LASHON HARA
The Evil Tongue, What is it and How to Avoid it
PSALMS 34
12 (11) Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Adonai.
13 (12) Which of you takes pleasure in living?
Who wants a long life to see good things?
14 (13) [If you do,] keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceiving talk;
15 (14) turn from evil, and do good;
seek peace, go after it!
DEFINITION
The Hebrew term lashon hara (or loshon hora) is the halakhic term for derogatory speech about another person. Lashon hara differs from defamation in that its focus is on the use of true speech for a wrongful purpose, rather than falsehood and harm arising. - Wikipedia
It is a common sight throughout history to see people sitting around a table talking. How often, in our experience though, has someone on that discussion turned the discussion into intentional defamation of another; scenes of the proverbial Locker-room talk for men or "beauty-shop" talk for women (sorry for the stereo-types).
Wikipedia goes on:
Speech is considered to be lashon hara if it says something negative about a person or party, is not previously known to the public, is not seriously intended to correct or improve a negative situation, and is true. Statements that fit this description are considered to be lashon hara, regardless of the method of communication that is used, whether it is through face-to-face conversation, a letter, telephone, or email, or even body language.
Lashon hara (lit. "evil tongue") is considered to be a very serious sin in the Jewish tradition. The communicator of Lashon Hara (and rechilut) violates the prohibition of "Lo telech rachil b'ameicha (Leviticus 19:16)."
By contrast, hotzaat shem ra ("spreading a bad name"), also called hotzaat diba, or motzi shem ra (lit. "putting out a bad name") consists of untrue remarks, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation". Hotzaat shem ra is worse, and consequentially an even graver sin, than lashon hara. And the act of gossiping is called rechilut, and is also forbidden by halakha
PROVERBS 10
Both of these types of speech are considered bad and to be avoided. Scriptures is full of verses about taming the tongue. One of the most telling to me, however, is in Proverbs 10:18-21
18 He who covers up hate has lips that lie,
and anyone who slanders is a fool.
19 When words are many, sin is not lacking;
so he who controls his speech is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is like pure silver,
but the mind of the wicked is worth little.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
Scripture tells us though that the tongue cannot be tamed fully. Jacob (James) 3:7-8 "7 For people have tamed and continue to tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures; 8 but the tongue no one can tame — it is an unstable and evil thing, full of death-dealing poison!" Clearly, according to Jacob, our Lord's half-brother, no person can fully tame the tongue. Jacob goes on "9 With it we bless Adonai, the Father; and with it we curse people, who were made in the image of God.[a] 10 Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing! Brothers, it isn’t right for things to be this way. 11 A spring doesn’t send both fresh and bitter water from the same opening, does it? 12 Can a fig tree yield olives, my brothers? or a grapevine, figs? Neither does salt water produce fresh." It is for passages like this that Jacob (James) is sometimes called the Proverbs of the New Testament.
WRAP-UP
Scripture is clear that evil tongue, or evil speech, is something we need to be on the alert to avoid. Part of living a Torah-based life, is avoiding speech that is defamatory and degrading of others. And though James/Jacob tells us that it is impossible to completely tame our own tongues, living a life led by the Spirit of the Living God allows a much more certain ability to do this. This is part of living a life dedicated to Messiah.