NUM145 … lashon hara [Lit., "evil tongue," i.e., communicating something bad about another person] brings a person to speak falsely against Hashem, [Yeshayahu 32:6] as the pasuk says (Tehillim 73:9), "They have set their mouth against Heaven, even though their tongue goes up on the earth." Among all the transgressions none come close to the punishment incurred by one who tosses words [abusively against Hashem]. Our Sages said (Arachin 15a) that our forefathers tested [ Hashem] ten times [in the wilderness], but their decree was only sealed over the sin of lashon hara, as the pesukim say [this verse], "Surely, as you have spoken in My ears, I will do to you," and (Devarim 1:34), "Hashem heard the sound of your words, and became angry and made an oath, saying…" [The Jewish people were punished by not being able to enter Eretz Israel after maligning the land and Hashem.] The pasuk also says (Malachi 2:17), "You have wearied Hashem with your words."

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NUM149 [Misah bidei Shamayim -- death administered by Heaven -- applies to] one who slanders another, as the pasuk says, (this verse), "The men who produced the evil slander on the land died in a plague before Hashem." Our sages, z"l, said (Tosefta Arachin 2:6) that if those who slander the land were punished with death [administered by Heaven], then this is surely the case for one who slanders a Jew bound to the fulfillment of the Torah and its mitzvos. The pasuk also says (Devarim 22:19), "They shall fine him one hundred silver shekels and give them to the girl's father, for his slander…" Note that the Torah does not mention how he sinned seeking the woman's life, trying to cause her death in a Jewish court of law by bringing false witnesses to testify about her adulterous affair. Rather, the Torah mentions the sin of his slandering her, for this is a greater sin than seeking to kill a human being, as the anguish associated with shame is more bitter than death itself. Similarly, our Sages, z"l, said (see Arachin 15a) that the Torah penalized him with both lashes and monetary compensation for slandering her name, not for seeking her death. Our Sages, z:l, further said (Yerushalmi Bava Kama 8:7) that a person who cast aspersions on one's family background can never be atoned for – – the forgiveness granted by the living who are still alive does not suffice, for he has caused a disgrace and besmirching of their progenitors.

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NUM164 (Continued from [[DEUT1250]] Deuteronomy 23:14 excrement GATES 217-9) One is certainly admonished not to utter Hashem's Name with unclean hands, and if one's hands touch some thing that he finds repulsive he should wash them, similar to what the pasuk says (Tehillim 26:6), "I will wash my hands in purity." If while traveling on the road one is uncertain whether the way is clean, he should not utter Hashem's Name, nor speak words of Torah. [Chayei Adam (3:6, Nismas Adam 2) suggests that Rabbeinu Yonah holds the prohibition of Torah thoughts in an unclean plays with being only Rabbinic. Thus, where it is uncertain whether the way is clean, one can be lenient and permit Torah and prayer thoughts, but not speech (Sha'arei Teshuvah Hashalem).] If there is some unclean object behind him, such as excrement, the carcass of an animal, or foul water [Water in which flax was soaked, which is extremely malodorous (Ran, Nedarim 80b)], he must distance himself four amos [An amah is one cubit, approximately 21.25 inches, or 54 cm; thus, four amos is around seven feet], from where the smell has ceased; in front of him, [he must distance himself] until his eyes cannot see it. Vigilance in this is among the ways of being God-fearing, as the pasuk says (Malachi 3:16), "For those who fear Hashem and contemplate His Name." [I.e., those who contemplate whether their current place permits them to mention Hashem's Name before doing so, are God-fearing (Zeh Hasha'ar).] Our Sages, z"l, said concerning this (Berachos 24b), "'For he has disparaged Hashem's word' [this verse] -- this is a reference to one who speaks words of Torah in putrid passageways." Our stages, z"l, have further said (Koheles Rabbah 1:7), "The reason why 'He gives wisdom to the wise' (Daniel 2:21) is because the wise honor the Torah and engage it in holiness; were it to be given to fools, they would speak words of Torah in putrid passageways.

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NUM165 The fourth category [of scoffer] entails a preoccupation with idle talk and a squandering of one's time [Devarim beteilim can also be translated as "idle words," but this appears redundant here (Zeh Hasha'ar). See Strive for Truth 1:1, pg. 237; and Avos 3:2: "If two people sit together and no words of Torah are spoken between them, theirs is an assembly of scoffers."], in the manner of those who sit idly on street corners. Two ills emerge from this evil: the one--excessive talk leads to sin [See Avos 1:17], and the second--the neglect of Torah study. Within this lie the pathways towards death; for how could he failed to recall and take note that those very occasions he wasted could be utilized for the attainment of pleasantness [i.e. all the spiritual benefits in this world that the Torah provides those who study it (Sha'arei Teshuvah Hameforash) and for the acquisition of eternal life – if he would designate those free times for Torah study, when he is unoccupied with his work and his affairs? This can only be because inwardly he disparages the mitzvos and the reward given in the World to Come. Aside from the loss of much good, he will also bear his own sin, for the offense of the neglect of Torah study when one has the opportunity is a fire which consumes until it destroys. As our Sages said (Sanhedrin 99a), "For he has disparaged Hashem's word" [this verse] is a reference to one who has the opportunity to engage in Torah study and does not do so, as we have already explained.

