LASHON HARA PART II

9 IYAR 5771

Guard Your Tongue (P. 31-32)

Based on: Chofetz Chaim                By: Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

Habitual Speakers of Lashon Hara

  

Someone who only speaks Lashon Hara occasionally is guilty of a serious sin. But those who speak Lashon Hara often are guilty of an even larger sin.

People who speak Lashon Hara often become accustomed to that way of speaking about people-it become s a habit for them. For example when you first learn how to tie your shoes you think about it every time you tie them. Once it becomes a habit though, you don’t even think about tying your shoes. In the same way that speaking badly can become a habit, so to, practicing holding back from saying unkind things and practicing saying kind things can also become a habit.  

In the following story, Mr. Peabody's Apples, you will hear how Lashon Hara can truly hurt a person and ruin his reputation.  

Let’s understand the text

• Why is speaking Lashon Hara considered a serious sin?
• What lesson can we learn from “Mr. Peabody’s Apples?”

Let’s experiment

• Have a student squeeze a tube of toothpaste
• Ask the child to put all the toothpaste back into the tube.         

Let’s understand the text

• Were you able to put the toothpaste back in the tube?
• How is the toothpaste like Lashon Harah?
• What is the connection between the toothpaste and the feathers in the Mr. Peabody story?