Musar for Arakhin 29:56

From this portion we can learn how great is the penalty for indulging in evil gossip. By doing so, a person causes harm to himself as well as to the world at large. The spies caused harm to the whole nation of Israel, but the greatest harm they caused themselves. Our sages in Pesikta Zutra Metzora, comment that if people who only spread lies about stones and and trees were subjected to such punishments, how much more serious is it to spread lies about human beings, about one's fellow man!

They taught (Erchin 15b): "What is [the dust of] slander? [Answer:] For instance to say 'where else should there be fire if not in the house of so-and-so?' (implying that there is always meat and fish there)". Or to praise a person before one who hates him. Likewise for all similar cases, even though they may appear like insignificant words, far removed from tale-bearing, behold, in truth, they are of the "dust" of slander.

(Ibid. 10): "And Aaron turned to Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous." For through the sin of lashon hara, plague-spots come, and his [the speaker's] punishment is to be a metzorah muchlat [a confirmed metzorah], as we find in the Gemara (Arachin 15b): "If one speaks lashon hara, he is afflicted with plague-spots, viz.: (Psalms 101:5): 'He who slanders his neighbor in secret, him atzmith,' and (Vayikra 25;30): 'latzmituth' which the Targum renders 'lachalutin'; [that is, that he be a metzora muchlat] concerning which we learned: 'The only difference between a quarantined leper [metzora musgar] and a confirmed [muchlat (similar to 'lachalutin')] leper is disheveling of the hair and rending of the clothes" [(these obtaining with the second, but not with the first)]. And the prayer of Moses availed her, but not entirely — only to change her from a confirmed leper to a quarantined leper.

And now we shall explain in brief the episode of the spies. For, on the surface, it is cause for great wonder: What is it that caused them to sink to such depths and to mislead Israel? More than that — even Sanhedrin erred in this, it being written (Bamidbar 19:1): "And the entire congregation [the Sanhedrin (Rashi)] lifted their voices, etc." And more than this, they said (Ibid. 13:31): "For they are stronger than He," which our sages of blessed memory interpreted as: "He is unable, as it were, to rescue His vessels from there." How could they speak such nonsense?

Moreover, one who is accustomed to speak gossip will sometimes speak words against God, as it is written, "They have set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth" (Ps. 73:9). And there is no greater guilt in all of the sins than the guilt of him who blasphemes God. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, "With ten trials were our ancestors tried, and in all them their fate was not sealed except for the sin of gossip" (Arakin 15a, Shohar Tov, 39a). As it is said, "As ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you" (Num. 14:28). And it says, "And the Lord heard the voice of your words and was wroth" (Deut. 1:34). And the Torah itself does not protect gossipers. Doeg the Edomite, as soon as he had spoken gossip, his wisdom did not avail him and all of his knowledge of the Torah did not protect him (Sotah 21a, Sanh. 106b).