Pt1 ‘Lashon Hara’: Malicious Speech in the Talmud (Arakhin 15b-16a)

This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline of the series is below.

This sugya is a concentrated treatment of lashon hara, malicious speech¹. It begins with R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yosei b. Zimra, who meditates on Psalms 120:3: despite God having “walled in” the tongue with lips and teeth, it still deceives. Speech is thus a uniquely dangerous faculty, hidden yet powerful. R’ Yoḥanan further stresses that speaking lashon hara is akin to rejecting divine authority, as Psalms 12:5 depicts people claiming mastery over their own lips.² His teacher adds that slander brings the divine punishment of tzaraʿat, the biblical skin disease.

Reish Lakish sharpens the theme with homiletics: “metzora” is read as motzi shem ra (defamer), while the snake in Ecclesiastes 10:11 exemplifies harm without benefit, just like malicious speech. He also cites Psalms 73:9 to show that lashon hara magnifies sin until heaven.

Rav Ḥisda in the name of Mar Ukva piles on severe consequences: the slanderer deserves stoning (by linking Psalms 101:5 with Lamentations 3:53), cannot dwell in the same world with God, and is doubly punished by God and Gehenna, as suggested by Psalms 120:4.

The sugya then explores remedies. R’ Ḥama b. Ḥanina counsels that if a scholar sins with speech he should immerse himself in Torah, while a commoner should cultivate humility. Yet R’ Aḥa b. Ḥanina denies remedy after the fact, citing Psalms 12:4 as cutting the sinner off. Preventive discipline—Torah for scholars, humility for laymen—remains the best protection.

The school of R’ Yishmael radicalizes matters, teaching that lashon hara is equivalent to the three cardinal sins—idolatry, sexual transgression, and murder—since each is called “great” while Psalms 12:4 uses the plural “great things.” In Eretz Yisrael they say lashon hara kills three: the speaker, the listener, and the subject. R’ Ḥama extends this metaphor, showing from Proverbs 18:21, Jeremiah 9:7, and Psalms 73:9 that the tongue, like an arrow, kills at any distance—even spanning heaven and earth.

R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani citing R’ Yoḥanan lists seven sins that bring tzaraʿat, from lashon hara to stinginess, each supported with prooftexts. R’ Anani bar Sason connects atonement for sins with priestly vestments: notably, the robe (meʿil) atones for lashon hara through its sound, just as malicious speech is sound. R’ Simon citing R’ Yehoshua b. Levi observes that while no offerings atone for murder and lashon hara, other rituals do: the eglah arufah for murder, temple incense (ketoret) for slander. This is elaborated by R’ Ḥanina and the school of R’ Yishmael, who emphasize the temple incense’s hidden nature paralleling secretive speech.

Finally, symbolic punishments are explained. A metzora “dwells alone” (Leviticus 13:46) because his speech divided families and friends. R’ Yehuda ben Levi notes that he must bring birds for purification, creatures whose constant chirping mirrors idle chatter.

Together, these interpretations weave a comprehensive theology: lashon hara is not merely bad manners but a sin reaching heaven, aligned with the gravest transgressions, punishable by divine and earthly means, and requiring ritual, humility, and Torah to guard against.

Outline

Intro

The Passage- ‘Lashon Hara’: Malicious Speech in the Talmud (Arakhin 15b-16a)

1. R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yosei b. Zimra - God “walled” the tongue (teeth, lips); despite this, it deceives - Psalms 120:3

2. R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yosei b. Zimra - Speaking lashon hara is akin to denial of God’s rule - Psalms 12:5

3. R’ Yosei b. Zimra - Speaking lashon hara is punished with tzara’at

   1. Reish Lakish - “Metzora” read as motzi shem ra (defamer) - Leviticus 14:2

4. Reish Lakish - Serpent gratuitously bites—so too speaking lashon hara is gratuitous - Ecclesiastes 10:11

5. Reish Lakish - lashon hara magnifies sin - Psalms 73:9

6. Rav Ḥisda citing Mar Ukva - One who speaks lashon hara deserves stoning - Psalms 101:5; Lamentations 3:53

7. Rav Ḥisda citing Mar Ukva - God says about the slanderer: “He and I cannot dwell together” - Psalms 101:5

8. Rav Ḥisda citing Mar Ukva - God and Gehenna punish the speaker of lashon hara

9. Prooftext - “arrow” = tongue, “mighty” = God - Psalms 120:4; Jeremiah 9:7; Isaiah 42:13

10. R’ Ḥama b. R’ Ḥanina - Remedy for speaker of lashon hara

    1. If scholar—study Torah

    2. ... Prooftexts - “tongue” = lashon hara, “tree” = Torah - Jeremiah 9:7; Proverbs 3:18

