you had,”

that is, brazenness of face like a harlot.

And now it is difficult, for here it implies that the robe atones for evil speech, whereas above we said that afflictions come upon one who speaks evil speech?

And we answer:

It is not difficult; this

is speaking

when his deeds were effective

when his deeds were effective through his evil tongue, for they quarreled because of him. And

this is when his deeds were not effective. If his deeds were effective, afflictions come upon him; if his deeds were not effective, the robe atones. 62 .

And now they raise a difficulty against the statement of Rabbi Anani bar Sasson, that the priestly garments atone for those who are punished because of another’s bloodshed, and for evil speech:

But Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi: We do not find two things for which atonement is found through sacrifices, but for which we find atonement through another matter

and these are:

bloodshed and evil speech.

And he explains it: Bloodshed

we find atonement for it for others [but not for the killer]

through the beheaded heifer,

for it comes because of an act of bloodshed.

And evil speech

we find atonement for it

through the incense, for Rabbi Ḥanina taught: We have learned concerning the incense that it atones, as it is written

in the plague that was in the wilderness, after the incident of Korah:

“And he gave

Aaron

the incense and atoned for the people,” and the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: For what does the incense atone? For evil speech! The Holy One, blessed is He, said: Let an object that is performed secretly

the incense, which they burn secretly [for the priests leave there at the time of the burning, as explained in tractate Yoma]

come and atone for an act performed secretly

evil speech, which they say secretly.

And now

bloodshed is difficult

for above we said that the priestly garments atone for those who are punished because of the one who sheds blood,

concerning bloodshed

for here it was said that the beheaded heifer atones for them.

And evil speech is difficult

for above we said that the priestly garments atone for it,

concerning evil speech

for here it was said that the incense atones for it?

And we answer:

Concerning bloodshed and bloodshed, it is not difficult; this

is what we said, that the priestly garments atone for bloodshed,

when it is known who killed him

when it is known who the killer is, and

this

that it was said here that the beheaded heifer atones for bloodshed,

when it is not known who killed him

for in such a manner they bring a beheaded heifer.

And they wondered about this resolution and explained it: How is it possible to say that the priestly garments atone when it is known who the killer is, when in a case

when it is known who killed him?!—

he is a son of death!

the killer is liable for death! And before he is killed, there is no atonement even for the others, as it is written: “The land cannot be atoned for the blood that is shed upon it except by the blood of the one who shed it”!

And we explain it: The priestly garments atone for others when he killed

intentionally, but they did not warn him.

He is not liable for death.

And they return to answer the contradiction:

Concerning evil speech and evil speech, it is not difficult; this

that the incense atones for evil speech is speaking of one who says it

in private,

for it is secretly, similar to the incense.