Good evening, everybody. Tonight's Shemirat Halashon broadcast is sponsored Le'ilui nishmat (for the elevation of the soul) Louza Aliza, bat Henriette, and her children who passed with her in the fire. A memorial phrase. Amen. It is also sponsored anonymously for a great Yeshuah (deliverance): Shemirah gedolah min hashamayim (great protection from Heaven). Amen.
The Chafetz Chaim says: picture this. You have a man who goes out and buys an exquisite leather-bound Shas from one of those traveling booksellers. You know, the ones who go from yeshiva to yeshiva, selling all different types of Sefarim (religious books). So this guy buys a beautiful leather Shas, and he doesn't even bother looking inside. The outside was so beautiful that he was already sold at first sight. Now, when the guy brings the boxes and boxes of this leather Shas home, he opens the boxes, takes out the Sefarim, and then opens them. He looks inside and he's horrified. He discovers that the print of the Shas was terribly unclear. It was stained with wax and oil, and the ink ran through the pages, one masechet (tractate) after the next. There wasn't even one masechet that was actually clear enough for him to read. The guy was beside himself. How could he have been so foolish when he went and bought it? Instead of just praising the outside of the Shas, how good it looked, and the leather binding on the outside, why didn't he just open it for a minute himself and see what he was buying?
On the inside, the Chafetz Chaim says, this is the exact same thing when it comes to Olam Haba (next world). A person on the outside can complete all of Shas and all of Mishnah countless times. He could be a fantastic Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar), but if he constantly does not hold himself back from speaking Lashon Hara (evil speech), then when he comes up to Shamayim (Heaven) after 120 years, he won't find one single page of Gemara that he learned that will appear legible and clear. They were all learned and created by a contaminated mouth, and because of that, the beautiful pages will come off as terribly repulsive. If the Torah that we learned in this world won't stand for us in the next world and protect us because of Lashon Hara that we spoke, then what will stand for us in the next world?
So here's a practical halacha (Jewish law). Lashon Hara is forbidden, even if someone pressures you to reveal Lashon Hara. And even if that person is a very respectable person, and they're pressuring you and pushing you to speak, nonetheless, it's forbidden to speak Lashon Hara, period. And although parents have to be respected, if a parent asks a question whose answer is Lashon Hara, still, halachically, we're not allowed to answer. If your mother asks you, “What happened to your friend? Why was he expelled from school?” the halacha is that you're not allowed to answer that question. And believe it or not, even if your boss pressures you to reveal Lashon Hara, still, you're not allowed to obey. You can't listen, and you can't speak. Even if you're at risk of losing your job, you cannot speak Lashon Hara, period. Remember the one who gave you the job. Remember the one who gave your boss his job. Although sometimes these things are difficult to hear, his will comes first. Have a good night.