    3. If commoner—humble spirit - Proverbs 15:4

11. R’ Aḥa b. Ḥanina - After speaking lashon hara, there’s no remedy - Psalms 12:4

    1. ... to prevent speaking lashon hara--Torah (for scholar) or humility (for commoner) - Proverbs 15:4

Part 2

1. R’ Yishmael’s School - Speaking lashon hara is equivalent to the three cardinal sins

   1. Prooftext - via “gadol/gedolot” - Psalms 12:4; Exodus 32:31; Genesis 39:9; Genesis 4:13

2. “In the West” (Eretz Yisrael) - Lashon Hara kills three people: speaker, hearer, and subject

3. R’ Ḥama b. Ḥanina - the tongue kills

   1. ... at any distance - Jeremiah 9:7; Psalms 73:9

4. R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani citing R’ Yoḥanan - Tzara’at is divine punishment for 7 sins: lashon hara, murder, vain oath, sexual transgression, arrogance, theft, and stinginess

   1. Prooftexts - Psalms 101:5; II Samuel 3:29; II Kings 5:23–27; Genesis 12:17; II Chronicles 26:16,19; Leviticus 14:35-36

5. R’ Anani bar Sason - Priestly garments atone just as offerings do

   1. The sin that each one of the eight priestly garments atones for: murder, forbidden sex, arrogance, sinful thoughts, (corrupt) judgment, idolatry, lashon hara, and brazenness

6. R’ Simon citing R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - Murder and lashon hara are atoned for by eglah arufah and Temple incense (respectively)

7. R’ Ḥanina - Temple incense atones (Numbers 17:12)

8. R’ Yishmael’s School - Temple incense atones for lashon hara

9. R’ Shmuel bar Nadav asking R’ Ḥanina / R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - Metzora “dwells alone” because his speech divided people - Leviticus 13:46

10. R’ Yehuda ben Levi - Metzora brings two birds—chattering for chatter - Leviticus 14:4

The Passage

Arakhin.15b.5-16b.3

R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yosei b. Zimra - God “walled” the tongue (teeth, lips); despite this, it deceives - Psalms 120:3

אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי יוסי בן זימרא:

מאי דכתיב

״מה יתן לך

ומה יסיף לך

לשון רמיה״?

§ The Talmud returns to the topic of lashon hara.

R’ Yoḥanan says in the name of R’ Yosei ben Zimra:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“What shall be given to you,

and what more shall be done for you,

you deceitful tongue” (Psalms 120:3)?

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא ללשון:

1. כל אבריו של אדם זקופים

   1. ואתה מוטל,

2. כל אבריו של אדם מבחוץ

   1. ואתה מבפנים,

God said to the tongue:

1. All the other limbs of a person are upright,

   1. but you are lying horizontally.

2. All the other limbs of a person are external,

   1. but you are internal.

ולא עוד אלא

שהקפתי לך שתי חומות:

1. אחת של עצם

2. ואחת של בשר,

And moreover,

I have surrounded you with two walls:

1. one of bone, i.e., the teeth,

2. and one of flesh, the lips.

״מה יתן לך

ומה יסיף לך

לשון רמיה?!״

What shall be given to you

and what more shall be done for you,

to prevent you from speaking in a deceitful manner, tongue?!

R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yosei b. Zimra - Speaking lashon hara is akin to denial of God’s rule

אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי יוסי בן זימרא:

כל המספר לשון הרע --

כאילו כפר בעיקר

Furthermore, R’ Yoḥanan says in the name of R’ Yosei ben Zimra:

Anyone who speaks lashon hara --

is considered as though he denied the fundamental belief in God.

Prooftext - Psalms 12:5

שנאמר:

״אשר אמרו:

ללשננו נגביר

שפתינו אתנו

מי אדון לנו״.

