….to follow by
one who wants to guard his tongue is to be patient and also to be
mivater:
- as in letting things go
- looking the other way
- passing, on what’s very much in one’s face
- and goin’ ostrich by just plain closing one’s eyes to what would otherwise drive one up a wall
Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits
takes it a step further by telling us that the basic principle of loshon
hora is not restraint, but self-respect. It's beneath our dignity to
dwell on the negative.
With these fundamental rules in hand, all one has to do is to learn Sefer Chofetz Chaim with the commentary of the Be’er Maim Chaim, both parts of Sefer Shemiras HaLoshon, Kuntres Chovas HaSemirah, and Kuntres Zachor LeMiriam.
And if one can
then figure out how to make all of that knowledge the property of his tongue he
can then safely open his mouth without trepidation as to the consequences.
Phew!
Those of us, who
would like to get a firm handle on what emanates from the workings of our
tongues, take note of the dos, don’ts and exhortations contained in these aforementioned
seforim and others, and sometimes feel overwhelmed by what we perceive to be the
impossibility of seriously getting with the program of Shemiras HaLoshon as
laid out, for the most part, by the Chofetz Chaim z”l.
Intimidating it
is, but hopeless it’s not.
In an attempt to
morph the fears of failure into hopes for success in the life and death
struggle over the disposition of one’s tongue, we are, Chasdei Hashem, proud to
announce the launching of a new blog (in addition to EmunahSpeak, not in lieu
thereof) which will be dedicated to matters of the tongue et al.
It’s called GuardYourSpeak, and it will, IY”H, go a ways in making what was
heretofore thought by all too many to be impossible, to be not only possible,
but most definitely probable.
As will be noted
from the slug line under the title, the leitmotif of this effort will focus on what we say, why we say
it, and why we shouldn't be saying most of it.
It’s a mouthful to
be sure, but we’ll do our best to kasher it.
