Taming the Tongue

June 28, 2019February 13, 2024Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

“No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8)

Gossip is a sin of which we all are guilty, and yet it has probably caused us all suffering too. We all are wounded by this habit that seems so acceptable in our culture today. Careers are ended, marriages disrupted, friendships ruined.

The Bible has much to say about it, and rabbinic thinkers have some excellent wisdom about how to purify our speech. We can even find parallels in Jewish ideas to the teachings of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament.

Shmirat HaLashon – Guarding the Tongue

We all know that by being kind in our speech we can have deeper friendships and closer families. The scriptures say that it is the key to a good, long life:

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully. (Psalm 34:12-13 & 1 Peter 3:10)

In contrast, the potential for harm from our tongues is great:

Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:5-6)

Our speech has the potential of great good or great evil. This biblical idea of the need to “guard our tongues” has been a part of a movement among Orthodox Jews in the past century. They have a strong emphasis on observing the rules of Shmirat Halashon (SHMEER-aht hah-la-SHON) – guarding the tongue.

In the past few years in Jerusalem, conventions have been held with seminars on how to have kind speech. Over ten thousand people have attended each year, and many clubs have formed for those wanting to reinforce this habit among themselves. Imagine living in a place where there was no gossip, no backbiting and no slander! They fail too, of course, but it is not overlooked or encouraged, as in some of our circles. Imagine what would happen if the Christian community did that!

We can learn much from the ideas that have come from the Jewish community.

Lashon Hara – The Evil Tongue

The Hebrew term that is used for gossip is lashon hara (la-SHON hah-RAH). It means literally, “the evil tongue.” Jews define it as defaming a person in the eyes of others by revealing details about them that put them in a negative light. Lashon hara is different from slander, which is telling lies about others. While everyone recognizes that slander is wrong, fewer will say that it is also wrong to speak negative truth about others.

The rabbis point out that other actions close to Lashon Hara should be avoided as well. For instance, to read a newspaper editorial article that you don’t like and then show it to someone just so they will scoff at it is called the “Dust of Lashon Hara.”

It also includes sarcastic comments about another person, like, “She is such a genius, isn’t she?” or innuendos like, “Don’t mention so-and-so: I wouldn’t want to say what I know about her.” Even to laugh and sneer when someone else gossips qualifies, because it communicates your negative feelings. It truly is a difficult task to avoid damaging others through subtle comments and even body language. As James says,

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. (James 3:2)

We do many other things with our speech that are hurtful, which are discussed biblically and rabbinically.

Motze Shem Ra – “to spread a bad name”

This means to slander another by spreading lies about them. Interestingly, this Hebraic idiom is behind the Greek text of Luke in chapter 6:22: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.” Even Jesus used the idioms that are still used for evil speech. Jesus is saying that people will invent lies about his followers, but that he will bless them because of the hurt it causes them.

The rabbis considered slander on par with murder, because it destroys the victim’s reputation in the eyes of others. They point out that slander is more similar to murder than robbery, because while a robber can repent and give back all of what he has stolen, a murderer can never undo the damage he has done.

Note: This technique of comparing a lesser sin (slander) to a greater sin (murder) is reminiscent of Jesus’ rabbinic teaching style. Jesus says that anger is on par with murder, and that lusting in the heart is equivalent to adultery (Matt 5:22 & 28). It is a way to point out the serious potential of even small sins. We can see that Jesus is using a technique that was part of his Jewish culture.

Rechilut – tale-bearing

Rechilut is repeating rumors, especially to tell the object of a rumor what others have been saying about them. Leviticus 19:16 says that we should not go about as a “tale-bearer.” We are supposed to be peacemakers, and telling the object of a rumor what is being said is sure to cause anger and hatred between people. We may feel that a person has a right to know what others are saying, but telling them is usually going to cause more damage.

Healing the Tongue

How do we heal our speech so that our relationships can be deeper and more fulfilling? Jesus says, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). He diagnoses the problem as one of the heart.

One major culprit behind gossip is our desire to judge others negatively, to see their actions in the worst light possible. If a friend doesn’t invite you to a party, was it an oversight, or was there malicious intent? A person who assumes the worst will be angry and want to report the slight to everyone, but a person who assumes the best will not be bothered. Our whole attitude toward others will change when we try always to give others the benefit of the doubt.¹

Another major reason for gossip and unkind speech is our desire to elevate ourselves by tearing others down. It may work temporarily, but over time it demeans us in the eyes of others.

Paul has a solution to this problem:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3-4)

If we genuinely care as much about others as ourselves, we will try to protect their reputations as much as we do our own.

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See also “The Power of Positive Speaking,” an article by Rabbi Malka Drucker.

¹ See the En-Gedi article, “Living out Jesus’ Words on Judging.”

