Good evening, everybody. Today’s sponsor is a new sponsor, anonymously. Hashem should bless them with everything they need. Also, L'ilui Nishmat (for the elevation of the soul) Luz Aliza bat (daughter of) Henriette and her children, who passed with her in the fire. Also, the chatan (groom) and kallah (bride) from the Levine family. Ruach Hashem t'nichenam b'Gan Eden. Also, anonymous, v'shmira gedola (and great protection), amen.
I’d like to tell you an incredible story about the concept of Shmirat HaLashon (guarding the tongue). You see, in today’s day and age, the task of doing laundry really doesn’t mean or seem to be that big. It’s simply pressing a button, putting on a washing machine, and turning on a dryer. It’s hard for us to imagine that once upon a time, this was really a back-breaking chore. And so it was not so long ago in Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh. A woman by the name of Edel woke up, got an early head start on all the day’s chores, and especially the washing of the laundry. The water had to be washed. It had to be boiled. The stains had to be rubbed out by hand. And every article of clothing had to be hung up on the line to dry.
After five hours, her work was finally done. But then something very unexpected happened. Her neighbor was coming home from a long day at the market, and she felt that something was very wet on her face. She said, “What a chutzpah (audacity). All Edel’s laundry is blocking my way. I’ll teach her a lesson.” She went to the neighbor, took a pair of scissors, and actually cut the laundry line. Within minutes, the entire load of clean white laundry was spread all over the muddy ground.
When Edel came out and noticed what had happened, her first impulse was a terrible rage of anger against her neighbor. But then she told herself, “This is a nisayon (test). Yelling at and berating my neighbor—where is it going to get me? Isn’t there enough machloket (dispute) in the world? How great would the reward be just to keep the peace?” And because of that, Edel firmly told herself she wasn’t going to say a word to anybody.
Around midnight that night, there was a knock at Edel’s door. Edel’s husband answered it, and there stood the neighbor in a panic. She said, “My son just came down with a terrible high fever, and I think it looks very serious. I’m sure it’s a punishment from Shamayim (Heaven) because of what I did to your wife. I have to ask her for forgiveness.” Edel’s husband was surprised. “What did you do to my wife? She didn’t tell me a thing.” The neighbor said, “What? She didn’t tell you anything?” Sure enough, Edel’s husband learned that she had stayed quiet, even after what had been done to her that day.
Her husband turned to Edel and blessed her that, because she had stayed quiet and had not said exactly what had happened to her, she would be forgiven, and that she would have a son who would light up the world with his mouth, with Torah. A year later, Edel gave birth to a son who became one of the greatest poskim (halachic decisors) of Eretz Yisrael in our generation, better known as the great Rav Elyashiv. Great men who heard this story said time and time again that the zechut (merit) in her not getting angry, controlling herself, and not speaking Lashon Hara (evil speech), telling over to her husband exactly what the neighbor did, was the zechut to have that son, a future posek ha-dor (decisor of the generation) of her generation.
So now let’s touch on halacha (Jewish law). Some people think that it’s okay for a husband and wife to have free-ranging conversations, no matter what the conversation is about, even if it is Lashon Hara. “What do you mean? It’s my spouse. It’s my husband. I tell him everything.” This is not true. The isur (prohibition) of Lashon Hara applies even between husband and wife, unless there’s a constructive purpose, as we will speak about at a future date. Have a good night.