The Pit, the Snake, לשון הרע

On the subject of the בור, the pit, that Yosef was thrown into, Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל, has an interesting take.

The Rav said that the brothers knew that the בור had snakes in it, and the snake was a symbol of לשון הרע. They felt that this was a deserving punishment for Yosef, who constantly spoke negatively to Yakov about them. However, since his intentions were for תועלת, improvement, Yosef was not guilty of לשון הרע, and he was saved.

The Rav went on to say that in Morocco, where he grew up, the government would kill you if one went against them. But in Israel, one can finish off another person, via לשון הרע.

All he needs to do, is write a letter to מס הכנסה, income tax, that someone is a tax evader, that person can be ruined for life.

A story is told about Rav Elazar, that he once advised a Jew who was unfairly being destroyed by מס הכנסה to spend Shabbat in Tiberias. The disciple listened to the advice of the Rav and went to טבריה.

Right after Shabbat, there was a knock on the door by a stranger. He said that he noticed how distraught this Jew looked, and asked if he could help.

It turned out that this caring Jew was one of the heads of מס הכנסה. He reduced his penalty to a few hundred shekels.

When one is guilty of לשון הרע, he pays a heavy price. When he is innocent, Hashem often finds a way to save him.