Photos: NaveenNkadalaveni [CC BY-SA 4.0], Eugene de Blaas [Public domain], Bobbie Johnson [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Stealing Another’s Mind

July 9, 2015March 27, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

“You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.” Leviticus 19:10

An interesting biblical idiom that can teach us a good lesson is to “steal a person’s mind.” It is found in Gen. 31:20, which literally reads, “Jacob stole Laban’s mind (literally, heart) by not telling him he was running away with his daughters.” Many translations render the idiom as “to deceive” – that Jacob deceived Laban and thereby “stole his mind.”

A synonymous idiom that is still used today is “geneivat daat,” meaning “stealing knowledge.” It has a fascinating definition that we don’t often consider. To “steal knowledge” is to fool someone into having a mistaken assumption, belief, or impression, even if no lying is involved. If a shopper is convinced that he is buying a top quality item and the clerk never mentions that it is defective, that would be “stealing his knowledge.” Or, if a store increases its prices temporarily so that it can advertise huge markdowns, that is “geneivat daat.” Deceptive advertising of any kind is all a part of this idea.

We all know what it is like to be taken in by this type of deception, and often when we realize we have been “duped,” we feel as if someone has stolen something from us. And interestingly, the rabbinic thinking is that we have been robbed. The sages saw that the phrase includes the word ganav, to steal, and concluded that the commandment, “Do not steal” also prohibits “stealing another’s mind”, or deceiving others. Indeed, the rabbis spoke of seven types of theives and the worst was the one who “steals the mind” (Tosefta, Bava Kama 7:3). (1)

As angry as we get when it happens to us, often we see that we are guilty of it ourselves. Geneivat daat is when we offer to pay the bill at a restaurant, knowing that the other person won’t accept, or when we invite someone to a party that we know they can’t attend, — both ways of creating a false impression of our generosity. Or when we spend an hour with a computer store salesman to learn about laptops, with plans already in place to purchase elsewhere, we are really stealing his mind aren’t we? When we take credit for something we didn’t really do, or pad our job resume (2) — all these things “steal” others’ goodwill, understanding, or deliberately create a false impression of ourselves.

When we remember that we are serving the God of truth, we realise that he doesn’t approve of such forms of verbal manipulation. How many times a day do our words not match our intentions? We may not give a second thought about all the little ways we are deceptive, but we should if we want to be God’s people of integrity.

(1) http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/geneivatdaat.html

(2) http://www.orthodoxcaucus.org/addpdf/CaucusThouShalt.pdf

Photo: http://americangallery.wordpress.com/category/witkowski-karl/

Ganav – Another Way to Steal

July 2, 2015February 20, 2024Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. (Leviticus 19:10)

We can learn a good lesson from an interesting Hebrew idiom that uses the word ganav, “to steal.” The phrase to “steal someone’s mind” means to deceive – to keep information from another. It is found in Genesis 31:20, which very literally reads, “Jacob stole Laban’s mind (literally, heart) by not telling him he was running away with his daughters.” Many translations render the idiom as “to deceive” — that Jacob deceived Laban and thereby “stole his mind.”

A synonymous idiom that is still used today is geneivat daat, meaning “stealing knowledge.” It has a fascinating definition that we don’t often consider. To “steal knowledge” is to fool someone into having a mistaken assumption, belief, or impression, even if no lying is involved. If a shopper is convinced that he is buying a top quality item and the clerk never mentions that it is defective, that would be geneivat daat. Or, if a store increases its prices temporarily so that it can advertise huge markdowns, that is geneivat daat.

We all know what it is like to be taken in by this type of deception, and often when we realize we have been “duped,” we feel as if someone has stolen something from us. And interestingly, the rabbinic thinking is that we have been robbed. The sages saw that the phrase includes the word ganav, to steal, and concluded that the commandment, “Do not steal” also prohibits “stealing another’s mind,” or deceiving others. Indeed, the rabbis spoke of seven types of thieves and the worst was the one who “steals the mind” (Tosefta, Bava Kama 7:3).¹

As angry as we get when it happens to us, often we see that we are guilty of it ourselves. Geneivat daat is when we offer to pay the bill at a restaurant, knowing that the other person won’t accept, or when we invite someone to a party that we know they can’t attend, both ways of creating a false impression of generosity. When we take credit for something we didn’t really do, or pad our job resume² — all these things “steal” others’ goodwill, understanding, or deliberately create a false impression of ourselves.

When we remember that we are serving the God of truth, we realize that he doesn’t approve of such forms of verbal manipulation. How many times a day do our words not match our intentions? We may not give a second thought about all the little ways we are deceptive, but we should if we want to be God’s people of integrity.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

¹ http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/geneivatdaat.html
² http://www.orthodoxcaucus.org/addpdf/CaucusThouShalt.pdf