DEUT1532 One who speaks or listens to lashon hara also transgresses the commandment of וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ בִּדְרָכָֽיו׃, “And you shall follow in His ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9). This mitzvah obligates us to emulate the ways of Hashem, all of which are purely good, as Chazal say (Shabbos 133b), “Just as He is compassionate, so should you be compassionate; just as He is gracious, so should you be gracious.” The same applies to all other good qualities as well, as the Rambam explains (Hilchos Dei’os 1:5-6). We find among the holy and pure traits of Hashem that He detests derogatory speech under any circumstances, even if it is about a very lowly person. We see this from the Gemara in Sanhedrin (11a) that says, with regard to the sin of Achan, that Hashem replied to Yehoshua, “Am I an informer to you?”