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Lesson #64c

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

#1

Loshon horah about
an ignoramus

1. Is it permissible to speak loshon horah about someone who
   is ignorant of Torah and mitzvos?

1. Absolutely not!  One who observes what he/she knows but is
   an ignoramus, retains the status of “a fellow Jew” and therefore, the
   prohibition of speaking loshon horah applies to him/her as well.

#2

Loshon horah about
a Torah scholar

1. Is it a greater to sin to speak loshon horah about a Torah
   scholar?

1. Yes.  When you speak loshon horah about a Torah scholar,
   not only are you degrading the person, you are also degrading the Torah which
   he represents.  The punishment for degrading a Torah scholar is very
   severe.  It is an even greater sin if the Torah scholar is the Rabbi of
   his community who people consult with for their halachic and personal
   dilemmas.  As a result of your slander, people will refrain from consulting
   with the Rabbi, resulting in diminished service of Hashem; a very severe
   sin.

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.

Oded:  A wealthy person who has contracts worth
millions of dollars will guard those contracts extremely carefully.

Menaseh:  Understandably so.

Oded:  So must we guard our days and hours here on
this world for they are much more valuable than money; they are our lives. 
Additionally the lost moments can never be returned.

Menaseh:  What do you mean?

Oded:  If a person lost some money he can always hope
that someone might find it and return it to him or that Hashem will replace
it.  Lost time though, can never be returned or replaced.  This will become
clear to us in the world to come.

Menaseh:  How so?

Oded:  Our sages teach us that in the world to come
our deeds on this world will be replayed for us.  We will then see how we spent
our time.  If we wasted our time it will be a source of great grief for us; for
there, in the world to come, the value of time will become quite clear to us. 
Fortunate is the person who realizes this now when he can still do something
about it.

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 8 Par. 4

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 8 Par. 4

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Section 2 Chap. 5