Lashon hara

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Lashon hara (Hebrew לשון הרע; "evil tongue," also transliterated as loshon hora) is the Jewish sin of gossip. Lashon hara can be either spoken or written. Whereas in law, slander and libel refer to untrue defamation, lashon hara generally refers to true statements (although untrue gossip is also prohibited). Thus, while truth is generally a defense to slander, it is not a defense to lashon hara.

The main prohibition against Lashon Hara is derived from Leviticus 19:16 [1] : "Do not go as a gossiper amongst your people". The Talmud (tractate Erchin 15b) lists lashon hara as one of the causes of the Biblical malady of tzaraath. In Sotah 42a, the Talmud states that habitual speakers of lashon hara are not tolerated in God's presence. Similar strong denouncements can be found in various places in Jewish literature.

The two major halakhic works on lashon hara are: Chafetz Chayim and Shmirat HaLashon (guarding the tongue) both by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (1873). Chafetz Chaim lists 31 speech-related mitzvot mentioned in the Torah. The English book Guard Your Tongue anthologizes the teachings of these two books and provides many examples of prohibited speech.