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Why is lashon hara forbidden when it involves speaking truth about others? The shiur explains that while lashon hara uses true facts, it creates total distortion by focusing exclusively on negative aspects. This selective truth becomes more destructive than outright lies because truth carries credibility - using the 'greatest force in the universe' to distort reality is the most serious spiritual offense.
This shiur addresses a fundamental paradox in Jewish law: why lashon hara (evil speech) is forbidden when it involves telling the truth about others. Rabbi Zweig explains that under American law, truth is a defense against libel, yet the Torah (תורה) forbids speaking negatively about others specifically when it's true - if it's false, it falls under different prohibitions entirely. The shiur examines several puzzling aspects: why lashon hara about the Land of Israel prevented the Jewish people from entering it, why it's equated in the Talmud (תלמוד) (Erchin) with the three cardinal sins of idolatry, adultery and murder, and why it serves as an obstacle to redemption from Egypt. Rabbi Zweig also analyzes the cryptic Talmudic teaching about the spies putting their 'peh before their ayin' (mouth before eyes), referring to the inverted Hebrew letters in Lamentations.
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