Opening to Hilchos Lashon Hara – Curses

1) The person who speaks lashon hara breaks the verse (Devarim 27:24), "Cursed be he who strikes his fellow in secret," which is about lashon hara.

2) He also breaks (Devarim 27:18), "Cursed be he who misdirects a blind person in the road." This is about someone who puts an obstacle in front of a person so he will stumble into a sin. Here too, he makes the listener stumble into lashon hara.

3) If, Heaven forbid, he generally does not care about the prohibition of lashon hara, he falls under another curse (Devarim 27:26), "Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah to do them." This is about someone who does not accept upon himself all the mitzvos of the Torah, with no exceptions.

4) If, Heaven forbid, he speaks lashon hara about his father or mother, he falls under the curse (Devarim 27:16), "Cursed be he who dishonors his father and mother."

There is a well-known saying in the Gemara (Shevuos 36a): "'Cursed' includes both a curse and excommunication." So a person who is not careful about lashon hara should fear for his soul, in case he was excommunicated in Heaven because of it.

Many other bad things come with the sin of lashon hara, such as the trait of cruelty and the trait of anger, which is a serious sin. Sometimes a person also comes to mockery and other bad traits.