LEV537 There is a well-known statement in the Gemara in Shevous (36a), which teaches that when the Torah uses the word אָר֗וּר, cursed, it means that one is subject to both a curse and ostracism (niduy). Therefore, any person who knows that he has not been careful with regard to this bitter sin of lashon hara should fear for his soul, for perhaps he has been ostracized in Shamayim, Heaven forbid.... this bitter sin of lashon hara results in other negative consequences, such as the terrible trait of cruelty, and the trait of anger--which is a grave sin, as Chazal has described at length in Shabbos (105b). At times, can also bring one to mockery and other bad middos. After reading these opening sections, one can understand the extent of the harm that results from the lashon hara and rechilus. For this reason, the Torah designated for us an explicit prohibition regarding lashon hara and rechilus, and wrote the specific negative commandment of לֹא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ, “Do not go as a talebearer among your nation” (Vayikra 19:16). In this way, lashon hara and rechilus were singled out from all the other bad middos as we wrote at the beginning of the introduction.