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Mekor Hachayim Sefer Chafetz Chayim
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara

Kelal Dalet

(emotional or financial harm, etc.). From here we can understand
(49) how careful a person must be to avoid this terrible trait because
someone who is rooted in transgressing this esur, G‑d forbid, will
find it almost impossible to do Teshuvah since it is impossible for
him to recall all of the people whom he harmed with his comments.
Even if the speaker recalled all of their identities, because they knew
nothing of his actions against them, he would be too embarrassed
to approach them and disclose what he had done to them. So
also, there are times when an entire family is degraded and thereby
becomes injured for generations, and if that happens it will not be
possible for this speaker to ever receive atonement, as Chazal have
taught (Rabbeinu Yonah in commentary on the Yerushalmi Babba
Kamma, 8th perek, 7th halacha), one who degrades a family has no
possibility of receiving atonement – ever !
Therefore one must stay very far away from this terrible trait
because if not, G‑d forbid, it will be a sin that will never have any
remedy. Kohelet (1:15) expresses this as “something crooked that
cannot be made straight.”

5 There is a popular story that illustrates this concept: Someone went to a
Chacham to do kapparah for speaking Lashon Hara. The Chacham told him
to first take a chicken, slaughter it, burn it to ashes and then spread the ashes
around the city. The man was overjoyed at the ease of doing kapparah and
he did just as the Chacham instructed. He returned to the Chacham to report
that his kapparah was complete. The Chacham told him – “No, that was just
the first step. Now you must go throughout the city and collect back all of the
ashes in order to complete the kapparah.”

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