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DEUTERONOMY — 27:16 uphold

DEUT1500 It is true that among the tzaddikim there are those who sometimes succumb to sin, as the pasuk says (Koheles 7:20), "For there is no righteous man on earth who does [only] good and does not sin." Yet tzaddikim will subdue their yetzer a hundred times over, and if they fall prey to sin even once, they will not allow it to reoccur, for it leaves them deeply troubled [Yechezkel 6:9], and they repent. Nonetheless, one who is not heedful regarding a known sin, and has not committed to caution concerning it, even if it is one of the more lenient of transgressions, although he may be heedful of all other transgressions within the Torah – – the Sages of Israel have referred to him as (Chulin 4b), "an apostate regarding one matter," who is counted among the evildoers [He is similar to a mumar lehach'is, an apostate who acts out of spite, since he shows no concern for that one prohibition (see Zeh Hasha'ar).], and whose transgression will be too great to bear. For if a servant explicitly tells his master: "I am willing to fulfill whatever you ask of me, with the exclusion of one thing," he has already divested himself of the yoke of servitude to his master [since he arbitrarily chooses which mitzvos to fulfill and which not to, he is referred to as a porek ol -- one who has divested himself of the yoke of servitude to Hashem", and he will do as he sees fit. Regarding this matter the pasuk says [this verse], "Cursed is he who does not uphold the words of this Torah to do them." This means: who is not committed to the fulfillment of all the words of the Torah, from beginning to end. [The expression] "who does not uphold… to do" attests to this--for it does not [simply] say, "who does not do them." [The curse is not directed to any sinner, but only to one who is not committed to full mitzvah observance. See Ramban and Seforno, ad loc.]

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DEUTERONOMY — 27:18 misdirects

DEUT1502 The Torah curses those who take advantage of another's naïveté or lack of knowledge [this verse]. Since each of us has areas of "blindness"--as well as areas of expertise that enable us to take advantage of others--we may understand this curse as being directed against all those who mislead and deceive others, who engage in acts of g'neivat da'at, "stealing another's mind."

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DEUTERONOMY — 27:24 secret

DEUT1504 Aside from all of the negative and positive commandments mentioned above, one who speaks lashon hara also incurs the curse of אָר֕וּר מַכֵּ֥ה רֵעֵ֖הוּ בַּסָּ֑תֶר, “Cursed is one who strikes his fellow in secret” (Devarim 27:24), which refers to someone who speaks lashon hara, as Sifri and Rashi on Chumash explain.

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DEUTERONOMY — 27:24 secret

DEUT1507 The prohibition of lashon hara is so severe that the Torah forbids one from speaking lashon hara even if what one says is true, and in all circumstances. Not only does one violate the prohibition if he is careful to speak about this subject in private and make sure that the subject does not find out what was said about him--for in doing so he also incurs a curse, as it says: אָר֕וּר מַכֵּ֥ה רֵעֵ֖הוּ בַּסָּ֑תֶר “Cursed is one who strikes his fellow in secret” (Devarim 27:24)--but even if the speaker is certain that he would be willing to say that lashon hara in the presence of the subject, or if he actually does say it before him, that is also forbidden and considered lashon hara. In a certain sense, the sin of speaking lashon hara in the presence of the person he is speaking about is worse than speaking about him in his absence, because when one speaks lashon hara in the subject's presence, not only is he transgressing the provision of lashon hara, he is also conducting himself with brazenness and chutzpah. In addition, speaking with lashon hara in the subject's presence engenders greater strife, and can at times cause the other person's face to turn white from embarrassment, as we described at length in negative commitment 14 וְלֹא־תִשָּׂ֥א עָלָ֖יו חֵֽטְא׃, “Do not bear a sin because of him” (Vayikra 19:17).

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DEUTERONOMY — 27:24 secret

DEUT1505 Bible commentators understand [this verse] as referring not only to someone who strikes his unsuspecting neighbor physically, but also to someone who injures another by speaking lashon hara, an activity that takes place behind the victim's back. The Psalmist promises God's vengeance on such gossips: "He who slanders his friends in secret, I will destroy" (Psalms 101:5).. One of the great evils of lashon hara is that because it does not happen in the victim's presence, he is unable to defend himself.

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DEUTERONOMY — 27:24 secretly

DEUT1508 The Torah and Talmud both express the gravity of loshon hora. The Torah [this verse, Rashi] places a curse on those who speak evil of others, while the Talmud (Erchin 15b) equates speaking loshon hara with atheism. Besides the inherent severity of loshon hora, the gravity is compounded by repetition; a person who isn't careful with his speech will violate the prohibition thousands of times. Therefore, we definitely will not be worthy of God's blessings until we cease speaking loshon hora. After careful observation, I have come to the realization that the general public is not aware that even if a defamatory is true it constitutes loshon hora. Even those familiar with this fundamental principle have a tendency to excuse their loshon hora by misquoting and misapplying various sources. Conversely, lack of correct knowledge can mislead a person into thinking that scrupulously observing every detail of this mitzvah is only possible by becoming a secluded hermit. These and other errors have brought about a condition in which there are few indeed who refrain from speaking loshon hora.

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