True impact of Lashon Hara

It is worse than you think.

We often teach children that lashon hara means gossip and that we risk embarrassing others with our words. While part of this is true, it misses something essential about the concept and its implications.

First, the word for gossip is rechilut, which can also mean to slander. And the point about risking embarrassment is true. The rabbis are entirely clea…