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NUM166 Within the Jewish populace, there are many who think that the primary ruin and loss to one's soul occur only from sins performed through an action, and that there is no ruin to the soul for one free from actively sinning--one who has not walked in the ways of transgression and who [only sins through inaction, i.e. he] refrains from performing mitzvos and good deeds. Therefore, it is essential for us to impart wisdom to those who err [Yeshayahu 29:24]; for our Sages, z"l, said (Yerushalmi Chagigah 1:7), "HaKadosh Baruch Hu was willing to overlook the sins of idolatry, illicit relations, and murder, but He was not willing to overlook the sin of the neglect of the Torah." They also said [In his Igeres HaTeshuvah, Rabbeinu Yonah cites the Sifrei as the source for this saying], "Just as the reward for Torah study is greater than that of all the other mitzvos, so is the punishment of one who neglects it greater than that of all other transgressions." Furthermore, they explained (Sanhedrin 99a) that, "For he has disparaged Hashem's word and annulled His commandment" [this verse), refers to one who can engage in Torah study and does not do so." [Thus, the neglect of Torah study is one example illustrating how the contravention of positive commandments is also a great ruin and loss to one's soul.]

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NUM176 "You must not explore after your heart and your eyes" (this verse). We have herein been admonished not to contemplate [the previous paragraph involved fantasizing, which can bring one to a state of impurity. The current prohibition has greater ramifications; it forbids thought directed toward actually committing a sin, which can lead to one's intentionally performing the sin.] committing a transgression, any form of inequity or sin, as the pasuk says (Mishlei 24:8): "One who thinks of doing evil," one must also not reflect upon the words of heretics, lest he stumble and be drawn towards them. When one impresses on his heart that Hashem explores the heart and examines man's innermost thoughts, will he dare defile his heart by filling it with lawlessness? [Tehillim 41:9]. Shlomo, a"h, also said (ibid., 9) "the thoughts of a fool are sin"; and he further said (ibid., 6:16-18), "These six Hashem hates, and for the seventh He holds a deep abhorrence… a heart that contemplative sinful thoughts." [this is actually the fourth listed in the verse; the seventh is "one who sows discord among brothers."]

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NUM177 See [[LEV111]] Leviticus 11:35 shattered GATES 29

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NUM179 There are also many who stumble and are ensnared [in sin by] profaning the more significant of the senses – – the senses of sight and of sound. Concerning the sense of sight, the pasuk [this verse] says, "You must not explore after your heart and your eyes." Herein we have been admonished that one must not gaze at a married woman or any other woman where relations are forbidden, lest he stumble [in sin] with them.

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NUM202 … the mitzvos of tefillin and of mezuzah … are positive commandments, associated with God's sovereignty [Rabbeinu Yonah on Berachos 15a explains that by wearing tefillin on the head and arm, one subjugates his soul and body to Hashem (Zeh Hasha'ar)], and for this reason they are mentioned in the sections of Shema Yisrael [The reading of Shema is the quintessence of accepting Hashem's sovereignty (See Mishnah Berachos 2:2). Tefillin and mezuzah are mentioned in the first two sections of Kerias Shema (Devarim 6:8, 9 and 11:18, 20)]. In this manner you will be able to reflect upon the punishment of one who neglects these mitzvos, for such a person breaks the yoke [of Heaven] and severs his bonds [Tehillim 2:3]. ... Regarding the mitzvah of tzitzis, our Sages, z"l, said (Sifrei 15:40), that tzitzis add [to one's] holiness, as the pasuk says [this verse], "That you may remember and perform all My Commandments, and be holy unto your God." Although the mitzvah of tzitsis is only incumbent upon one who has a garment of four corners, and one who does not possess such a garment is not required to buy one, nevertheless, our Sages, z"l said (Menachos 41a) that when difficult times come he will surely be punished for not coveting the beauty of this mitzvah and its reward [enough] to forgo the circumstances that leads to its obligation – – acquiring a garment of four corners [in order] to place tzitsis on them.

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NUM211 See [[DEUT915]] Deuteronomy 17:20 haughtily GATES 209

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