What does the Torah say about gossip (lashon hara)?
By the My Daily Torah team · Updated
The short answer
The Torah says not to go around spreading stories about people (Leviticus 19:16). Jewish tradition calls it lashon hara, "bad tongue": saying negative things about someone, even when they're true. The Talmud says gossip hurts three people: the one who says it, the one who hears it, and the person it's about. Proverbs puts it bluntly: death and life are in the power of the tongue.
That moment when the group chat turns on someone
Someone drops a screenshot. Someone else adds context. Ten minutes later, a person who isn't even in the chat is the main topic, and it feels great in a slightly gross way.
Gossip is how a lot of us bond. It's also the thing we'd hate to find out was happening about us. Judaism has a surprisingly sharp take on it, and it starts in the Torah itself.
Where does the Torah talk about gossip?
״לא תלך רכיל בעמיך״
“Don't go around spreading stories about your people.”
The Torah, the Five Books of Moses, says it in one short line in Leviticus: don't go around spreading stories among your people.
The Hebrew word is rakhil, usually linked to rokhel, a traveling peddler. That's the picture: someone who goes from house to house, picking up a story here and selling it there.
The very next words in the same verse say not to stand by while someone's blood is spilled. The Torah puts passing along stories and ignoring someone in danger in the same breath. That tells you how seriously it takes words.
Who gets hurt when you gossip?
״לשון תליתאי קטיל תליתאי, הורג למספרו, ולמקבלו, ולאומרין עליו״
“The third tongue kills three: the one who tells it, the one who takes it in, and the one it's about.”
The Talmud, the huge ancient record of Jewish debates and stories, calls gossip "the third tongue," the voice that comes between two people. Its verdict: it kills three. The one who tells it, the one who listens, and the one it's about.
The listener being on that list is the surprise. You didn't say anything, you just nodded along. The Talmud still counts you, because a story needs an audience to do any damage.
The same page has two sages arguing over what counts. One suggests even "there's a fire at so-and-so's place" could be gossip. The other says no, that's just information. It becomes gossip when the tone does the work: "Well, where else would there be a fire?" Same facts, different knife.
Want one short idea like this on WhatsApp every morning? My Daily Torah sends a page of Torah in plain English, right with your coffee. Try it for $1
Is the tongue really that powerful?
״מות וחיים ביד לשון ואהביה יאכל פריה״
“Death and life are in the hand of the tongue, and whoever loves using it will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs, King Solomon's book of short sayings about life, says it in four Hebrew words: death and life are in the hand of the tongue.
The Talmud takes that oddly literally. Does a tongue have a hand? Its answer: a hand can kill someone standing right next to it, and so can a tongue. Then it goes further and compares the tongue to an arrow, which hits people far away.
That's a group chat in one image. You can do real damage to someone who's not in the room and never hear about it.
The second half is the catch: whoever loves using it eats its fruit, good or bad. The same mouth that can wreck someone's week can also be the reason it gets better.
Who wants a good life? Start with your mouth
״מי האיש החפץ חיים אהב ימים לראות טוב נצר לשונך מרע״
“Who wants a real life, and loves the idea of days full of good? Keep your tongue away from evil.”
Psalms, the Bible's book of songs and prayers, many credited to King David, opens this one like a pitch: who wants life? Who wants to see good days?
You'd expect the answer to be something big. Instead it's: watch your tongue, and keep your lips from twisting the truth.
It's a weirdly practical promise. A lot of what makes a week feel bad is drama, and a lot of drama starts with something someone said about someone else.
How to gossip less this week (without becoming boring)
Before you share something about someone who isn't there, run one test: would I say it the same way if they were reading over my shoulder?
When the chat starts piling on, you don't need to give a speech. Change the subject, send a neutral "oof," or just don't add the next detail. Stories die fast without fuel.
Once this week, say something good about someone who isn't in the room. Same tongue, other fruit.
Questions people ask
What does lashon hara mean?
Lashon hara is Hebrew for "bad tongue" or "evil speech." In Jewish tradition it means saying something negative about another person, even if it's true. Spreading something false has its own, worse name: motzi shem ra, "putting out a bad name."
Is lashon hara in the Bible?
The exact phrase shows up in later Jewish writings like the Talmud, but the idea is right in the Bible. Leviticus 19:16 says not to go around spreading stories about people, Psalms 34 says to guard your tongue from evil, and Proverbs 18:21 says death and life are in the power of the tongue.
Is it still gossip if it's true?
In Jewish teaching, yes. Lashon hara is mostly about true things said in a way that hurts someone. The Talmud's example: saying there's a fire at someone's house is just news, but "where else would there be a fire?" turns the same fact into a dig.
What is a famous Jewish saying about gossip?
A well-known one from the Talmud: gossip kills three people, the one who says it, the one who listens, and the one it's about. Another comes from Proverbs: death and life are in the power of the tongue. Both make the same point. Words are never small.
Sources
Every Hebrew line on this page is copied word for word from the source and checked against Sefaria, the free online library of Jewish texts. The English is our own translation.