Lessons

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Binyomin Daniel ben Miriam

May he speedily find his zivug

Lesson #42c

Please verbalize or
have in mind that you are studying this material as a merit for a specific
single and/or Jewish singles throughout the world.

Halachah

A compliment about
one, may be loshon horah about another

#1

1. Would it be loshon horah to say that someone gives $10,000
   in charity per year?

1. It depends whom you’re speaking about. In some cases it may
   be loshon horah while in other cases it may be a compliment.  If you are
   speaking about someone who is very wealthy and you say that he gives
   $10,000 in charity a year; that might be considered miserly for a man of
   his means and would therefore be considered loshon horah.  However, if you
   are speaking about an average fellow who is making enough to get by on and
   you say that he gives to charity $10,000/year; that might be a big
   compliment.

#2

1. May I say that my friend learns Torah, 3or 4 hours a day? 
   If someone would say that about me it would be a tremendous compliment!

1. If your friend is someone who has no livelihood concerns
   and his entire day is free for learning, it might be loshon horah to say
   that he only learns 3 or 4 hours a day.  The fact that for you it would be
   a compliment is irrelevant; since if you were in the same situation as he,
   i.e. parnassa was not an issue, it might also be insulting if one were to
   say that you only learn Torah 3 or 4 hours a day.

Aggadah

This section is
formatted as a conversation between Oded and Menaseh.   Oded is encouraging his
friend Menaseh to be more careful in guarding his tongue from evil speech.  The
thoughts in this section are primarily based on the sefer, Shmiras Haloshon.

Menaseh:  We were discussing the following passage of
Gemora in Meseches Yoma:  “A person who contaminates himself a little, will be
contaminated a lot; a person who contaminates himself below, will be
contaminated above; a person who contaminates himself in this world, will be
contaminated in the next world.”  You explained, beautifully, how when one
contaminates his speech, the impure spirits created by that speech attach
themselves to his words of holiness as well; thus “A person who contaminates
himself a little will be contaminated a lot”.  Can you illuminate the rest of that
Gemora?

Oded:  Sure!  “A person who contaminates himself
below, will be contaminated above” means that the contamination that he has
brought upon himself will spread to the root of his souls above.  “A person who
contaminates himself in this world, will be contaminated in the next world”
means as follows.  When a person passes on to the next world and his soul
returns to Hashem to give an accounting of his life, his hope is to be granted
passage into Gan Eden.  However, one who has sinned will be met along the way
by destructive forces who will clothe him in filthy contaminated garments which
were created by his sins.  Can you imagine the terrible embarrassment and shame
a person will suffer as a result?  He will be compelled to descend to Gehinom,
a dark and frightful place, to cleanse his soiled garments.  That is the
meaning of: “A person who contaminates himself in this world, will be
contaminated in the next world”.

Menaseh:  Those are quite severe consequences.

Oded:  They certainly are!  Tomorrow, I will share
with you a parable that will further elucidate this point.

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 5 Par.
6

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 5 Par. 6

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Section 2 Chap. 2