1.
Over 90 years ago, in the town of Radin, there lived a young man named Yankela, who wanted to recite Torah for the acquittal of the many. To this end, he approached the relevant authorities and after a short period of time, they arranged for him a permanent position as a 'Maggid Shiur' in a village near the town. Of course, before he had yet to set out on his journey, the young man approached the 'Cafetz Chaim', who showed signs of enthusiasm and wished him success in his new Torah work.
Yankela arrived in the nearby village, met with the synagogue's executive committee and received a structured schedule of classes around the clock - a total of 5 hours a week. After giving several classes, Yankela realized that the public was not with him. Some of the participants were falling asleep regularly, others were just dreaming, and there were those who really tried to concentrate and connect, but they simply didn't understand a word.
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Six months later, Yankela decided that the situation could not continue like this! He returned to 'Cafetz Chaim' and told them what was on his mind: "I don't feel the acquittal of the people there. None of them understands a thing or two. I checked with them several times. They don't correct me for significant errors. They don't remember anything. I think I'm wasting their time and mine!"'
Maran zt"l smiled at him and asked: "How many participants are there in your class?""
The shepherd answered him: "About fifty men.""
""If so," the 'Cafetz Chaim' said to him, "you give a lesson to fifty participants for 5 hours a week, which is 20 hours a month. Thanks to you, fifty people do not speak slander 240 hours a year! Isn't that the credit of many?!""
2.
When I first read the story, I thought it was a momentary flash of brilliance from the 'Chafetz Chaim', but in fact the message of Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen, the rabbi of the city of Radin less than a century ago, was spoken by the sages many years ago and was presented in two midrashim.
In the Midrash Rabbah on the parshah of the leper, it is written as follows: 'Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Five Torahs are written in the case of the leper: "This is the Torah of the plague of leprosy," "This shall be the Torah of the leper," "This is the Torah of him who is stricken with leprosy," "This is the Torah for all the plagues of leprosy," "This is the Torah of leprosy." To teach you that anyone who speaks slander violates five Torah books.
It seems that things need to be clarified. Slander is certainly a very serious prohibition. Whoever sins by slander is indeed punished more than can be tolerated. But what does it mean that everyone who speaks slander violates five Torah books? How can a person who speaks slander violate, in one casual sentence, every law, sentence, or sign taught in all five books?
3.
King David writes in the Psalms: "I will guard myself according to a barrier." Chazal inquires in the Midrash of the Psalms: And is there a barrier according to me?! Rather, I will guard myself, so that I will not speak idle words, by dealing exclusively with the words of Torah.
In this way, the Midrash Shochar Tov also interprets the verse in Proverbs: "The tongue is a tree of life" and explains there that the son of Naim the singer of the songs of Israel, King Solomon, meant the Torah by his words "tree of life." "From this you learn," the Sages conclude, "that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not give the Torah to Israel except that they should not engage in idle talk and should not engage in slander.".
Rabbi Chaim Pelaji, who was one of the greatest sages of Izmir, connected these two midrashim and said that according to the statement of Chazal in the midrash 'Shochar Tov', one can understand the words of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. Anyone who speaks slander violates the entire essence of the five Torah scrolls! By not putting a barrier around it, he not only violates the prohibition of slander but also ignores the very idea of giving the Torah to Israel.
The laws of slander are always relevant. "Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.""
