לשון הרע

Parshat שלח serves to emphasize the severity of the sin of Lashon Hara, evil speech. The Gemara in מסכת ערכין, says the following: Come and see how great the power of לשון הרע is. The spies brought a bad name on trees and stones, as it’s written, “דיבת הארץ,” bad speech against the Land. How much more so, when one lies with evil speech against another human being. The point of the Gemara was that there really was no need to repeat the reason why the spies were put to death. Those extra words of דיבת הארץ, served to emphasize the gravity of לשון הרע. People may take negative speech lightly, and may not be aware of the harm it can do. Words can absolutely destroy a person. They can take away someone’s hope and can totally demoralize. We are to also learn from the spies, how careful we must be with our words. We must use our words to encourage, compliment, and give hope. It is always our task to turn the negative into positive.