In one of his recent lectures, Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto addressed the serious damage caused by speaking lashon hara (slander) - not only toward others, but also to the speaker himself. According to him, there is a direct correlation between what a person says and what is said about him in return.
“When a person sits and speaks slander about someone, and others are there to hear it - the pain he causes that person is not one-directional,” said the rabbi. “At that very moment, somewhere else, another person is speaking the same slander about you. You cause harm - and you are harmed.”
Rabbi Pinto further added: “If someone says, ‘People are speaking about me, they’ve hurt me,’ he should ask himself: ‘Have I spoken about others? Have I caused harm?’ Because the moment you utter a hurtful word about someone - at that exact moment, someone else is uttering a hurtful word about you.”
He continued to explain the spiritual consequences of lashon hara: “Every word spoken creates a ripple in the heavens. When a person speaks negatively, angels of destruction are created by his words, and they return to bring harm upon him. This is the reality of spiritual cause and effect.”
Rabbi Pinto also emphasized the importance of self-awareness: “A person must constantly guard his tongue. The mouth can build worlds, and it can destroy them. If we knew how much damage a single word could bring, we would tremble before speaking.”
He noted that the spiritual system responds instantly: “The judgment in heaven is measure for measure. Just as you speak, so will be spoken about you. Just as you wound, so will you be wounded. It’s not punishment - it’s a mirror.”
Rabbi Pinto concluded with a call for personal responsibility: “Before you open your mouth, ask yourself: will my words bring light or darkness? Will they heal or wound? If every person took this moment of reflection, there would be peace between people and blessings from heaven.”
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel