Good evening, everybody. Tonight’s Shemirat HaLashon broadcast is L'ilui nishmat (for the elevation of the soul), Luzza, Eliza, Bat Hanriyet, and her children who passed with her in the fire, Ruach (spirit) Hashem T'Nichenam, B'Gan Eden, Amen (so be it). It is also sponsored anonymously to be Zocheh (to merit), to tremendous Nissim VeNiflaot (miracles and wonders), Yeshuot VeNechamot (salvations and consolations), and a great Shemira (protection), B'ezrat Hashem (with Hashem's help), B'Karov (soon), Amen.
When it comes to the mitzvah (commandment) of Shemirat HaLashon, for some reason, this is an area where people feel we can still get by without being too careful. A lot of times, we have to think for a moment and realize how spiritually lame we end up being because we don't guard our tongue. Think about it. A person is made up of 613 parts, 248 organs, and 365 veins. Each part of the body represents a different one of the 613 mitzvot, including the lo ta'asehs (negative commandments). If a person doesn't observe a certain mitzvah, then the part of the body that represents that mitzvah becomes spiritually inactive. Consequently, a person who talks Lashon Hara (evil speech), well, their tongue suddenly becomes spiritually inactive. Think of how many mitzvot are done through the tongue: how many mitzvot we speak, how many Berachot (blessings) we make, how much Torah we learn. The moment we lose the mouth and the tongue and the spirituality that revolves around it, we've lost so much, and we'll have a very difficult time trying to attain even a fraction of our spiritual potential. Hakol talui ba-lashon. Everything evolves and is dependent on one's tongue.
So here's the halacha (Jewish law) for tonight. We're going to be discussing special cases of Lashon Hara. For instance, the double meaning statement. It is forbidden to say over some sort of comment that has a double meaning to it, meaning that it can be interpreted either positively or negatively about someone we're talking about. For example, if you say, “My friend is really funny,” this can be interpreted in a positive way: your friend has a great sense of humor. But at the same time, it also could be interpreted in a negative way: there's something weird about them, there's something funny about them. There are two instances when it would be mutar (permitted) to relay a double meaning comment. For instance, if you said it in such a way that the person being spoken about, if they were present and had heard that comment, wouldn't experience any bad feelings because they would understand that you really meant it in a good way. If the comment was said in the presence of three people, then it would also be permitted to say the double meaning statement. Be very careful with those people who have trickery to their words. Ashrei, praiseworthy are the people who speak pleasantly and know how to make another person feel good. Have a good night.