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Introduction to VOL-1 8 החיתפ
Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפסל
Aseen - A2
ב השע - ןישע

to the prophetess Miryam who spoke about her brother. She was older לע ףאו דואמ וינע השמ שיאהו רמאנש ולאה םירבדה
than him, she jeopardized her life to save him from thenile. She said
nothing disparaging about him, she only equated him to other prophets. .תערצב דימ השנענ ןכ יפ
Moshe was not at all bothered by what was spoken about him, as the pasuk
testifies that he was the most humble man who ever lived. Nevertheless םיברמה םישפטהו םיעשרה םדא ינב ראשל רמוחו לק
she was punished immediately with Tza’ra’at.
ןיוכל הצורש ימל יואר ךכיפל תואלפנו תולודג רבדל
A very obvious, straightforward conclusion can be drawn from this episode
involving Miryam and applied to other people, people who are foolish and אלש ידכ ןהמע רבדלמו םתבישימ קחרתהל ויתוחרוא
evil, who speak too much and brag and speak too boastfully. Therefore it .ל"כע םתולכסו םיעשר תשרב שפתי
is appropriate for anyone who wants to straighten out his life to distance
himself from associating with these people and speaking to them and not
to become trapped in their net of evil and in their foolishness (quoted up ןכ םאו ן"במרהכ רוכזד ארקד היטשפ שרפמש ירה
until this point). חכוש יאדוב תוליכר וא ערה ןושל רבדמש ימ אליממ
Thus we see that the Rambam explains the straightforward אל םאד( האיבנה םירמ לש השנוע ןינע השעמ תעשב
understanding of the pasuk “remember what Hashem your G‑d )הז רבדל רמומכ אוהד רתוי הברה ערג רובעיו חכשי
did to Miryam” just as the Ramban did. Therefore, whoever speaks
Lashon Hara or gossip is most certainly forgetting the punishment given .וז לע ן"במרהל רבועו
to the prophetess Miryam since if he did not forget what happened to her
and still spoke Lashon Hara or Rechilut, his punishment will be much םינפוא 'דב ונייה רבועד םינפב ונבתכש המו
more severe because he has rejected this teaching of the Torah and he
thus becomes comparable to an apostate in this regard. According to the לע םגד 'מגהמ הלעמל ונרריבש ומכ םינושארה
Ramban, the moment he speaks Lashon Hara, this person is in violation וינפב אלש ןיבו וינפב ןיבו תערצ שנוע שי תוליכר
of this Aseh
.דבל לגרמה קרו
What I wrote above, that he is in violation of this Aseh, applies to the
first four qualities. We have also explained above that the punishment
of Tza’ra’at applies even to one who gossips. It applies if the remark is
made in the presence of the person who is the subject of the remark or even
not in his presence and it applies only to the speaker who talked about /
reported on his fellow Jew. םייחה רוקמ

ארָקְיּו( הֵשֲׂע תוצִמ לע םגּ הזּה רוּפִּסּה ידֵי לע )ב( רבוֹעו )ב(
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Mekor Hachayim
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לע סוּחל הזבּ וּניוּטצנֶּשׁ ,"ךָוֹמכּ ךֲָערֵל ָתּבהאו" :)ח"י ט"י
A2. In talking about / reporting on another Jew, this person also
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transgresses the Aseh (2) of (Vayikrah 19:18) “one must love his דוֹבכּ לע סוּחלו ,וֹמצע לֶשׁ לע סח אוּהֶשׁ וֹמכּ ,וֹרבח ןוֹממ
fellow Jew as he loves himself,” meaning that we are commanded ,וֹמצע דוֹבכּ לע שֵׁשׁוֹח אוּהֶשׁ וֹמכּ ,וֹחבִשׁבּ רפּסלוּ וֹרבח
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by the Torah to be concerned about and watch over and preserve the
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wealth of a fellow Jew as much as we would be careful to protect ףא ,לבּקְַמה וֹא ,וֹרבח לע תוּליִכרְוּ ערָה ןוֹשׁל רפּסְמהו
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