Gemara Clarity

Arachin 15b

ערכין ט״ו ע״ב

Arakhin 15b

Learn Arachin 15b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 15b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The end of the ten trials in the desert, and the severity, remedy and definition of לשון הרע

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא's list of the ten times the Jewish people tested הקב״ה in the desert: two with the מן, two with the quail, the golden calf, and the spies in מדבר פארן. Then the גמרא turns to a long series of teachings on how serious לשון הרע is. It is compared to denying God, it brings נגעים, it raises sins to the heavens, it deserves stoning, and God cannot share the world with the one who speaks it. רבי חמא ברבי חנינא gives a remedy: a תלמיד חכם should learn Torah and an עם הארץ should humble himself. רבי אחא ברבי חנינא says these only prevent the sin and cannot fix it after it is spoken. The school of רבי ישמעאל teaches that לשון הרע equals עבודה זרה, גילוי עריות and שפיכות דמים together. A chain of פסוקים then shows that the tongue kills like a hand, like an arrow, and from heaven to earth. Finally, רבא, אביי and רבה argue about what counts as לישנא בישא, including whether speech said in front of its subject is included. A new statement begins at the end and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

״אַל תֵּצֵאוּ״ וַיֵּצְאוּ,

"Do not go out" and they went out;

״אַל תּוֹתִירוּ״ וַיּוֹתִירוּ.

"Do not leave any over" and they left some over.

שְׁנַיִם בַּשְּׂלָיו

Two with the quail:

[בִּשְׂלָיו] — רִאשׁוֹן וּבִשְׂלָיו שֵׁנִי.

with the first quail and with the second quail.

The steps (41)

  1. StatementThe two trials with the מן
  2. StatementTwo trials with the quail, starting with the first
  3. StatementThe second quail trial
  4. ConclusionThe golden calf and מדבר פארן
  5. StatementGod guarded the tongue with special protections
  6. StatementSpeaking לשון הרע is like denying God
  7. StatementSpeaking לשון הרע brings נגעים
  8. ProofThe משנה shows that מוחלט means a confirmed מצורע
  9. StatementThe law of the leper is the law of the slanderer
  10. StatementThe animals ask the snake what it gains
  11. StatementSlander raises sins up to the heavens
  12. StatementA slanderer deserves to be stoned
  13. StatementGod cannot live in the world with a slanderer
  14. StatementAnother version applies this to the arrogant
  15. StatementGod and גיהנם judge the slanderer together
  16. ProofDecoding 'mighty one' and 'coals'
  17. StatementThe remedy for a תלמיד חכם: learning Torah
  18. StatementThe remedy for an עם הארץ: humbling himself
  19. StatementOnce spoken, לשון הרע has no fix
  20. StatementThe remedy is prevention: Torah or humility
  21. Statementלשון הרע equals the three worst sins
  22. Proof'Great' for forbidden relations and for murder
  23. ChallengeMaybe the plural only means two
  24. ResolutionNone of the three can be left out
  25. StatementHarmful speech kills three people
  26. StatementThe tongue can kill like a hand
  27. ChallengeMaybe the tongue kills only close by, like a hand
  28. ResolutionThe tongue is like an arrow
  29. ChallengeMaybe the tongue reaches only as far as an arrow
  30. ResolutionThe tongue reaches from heaven to earth
  31. ChallengeWhy is the arrow פסוק needed at all?
  32. ResolutionThe arrow teaches how the tongue kills
  33. ChallengeWhy do we need the 'death and life' verse?
  34. ResolutionThe tongue can bring life or death
  35. QuestionWhat exactly is harmful speech?
  36. Responseרבא's example: 'There is fire at so-and-so's house'
  37. Challengeאביי: that is just stating a fact
  38. ResolutionIt is forbidden when said in a mocking way
  39. Statementרבה: speech in front of the person is not לישנא בישא
  40. ChallengeEven worse: it is both rude and harmful
  41. Resolutionרבה relies on רבי יוסי