As it is stated:

“Who have said:

We will make our tongue mighty;

our lips are with us:

Who is lord over us” (Psalms 12:5).

R’ Yosei b. Zimra - Speaking lashon hara is punished with tzara’at

ואמר רבי יוסי בן זימרא:

כל המספר לשון הרע --

נגעים באים עליו

[...]

And R’ Yosei ben Zimra says:

Anyone who speaks lashon hara --

will be afflicted by a skin condition (נגעים) coming upon him

[...]

Reish Lakish - “Metzora” read as motzi shem ra (defamer) - Leviticus 14:2

אמר ריש לקיש:

מאי דכתיב ״זאת תהיה תורת המצורע״?

זאת תהיה תורתו של מוציא שם רע.

Reish Lakish says:

is the meaning of that which is written: “This shall be the law of the metzora in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest” (Leviticus 14:2)?

This means that “this shall be the law of a defamer”³

Reish Lakish - Serpent gratuitously bites—so too speaking Lashon hara is gratuitous - Ecclesiastes 10:11

ואמר ריש לקיש:

מאי דכתיב

״אם ישך הנחש בלא לחש

ואין יתרון לבעל הלשון״?!

And Reish Lakish says:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“If the serpent bites before it is charmed,

then what advantage is there to the master of the tongue (בעל הלשון)?!” (Ecclesiastes 10:11).

What is the connection between “the serpent” and “the master of the tongue”?

לעתיד לבא

מתקבצות כל החיות ובאות אצל נחש,

ואומרות:

1. ארי --

   1. דורס ואוכל,

2. זאב --

   1. טורף ואוכל,

3. אתה --

   1. מה הנאה יש לך?!

אומר להם:

וכי מה יתרון לבעל הלשון?

In the messianic future,

all the animals will gather and come to the serpent

and will say to it:

1. A lion --

   1. tramples with its paws to kill its prey and eats;

2. a wolf --

   1. tears with its teeth to kill its prey and eats.

3. But you --

   1. what benefit do you have when you bite?⁴

The serpent will say to them:

And what is the benefit to the master of the tongue that speaks lashon hara?!

Reish Lakish - Lashon hara magnifies sin

ואמר ריש לקיש:

כל המספר לשון הרע --

מגדיל עונות עד לשמים

And Reish Lakish says:

Anyone who speaks lashon hara --

increases his sins until the heavens

Prooftext - Psalms 73:9

שנאמר:

״שתו בשמים פיהם

ולשונם תהלך בארץ״.

as it is stated:

“They have set their mouth against the heavens,

and their tongue walks through the earth” (Psalms 73:9).

In other words, while his tongue walks on the earth, his sin reaches the heavens.

Rav Ḥisda citing Mar Ukva - One who speaks lashon hara deserves stoning

אמר רב חסדא, אמר מר עוקבא:

כל המספר לשון הרע --

ראוי לסוקלו באבן

Rav Ḥisda says that Mar Ukva says:

Anyone who speaks lashon hara --

he is fit⁵ to stone him with stones.

Prooftexts - Psalms 101:5; Lamentations 3:53

• כתיב הכא

  • ״אותו אצמית״,

• וכתיב התם

  • ״צמתו בבור חיי, וידו אבן בי״.

• It is written here:

  • “Whoever defames his neighbor in secret, I will destroy him [atzmit]” (Psalms 101:5),

• and it is written there:

  • “They have destroyed [tzamtu] my life in the dungeon, and have cast stones upon me” (Lamentations 3:53).

Rav Ḥisda citing Mar Ukva - God says about the speaker of lashon hara: “He and I cannot dwell together”

ואמר רב חסדא, אמר מר עוקבא:

כל המספר לשון הרע --

אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא:

אין אני והוא יכולין לדור בעולם,

And Rav Ḥisda says that Mar Ukva says:

With regard to anyone who speaks lashon hara --

God says about him:

He and I cannot dwell together in the world.

Prooftext - Psalms 101:5

שנאמר:

• ״מלשני בסתר רעהו --

  • אותו אצמית

• גבה עינים ורחב לבב --

  • אתו לא אוכל״,

אל תיקרי ״אותו לא אוכל״

אלא ״אתו לא אוכל״,

As it is stated in the verse:

• “Whoever slanders (מלשני) his neighbor in secret,

  • I will destroy him;

• whoever is haughty of eye (גבה עינים) and proud of heart (רחב לבב),

  • I will not suffer him” (Psalms 101:5).

