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Rabbinic tradition considers the evil tongue, or malicious speech, to be a sin more serious than many physical sins. This resembles ancient Near Eastern traditions, such as in the Surpu tablets, where evil speech is considered a serious sin.
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Surpu IX
Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations
Ancient Near East
Tamarisk, lone tree, growing in the high plain. Your crown above, your root below. Your crown above is a tree releasing everything. Your root below is a terrace. Your trunk is the gods. With bathed head, You cleanse, you purify the mouth of the humans. May the evil tongue stand aside. Purification-plant, clean plant, growing out from the Apsû. Above your crown, below your root. Above, your crown gives life upwards. Below, your root cleanses downwards. May your trunk purify everything for the rites. With bathed head, You cleanse, you purify the mouth of the humans. May the evil tongue stand aside. Pure reed, clean reed, growing in the heart of the reed-thicket.
Date: 1200 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Aralkhin 15b
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
Based on the relative scope of the fines, with the defamer paying twice the sum of the rapist and the seducer, it is apparent that one who utters malicious speech with his mouth is a more severe transgressor than one who performs an action. And this is corroborated, as we found that the sentence imposed on our ancestors in the wilderness was sealed only due to the malicious speech disseminated by the spies, as it is stated at that time: “All those men that have seen My glory, and My signs, which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet they have tried Me these ten times and have not listened to My voice” (Numbers 14:22).
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Who is a talebearer? One who carries reports, and goes about from one person to another and says: “so-and-so said this”, “such-and-such have I heard about so-and-so”. Even if it is true, the talebearer destroys the world. There is a still graver offense which is included within this prohibition, namely lashon hara, the evil tongue. This means talking disparagingly of anyone, even though what one says is true… A person with an evil tongue is one, who, sitting in company, says: “That person did such-and-such”, “so-and-so’s ancestors were so-and-so”, “I have heard such-and-such about him” – and then proceeds to say disparaging things… The Sages say: “There are three offenses for which one is punished in this world and forfeits his portion in the World to Come: idolatry, incest and murder, but the evil tongue is equal to all three put together…The Sages also said: “The evil tongue slays three people: the speaker, the listener, and the one spoken about; and the listener will be punished worse than the speaker. ..."
Golinkin, David
To Tell or Not to Tell: Confidentiality vs. Disclosure in Jewish Law and Tradition
(pp. 1-8) The Schecter Institute, 2004
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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