LEV541 Who is considered a talebearer? He who loads himself with talk and goes from one person to another, saying: "This and this is what such and such said. Thus and thus have I heard about such and such." Even though what he says is true, he thereby destroys the world. We have been exhorted against this [this verse]: "Do not be a talebearer among your people." What is talebearing? Revealing to one's friend things that were said of him in secret. And we learned (Sanhedrin 31a): "How do we know that a judge emerging from a trial should not say: 'I ruled for non-liability and my colleagues for liability. What can I do if they are in the majority?' In this connection, it is written: 'Do not be a talebearer among your people,' and (Mishlei 11:13): 'One who reveals a secret is a talebearer.'" Guard yourself greatly against slander, for through it you shame yourself. All who void others are themselves unfit. They cannot speak well of others and tend to brand them with their own faults (Kiddushin 70a); the fact that they utter it with her mouths stems from the fact that it is always in their consciousness.