Do not read the phrase as: “I will not suffer him [oto],”

but as: “With him [ito] I cannot bear to dwell.”

God is saying that He cannot bear having this person in the world with Him.

ואיכא דמתני לה --

על גסי הרוח.

And there are those who teach this notion of God’s not being able to tolerate a certain type of person

in reference to the arrogant (גסי הרוח)

i.e., they apply it to the last part of the verse: “Proud of heart.”

Rav Ḥisda citing Mar Ukva - God and Gehenna punish the speaker of lashon hara

אמר רב חסדא, אמר מר עוקבא:

כל המספר לשון הרע --

אומר הקדוש ברוך הוא לגיהנם:

• אני --

  • עליו מלמעלה

• ואתה --

  • עליו מלמטה

נדוננו,

Rav Ḥisda further says that Mar Ukva says:

With regard to anyone who speaks lashon hara --

God says about him to Gehenna:

• I

  • will be on him from above,

• and you

  • will be on him from below,

and together we will judge him and punish him.

Prooftext - “arrow” = tongue, “mighty” = God - Psalms 120:4; Jeremiah 9:7; Isaiah 42:13

שנאמר:

״חצי גבור שנונים

עם גחלי רתמים״,

• אין חץ אלא לשון,

  • שנאמר: ״חץ שחוט לשונם, מרמה דבר״.

• ואין גבור אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא,

  • שנאמר: ״ה׳ כגבור יצא״,

גחלי רתמים —

היינו גיהנם.

As it is stated:

“Sharp arrows of the mighty,

with coals of broom” (Psalms 120:4),

• and the word “arrow” means nothing other than the tongue,

  • as it is stated: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow; it speaks deceit. One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lies in wait for him” (Jeremiah 9:7).

• Mar Ukva continued: And the word “mighty” in Psalms 120:4 means nothing other than God,

  • as it is stated: “YHWH will go forth as a mighty man, He will stir up jealousy like a man of war; He will cry; He will shout aloud, He will prove Himself mighty against His enemies” (Isaiah 42:13).

And as for “the coals of the broom tree [gaḥalei retamim]” that burn for a long time —

this is an allusion to Gehenna.

R’ Ḥama b. R’ Ḥanina - Remedy for speaker of lashon hara

אמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא:

מה תקנתו של מספרי לשון הרע?

R’ Ḥama, son of R’ Ḥanina says:

What is the remedy for those who speak lashon hara?

If scholar—study Torah

אם תלמיד חכם הוא —

יעסוק בתורה

If he is a Torah scholar --

let him study Torah,

... Prooftexts - “tongue” = lashon hara, “tree” = Torah - Jeremiah 9:7; Proverbs 3:18

שנאמר: ״מרפא לשון עץ חיים״

• ואין לשון אלא לשון הרע,

  • שנאמר: ״חץ שחוט לשונם״,

• ואין עץ אלא תורה,

  • שנאמר: ״עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה״,

as it is stated: “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but its perverseness is a broken spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

• And the word “tongue” means nothing other than lashon hara,

  • as it is stated: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow; it speaks deceit” (Jeremiah 9:7).

• And the word “tree” means nothing other than Torah,

  • as it is stated: “It is a tree of life to them that lay hold of it” (Proverbs 3:18).

If commoner—humble spirit - Proverbs 15:4

ואם עם הארץ הוא --

ישפיל דעתו,

שנאמר: ״וסלף בה שבר (רוח) [ברוח]״.

And if he is an am ha’aretz --

let him humble his mind,

as it is stated: “Its perverseness is a broken spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

In other words, one who perverts his tongue with lashon hara should remedy his behavior by cultivating a broken and humble spirit.

R’ Aḥa b. Ḥanina - After speaking lashon hara, there’s no remedy

רבי אחא ברבי חנינא אומר:

סיפר --

אין לו תקנה

R’ Aḥa, son of R’ Ḥanina says:

If one has already spoken lashon hara --

he has no remedy

Prooftext - Psalms 12:4

שכבר כרתו דוד ברוח הקדש,

שנאמר:

״יכרת ה׳ כל שפתי חלקות

לשון מדברת גדלות״.

as King David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has already cut him off with the punishment of karet,

as it is stated:

“May YHWH cut off [yakhret] all flattering lips,

the tongue that speaks great things” (Psalms 12:4).

