I’ll lose my reward because of a superfluous word

In Chovos ha-Levavos (the Gate of Submission, chapter 7) it says that if someone slanders or gossips, then all the sins of the one he is gossiping about will be transferred to him (the one who is gossiping), and all his merits (of the one who is gossiping) will be transferred to the one he is gossiping about. I’ve been panicking ever since I read that. I can’t force myself to invest any effort into serving Hashem any more — why should I, if in the end, everything will be mixed up? Besides, I don’t understand: isn’t Hashem a Just Judge? If I make an effort, don’t I deserve a reward for it?    

Dear …!

Before writing a response to your query, I want to ask you a question. Why is it that such a fundamental and central to Judaism concept is not mentioned anywhere before appearing in Chovos Ha-Levovos? It’s not stated in the Talmud, it’s not mentioned in the Zohar, or in any Midrashic literature. Why is it that in any of the other early commentaries, besides Chovos Ha-Levovos, there is not a hint at such a weighty and central issue, which totally changes our understanding of how the whole system of reward and punishment operates?

Another point to ponder is that Chovos HaLevovos doesn’t actually say “all the sins and all the commandments”.

On the other hand, without a doubt, Rabeinu Bechaiei, the author of Chovos HeLevovos, is one of the greatest halachic authorities. And Rabi Rafael Hamburger, the chief rabbi of the joined communities of Altoona, Hamburg and Wandesbeck and one of the greatest sages of his generation, quotes this statement in the name of Chovos HaLevovos and other works. Chofetz Chaim (Shmiras HaLashon, part I, the Gates of Remembrance, chapter 3) also brings this. No doubt, all this is true. But we have to understand the true meaning of these statements.

It's very important to quote the exact wording of the Chofetz Chaim (ibid.): “the general rule is this: this person is liable to leave this world without possessions, that is, without his eternal acquisitions — Torah and commandments. And instead, he will be full of great and numerous sins of all sorts, that were committed by a number of people. For he took [some sins] from each one of them, according to the measure of insult and disgrace that befell these people because of him during his lifetime.” That is, Chofetz Chaim writes clearly that not all the sins and not all the commandments are transferred from one to the other. Only “according to the measure of insult and disgrace that befell these people because of him”. Also, take note of another point. The Chofetz Chaim writes that “someone who is stamped with this evil quality” is “liable to leave this world without possessions”. That is, a normal person, who isn’t always careful with his tongue will, of course, cause great damage to himself by slandering; however it’s not reasonable to think that such a person will leave this world without any possessions whatsoever. On the other hand, for someone who is “stamped” with this evil quality, it is possible to leave this world with nothing.

I’ll try to explain this according to my limited understanding and ability. Everyone knows that with one superfluous sentence I can totally destroy a person. I can cause him to fall into deep depression, destroy his family, etc. There are innumerable stories about this in the Talmud and in Midrashic literature. They all state that someone who slanders or gossips bears the full weight of responsibility for all the consequences of his actions.

Besides that, there is another point here. Slander serves as an indictment in Heaven and awakens the quality of judgement. And, again, the slanderer bears responsibility for this. All this is mentioned in many sources.

Here, in Chovos HaLevovos, there is another novel idea. Let’s say there is a person whom we would reasonably expect to repent for his sins. But because of the gossip that was said about him, he now becomes depressed and loses the ability to think clearly. He’s now operating by the force of habit only; in his current state he is incapable of repentance. Or, alternatively, because the quality of judgement has been activated against him, he passes away, and now he can no longer do any good deeds or repent at all. As we said before, the responsibility for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the slanderer or the gossiper.

The Creator of the world is a just judge. He measures precisely, how much damage was caused by improper speech, and to what extent this stunted the spiritual growth of the victim. This is the claim against the one who talks improperly.

Now it’s time to learn another “gate” in Chovos HaLevovos — the Gate of Reliance. One can rely on the Creator of the world, in that if one tries to do good, then the Creator will direct one on the right path. Of course, one does have to work on making it clear to himself, what damage one superfluous word can cause, how much harm it can do. That will surely bring one to be more careful to guard one’s tongue. One should also remember, what the sages said (Hullin 89a): “The world endures only in the merit of one who restrains his mouth during a quarrel”. And therefore, it’s understandable, that a person who was able to restrain his mouth during an argument merits incredible reward, which no created being can even imagine. This is because he now deserves all the merits of the whole world. We have to constantly entreat G-d to help us fulfill this maxim. This is why, according to the ordinance of the Sages, we ask for this three times a day in the beginning of the final part of the shmone-esre prayer, where one is supposed to insert his personal requests: “My Lord, guard my tongue from evil”.

You also have to remember the text of the confession: “those, which are known to us, we already stated before You, and let You know about them. As for those that are unknown to us, they are known and disclosed to You, as it says (Deuteronomy 29:28): “The secret things belong unto the Lord our G-d; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” We’ll do as much as we can with the things that are revealed to us; as for the rest, we’ll be reliant on Hashem to guard us from stumbling upon things unknown.

Tractate Hullin, folio 89a; “Chovos Ha-Levovos”, the Gate of Submission, chapter 7; Chafetz Chaim (Shmirat A-Lashon, part I, the Gate of Remembrance)