Understanding Lashon Hara: The Impact of Evil Speech

Ivanka Trump embodies the Jewish principle of lashon hara by choosing positivity over negativity amidst criticism.

### The Power of Lashon Hara: Understanding Jewish Concepts of Speech
* 🗣 In Jewish law, the term **lashon hara** refers to "**evil speech**," which prohibits speaking negatively about others, emphasizing the **moral weight of our words**.
* 📺 Ivanka Trump discussed lashon hara in a clip, sharing how the concept **empowers her and influences her parenting**, despite public scrutiny and attacks she has faced since 2016.
* 💬 She reflected on her philosophy of remaining stoic and choosing not to engage in political mudslinging, believing that **responding to negativity doesn't align with her true self**.
* 🕊 Ivanka explained that lashon hara is **akin to murder** in its **irreparable harm**, affecting not only the target but also the speaker and the listener, creating a **cycle of damage**.
* 💔 Jewish tradition teaches that **speaking negatively brings down the person being discussed** on a spiritual level, impacting them even if they remain **unaware of the comments**.
* 🌱 Conversely, uplifting speech can **elevate others spiritually**, highlighting the importance of **positive communication** in fostering a **supportive environment**.
* 📖 This understanding of lashon hara encourages mindfulness in our interactions, promoting a culture of **respect and kindness** within the community.
* 💌 The discussion invites reflection on how we can all **practice better speech** and contribute positively to our surroundings, emphasizing the **spiritual implications of our words**.

Hey everyone, I hope you're doing well. In Jewish law and Jewish thought, there's a concept called lashon hara, literally meaning evil speech. And so what that means is that when you speak negatively against somebody, that's not something that is allowed in Jewish law and

conceptually, uh, in Jewish thought as well. There's certain things that we'll discuss in a few moments. So I came across this clip of Ivanka Trump going through, uh, different, uh, slurs and and things that have come against her, and she brings up the concept of lashon hara and

says that it's something that's empowering for her and talks about how she relates it in her with her family and bringing up her kids and so forth. Now, I know what a lot of people are going to say in the comments is, "Oh, she needs to talk to her father," and I don't

like her father and all these different things. Be that as it may, whatever you think of her father, that's that's fine. Keep it to yourself. Listen to what she says regarding, uh, her relationship, her understanding, and her implementation of the Jewish concept of lashon hara. Did she

is a convert to Judaism, by the way, and so her her taking in this spiritual message is something I think that resonates even more. Uh, ever since 2016, the the number and the level of attacks you've been under has been steadily increasing. Has been super

intense. How do you walk through the fire of that? You've been very stoic about the whole thing. I've don't think I've ever seen you respond to an attack. You just let it pass over you. You stay positive, and you focus on solving problems, and you didn't engage

while being in DC you didn't engage into the back and forth fire of the politics so what's your philosophy behind that I appreciate your saying that I was very stoic about it I think you know I feel things pretty deeply so initially some of

that really took me off guard like some of the derivative love and hatred um some of the intensity of of of the attacks um and there were times when it was it was so easy to counter it I'd even write something out and and say well I'm gonna I'm gonna press send and

never did I I felt that sort of getting into the mud fighting back it didn't run true to who I am as a human being like it didn't it felt at odds with with who I am and how I want to spend my time so I think as a result I was often times on

the receiving end of a lot of a lot of cheap shots and I'm okay with that because it's sort of the way I know how to be in the world I was focused on things I thought mattered more and you know I I think part of me

also internalized there's a concept in Judaism called lashon hara which is translated into I think quite literally evil speech and the idea that you know speaking poorly of another is almost the moral equivalent to murder because you can't really repair

it you can apologize but you can't repair it another component of that is that it does as much damage to the person saying the words um than it does to the person receiving them and I think about that a lot I talk about this concept with with my kids a

a lot um and I'm not willing to pay the price of that fleeting and momentary satisfaction of sort of swinging back because I think it would be it would be too expensive for my soul and and that's how I kind of made peace with

it because I think that's just that feels more true for me good for her that's that's a beautiful thing uh in in Jewish tradition there's a very interesting spiritual idea that's brought out from the concept of lashon hara so it says that lashon hara hurts three

people number one the person that said it number two the person who was uh who listened to it and number three the person who it's being said about right when you say something bad so I understand the person it's it hurts the person that said it because you're not

allowed to say those types of things and I understand the person that listened to it because you're not supposed to listen to that kind of thing but why does it hurt the person that it was said about what if they never find out about it and

so interestingly enough in our tradition we are taught that even if the person who the lashon hara is being said about just by speaking negatively about somebody you bring them down on a soul level and something in the ether is affected that that person is brought down and so we

have to be very careful about the way that we talk about things uh in Judaism we're careful about the way that we refer to animals or inanimate objects we we care about the honor of all and everything and creation and so it's interesting that our tradition does

highlight that when a person speaks negatively about another person, you lower them down, but the same thing can be said in the other extreme. If a person wants to help elevate somebody and bring them up spiritually, start speaking positive words over them, even if they never hear

them, even if it doesn't hit them consciously, it's something that helps them along in their journey. And so um, we'll hold with that for today. Just thought it was a nice interesting little clip that came across. Uh, love to hear what you have to say, and if you enjoy

this content overall, I'd highly encourage you to hit that subscribe button below and would love to stay in touch. Have a wonderful day everybody. Oh

Ivanka Trump Makes Host SPEECHLESS With This Jewish Concept on Gossip

Rabbi Pinchas Taylor

Introduction to Lashon Hara and Ivanka Trump's Perspective

Explanation of Lashon Hara (evil speech) in Jewish law and thought.

Ivanka Trump's use of Lashon Hara in response to criticism.

Anticipation of viewer comments and a request to focus on Ivanka's perspective.

Ivanka Trump's conversion to Judaism and its relevance to her perspective.

Discussion of the increasing attacks on Ivanka Trump since 2016.

Ivanka Trump's Stoic Approach to Criticism

Ivanka's non-reactive approach to attacks and focus on problem-solving.

Ivanka's initial reaction to attacks and her decision against retaliating.

Ivanka's acceptance of criticism and prioritization of other matters.

Ivanka's internalization of Lashon Hara and its implications.

The Deeper Meaning and Impact of Lashon Hara

Lashon Hara's moral equivalence to murder and its irreparable nature.

The damaging effects of Lashon Hara on both the speaker and the listener.

Ivanka's prioritization of inner peace over immediate gratification.

Lashon Hara harms the speaker, the listener, and the subject.

Explanation of the harm to the speaker and listener.

The harm to the subject, even without their knowledge.

Spiritual impact of negative speech on the subject.

Judaism's emphasis on respectful speech towards all beings.

The positive impact of speaking positively about others, regardless of awareness.

Concluding remarks and encouragement to subscribe.