How do you avoid either accepting or spreading slander? Rebbe Nachman teaches: Truth saves one from slander!
A serious obstacle to peace is slander. The Talmud calls this the most severe of all sins (see Erkhin 15b), and there is little doubt that slander has destroyed more lives than any war since the beginning of time. Casting aspersions on something or someone good has the power to dissuade and discourage anybody, no matter how dedicated. Defamation of character can lead to the best of friends becoming the most bitter enemies. Rebbe Nachman, in accord with the above-mentioned passage of the Talmud, teaches: When a person slanders others, the Holy One says to the ministering angel of Hell, “I will judge him from above, and you from below” (The Aleph-Bet Book, Slander A:1). Surely, such a person will have no peace, neither in his body nor in his spirit.
Slandering God. People can be greater deterrents to serving God than even the Evil One himself (Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom #80). Some people spread slander against God. They cast aspersions on the Torah and the mitzvot, and conceal the light of God and Judaism. If you were alone, without the influence of others, you might be confronted with every type of worry, confusion and frustration, but eventually, everything would work out. It becomes much more difficult when others are the cause of your confusion or frustration. Their ridicule of and sarcasm towards everything sacred can be contagious. The confusing doubt which their ideas foment can quite easily dissuade you from serving God (Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom #81).
Sometimes, the problem is compounded because the person slandering God and the Torah is someone, who gives the appearance of being a God-fearing person. Such a person, who dresses and talks like a devoutly religious Jew, but whose opinions and advice discourage people from the right path, can be an even greater deterrent to one who truly wants to serve God. We take him more seriously and we trust that he knows what he’s talking about. In truth, he is the worst slanderer of God and the Torah, for he has the power to entirely dislodge those who trust in him from holiness (Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom #81).
When a person slanders others, the Holy One says to the ministering angel of Hell, “I will judge him from above, and you from below!
The perpetrator of this type of slander is one who gives false interpretations of our holy Torah. Such false interpretations give the impression that they are rooted in Torah, that they are God’s will, and therefore, the views they express represent true Judaism. God forbid! These views are slander against the Torah. Based on philosophies and ideologies that are alien to Torah, or at least not rooted in Torah, they often defame the great Sages of Talmud and cast aspersions on anyone who continues to remain true to their teachings. These specious interpretations are espoused by those ignorant of the Talmud and the rabbinic posture regarding the Oral Law. They prevent people from discovering what God and Torah truly mean. (One can and should think of original Torah expositions. However, these insights have to be rooted in traditional sources.) Such slander causes a very wide rift between God and the Jews.
A serious obstacle to peace is slander!
The worst misfortune to befall the Jewish people was the destruction of the Holy Temple. Although there were immediate reasons for God’s House being taken from the Jewish people, the Temple’s destruction had been etched into history nearly a thousand years earlier. The cause: slander spoken by the messengers sent to spy out the Holy Land. When they returned from their mission, the report they issued caused all the Jews to cry and bemoan their fate. Instead of rejoicing in the good fortune which God was about to bestow on them, they were dissuaded from entering the land. “God said: “You cried for no reason at all. There will yet come a time [on this day of Tisha B’Av] when you will have good reason to cry” (Ta’anit 29a). Had the spies not spoken against the Holy Land, the Jews would have entered their inheritance right away. As it was, slander and strife led them away from it (Likutey Halakhot, Netilat Yadayim li’Seudah 6:74).
How do you avoid either accepting or spreading slander? Rebbe Nachman teaches: Truth saves one from slander (The Aleph-Bet Book, Slander A:9). You have to honestly search for the truth. Study Torah and find out what our holy Torah does teach. Find out what the mitzvot really mean. Discover the nature and depth of our true relationship with God. This knowledge will bring you peace – peace with God and with yourself. The Rebbe also teaches: Seeking the truth promotes peace (The Aleph-Bet Book, Peace A:6).
(Taken from the book Crossing the Narrow Bridge: A Practical Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings – chapter 10 – Peace)