... to prevent speaking lashon hara--Torah (for scholar) or humility (for commoner) - Proverbs 15:4

אלא מה תקנתו שלא יבא לידי לשון הרע?

אם תלמיד חכם הוא --

יעסוק בתורה,

ואם עם הארץ הוא --

ישפיל דעתו,

שנאמר: ״וסלף בה שבר (רוח) [ברוח]״.

Rather, what is his remedy beforehand, so that he does not come to speak lashon hara?

If he is a Torah scholar --

let him study Torah;

and if he is an am ha’aretz --

let him humble his mind,

as it is stated: “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but its perverseness is a broken spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

One who is humble will not come to speak badly about another.

1. This is how Steinsaltz consistently translates the term. I use the transliterated term, since there’s no precise translation. The term literally translates to “bad/evil speech”. Rough equivalents in English are “slander, defamation, malicious gossip”.

Compare the verse in Leviticus 19:16a, which is traditionally seen as the source for the prohibition of lashon hara:

לא תלך רכיל בעמיך

Translation JPS 1995:

You are not to traffic in slander among your kinspeople.

The phrase literally translates to “don’t go [as a] rakhil among your nation”. The word rakhil (רכיל) may be related to “spy” or “merchant”.

On this, see Hebrew Wikipedia, “לא תלך רכיל בעמיך“. And see next note.

2. It is noteworthy that Psalms is cited extensively in this sugya as a source of prooftexts. Additionally, observe the striking line in the sugya—grounded in the traditional attribution of Psalms to David—in section “R’ Aḥa b. Ḥanina - After speaking lashon hara, there’s no remedy”:

שכבר כרתו דוד

ברוח הקדש

[…]

as King David has already cut him off with the punishment of karet

inspired by the Holy Spirit

[…]

3. motzi shem ra - literally: “putting out a bad name”, i.e., about someone else. (“Name" = “reputation", see my previous discussion on this.) Homiletically interpreting metzora (מצרע) here via wordplay, as if it's an acronym of motzi shem ra (see my previous discussion on Talmudic backronyms).

On this prohibition, see Hebrew Wikipedia, “הוצאת שם רע“. Note that this prohibition typically refers specifically to defaming a woman by alleging that she engaged in premarital sex and is therefore not a virgin. The expression is based on the verse in Deuteronomy 22:19:

וענשו אתו מאה כסף

ונתנו לאבי הנערה

כי הוציא שם רע על בתולת ישראל

ולו תהיה לאשה

לא יוכל לשלחה כל ימיו

and they shall fine him a hundred [shekels of] silver

and give it to the young woman’s father;

for [that man] has defamed (הוציא שם רע) a virgin in Israel.

Moreover, she shall remain his wife;

he shall never have the right to divorce her.

For more on the context of this verse, see my discussion of the subsequent verses in “Appendix 4 -Biblical Verses relating to Adultery and a Non-Virgin Bride (Deuteronomy 22:21-24)“.

4. Steinsaltz explains:

as you [=snake] cannot eat every animal that you kill

Alternatively, the rhetorical question assumes that the snake’s nourishment comes from dirt; therefore, it gains no material benefit from killing animals or humans, aside from a kind of psychological gratification, analogous to a person who engages in malicious gossip.

On this assumption, see my “Bread in the Basket, Eyes on the Plate: Talmudic Psychology (Yoma 74b-75a)“, section “The Serpent’s curse (Genesis 3:14-15), and its sustenance from dirt“, and my note there.

The snake’s tongue is one of its most conspicuous features. On the connection specifically between the snake and slander, compare the modern English expression “forked tongue“:

1. The split tongue of a snake.

2. (idiomatic) The characteristic of deceptiveness; duplicity; untruthfulness.

For more on both aspects of the word, see Wikipedia, “Forked tongue“.

5. ראוי.

Steinsaltz renders the phrase as “it is appropriate,” a translation that is somewhat imprecise and potentially misleading. The term typically conveys the sense of being theoretically deserving of punishment, rather than implying its actual implementation. A rough English translation is “deserving, worthy”.