Musar for Shevuot 71:27
אלא קשיא כי לית ליה בממונא אבל באיסורא אית ליה
[HE WHO CURSES] HIMSELF: as it is written: Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. IV, 9. [The verse is explained in Ber. ');"><sup>38</sup></span> and as R'Abin said in the name of R'Elai; for he said; Wherever it is said, take heed, lest, or not, it is nothing bu negative precept.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Here, 'take heed to thyself' means 'do not curse thyself.'');"><sup>39</sup></span>
Shemirat HaLashon
And, in truth, this is a wonder in my eyes. For it is the nature of a man to seek remedies and blessings from great men for success in [earning] a livelihood. And how will all the remedies and blessings help them if, G-d forbid, they are habituated to the sin of lashon hara and rechiluth, which is subject to an explicit curse [Arur] in the Torah (Devarim 27:24): "Cursed [Arur] is he who smites his friend in secret," which, according to Rashi, refers to lashon hara. And Chazal have said (Shevuoth 36a): "'Arur' — in it lies a curse; in it lies excommunication." And this [Arur] was not uttered by one man alone, but in consensus with all of Israel, in addition to the Cohanim and the Levites, as stated in Scripture. And this one [(by speaking lashon hara)] voided his blessing!
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Mesilat Yesharim
This is what the sages said in the Talmud (Shavuot 36a):"R. Eleazar said: 'No' is an oath; 'Yes' is an oath... Said Raba: But only if he said, 'No! No!' twice; or he said, 'Yes! Yes!' twice".
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