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Abstract

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Ḥafetz Ḥayim, first published in 1873, is a renowned Jewish work on the sin of “evil speech.” It has the reputation of seeking to put a stop to derogatory gossip. Such an attempt would have been staggeringly difficult, especially since Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jewish culture was known for its talkativeness, including negative gossip. In fact, however, Ḥafetz Ḥayim permits and even commands negative talk about certain categories of people. Based on the historical context, I argue that Ḥafetz Ḥayim seeks not to stop negative talk but to direct it against those who threaten nascent Orthodox Judaism. However, this goal does not appear to have been realized. Insight into this apparent failure can be gleaned from the social sciences and especially from Samuel Heilman’s Synagogue Life: derogatory gossip about one another actually connects people and strengthens their community. Thus, Ḥafetz Ḥayim’s attempt to turn such gossip into a weapon against outsiders was doomed to failure.

Keywords

gossip Judaism evil speech slander Yiddish bavardage judaïsme mauvaise langue médisance yiddish

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Verbal Exuberance and Social Engineering

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