יום ד Date: 22 Cheshvan, 5776 (11/23/16) – Bava Metzia Daf 58 ~ Tani Guterman

WRONGING WORDS

[58b middle] Mishnah: Just as there is wronging in ‘buying and selling,’ so too is there wronging with words.
Gemarah: One should not say to a penitent, “Remember your past deeds..” or to a child of a convert, “Remember the deeds of your forefathers…”
R’ Rosner points quoting R’ Pam: Even though we are more careful about Lashon Hara (evil speak) and Shmiras Halashon (watching our language) thanks to the Chafetz Chaim, we still need much more work and awareness on the current problems of insulting and making fun of people, known as “Ona’as Devarim” [as the Gemarah points out].

Prac-T-cal Tidbits: Unfortunately, people in modern society find it ‘acceptable’ to insult others with hurtful words (especially if it advances their own statuses). We need to be extremely careful with what we say because once the words come out of our mouths, they can completely alter relationships for long into the future (and are very hard to take back/undo).