On One Foot
THERE IS a parable told of a rabbi who was approached by someone asking for advice about how to curb their tendency to gossip. The rabbi told the penitent to take a feather pillow, tear it open and cast its contents to the wind. The penitent does so and then re- turns; the rabbi continues: then go and gath- er all the feathers back into the pillowcase. “But that is impossible,” the person replied, to which the rabbi said, “Exactly. Just like all the feathers have scattered so far and wide, so too are your words when you speak lashon hara to others.” This parable (likely borrowed from six- teenth century saint Philip Neri) speaks to a very human struggle: we tend to know instinctively that gossip isn’t good, but we also have a hard time avoiding it. While gossip has always been with us, the perva- siveness of social media has brought lashon hara —literally evil speech—to the fore- front of our collective consciousness. Is it possible to be an ethical participant in so- cial media? How do we balance the benefits of social media platforms, like the opportu- nities they provide to speak out against evil and forge new connections, with the temp- tations they create to be snide, snarky, or downright mean to others in public? Here, we consider a question of contemporary relevance and explore how sources both classical and modern address it. by AVI FINEGOLD IF LASHON HARA IS A SIN, WHAT DO WE DO WITH FACEBOOK? Just like Hillel’s student, we all have complex questions that we want answered as simply as possible.
LEVITICUS 19:16/PSALMS 34:13-15 Do not go about as a talebearer among members of your people. Do not profit by the blood of your fel- low [Israelite]: I am the Lord. Who is the man who is eager for life, who desires years of good fortune? Guard your tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech. Shun evil and do good, seek amity and pursue it. 1 1 THESE TWO BIBLICAL VERSES create two paral- lel ways of understanding lashon hara: one takes a legalistic approach with an outright prohibition, while the other makes an ethical case encouraging us to pay attention to the language we use. These two approach- es continue throughout the history of Jewish thought, where lashon hara is sometimes treated as a matter of straightforward adherence to mitzvot, and sometimes as a matter of self-improvement. BABYLONIAN TALMUD, ARACHIN 15B Rabbi Yoh.anan says in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: Anyone who speaks malicious speech is considered as though he denied the fundamental belief in God. And Reish Lakish says: Anyone who speaks malicious speech increases his sins until the heavens … The Gemara asks: What is considered malicious speech? In other words, how is malicious speech defined and what are the limits of the prohibition? Rava said: For example, if one says: There is always fire at so-and-so’s home, indicating that they are always cooking food there. Abaye said to Rava: What did this person do wrong by saying that there is always fire in that home? His statement is merely revealing the true facts, and is not malicious speech. Rather, it is considered malicious speech if he expressed this in a slanderous manner. For example, if he says: Where else can one find fire except at so-and-so’s home, because they are always cooking food there. 2
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