Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai points out that there were actually three commandments the Israelites received upon entering the land: to wipe out the memory of Amalek, to appoint a king, and to build the Temple. They managed the first two. So, what happened with the Temple?
According to this teaching, the problem wasn't a lack of resources or will, but something far more insidious: informers. The presence of mosrim, those who spread malicious reports, prevented the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, from dwelling among them. Can a truly sacred space be built on a foundation of gossip and backbiting?
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman provides a striking contrast. He notes that during the reign of Ahab, the people were idol worshippers, yet they were victorious in war. How? Because, as shocking as it sounds, they didn't have informers in their midst. Conversely, Saul’s generation was plagued by informers, like Doeg the Edomite and the Zifites, constantly whispering against David. The result? Defeat.
Rav Mona takes it a step further, stating that anyone who engages in lashon hara, malicious speech, drives the Divine Presence away. He illustrates this with a powerful image from David himself in Psalm 57. David laments being surrounded by those with tongues like "spears and arrows," and then cries out, "Rise above the heavens, God…" In other words, David is saying, “Get out of here! What is the Divine Presence doing down here? Remove the Divine Presence to the firmament."
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman also calls lashon hara "the third speech," because of its devastating impact. It kills three people: the speaker, the listener, and the subject. He derives this from the story of Doeg, Saul, and the city of Nov – a tragic chain of events detailed in I Samuel 22, where Doeg's slander leads to the massacre of an entire priestly city.
But the Rabbis don't stop there. They even bring in the serpent from the Garden of Eden! They ask the serpent why it crawls on the ground with its tongue dragging. The serpent replies it is because it breached "the fence of the world" through malicious speech against the Creator. According to Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi, the serpent, who could once speak, slandered God, claiming that God forbade Adam and Eve from eating from the Etz haDa’at (Tree of Knowledge) out of fear that they would create their own worlds. As punishment, God severed its legs and silenced its tongue.
The Rabbis continue to probe the serpent, asking what it gains from biting. The serpent's response is chilling: "Before you ask me, why don't you ask those who engage in lashon hara?" The implication is clear: both are destructive forces.
Finally, they ask why the serpent's venom spreads throughout the entire body from a single bite. Again, the serpent deflects, pointing to the devastating reach of malicious speech, which can strike down someone across vast distances.
The Devarim Rabbah concludes with a sobering thought: the Israelites were commanded to build the Temple upon entering the Land. But because they engaged in malicious speech, it wasn't built in their time.
This isn't just a historical footnote. It's a potent reminder of the destructive power of our words. It challenges us to consider: What kind of world are we building with our speech? Are we contributing to a sacred space, or are we, through gossip and slander, driving away the very presence we seek?
Another interpretation, “and you will say: I will install a king over me” – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: There were three things that Israel was commanded to do upon their entry into the Land. These are: To eradicate the name of Amalek, to appoint a king for themselves, and to build themselves a Temple. They appointed a king for themselves and they eradicated the name of Amalek. Why, then, did they not build the Temple [at that time]? It is because they had informers in their midst.18The existence of those informers prevented the Divine Presence from resting in their midst. You may know that this is so, as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: The people of the generation of Ahab were idol worshippers, yet they would go out to war and emerge victorious. Why was it so? Because they did not have informers in their midst. That is why they would go out to war and emerge victorious. You may know that this is so, as when Jezebel sought to kill all the prophets of the Lord, what did Ovadya do? He concealed them in caves, as it is stated: “I concealed one hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, fifty men to a cave” (I Kings 18:13), and there was no person who said to Ahab: ‘Ovadya did such and such.’ But the generation of Saul, all of them were informers. You may know that it is so, as when Saul was pursuing David, everyone would utter malicious speech about him to Saul, as it is stated: “When Doeg the Edomite came [and informed Saul, saying to him: David has come to the house of Aḥimelekh]” (Psalms 52:2); “when the Zifites came and said to Saul: [David is hiding among us]” (Psalms 54:2). That is why they would suffer defeat in war. Another interpretation, Rav Mona said: Anyone who utters malicious speech drives away the Divine Presence from below [on earth] to up above. You may know that it is so from what David said: “I lay my soul amid lions, anxious beasts, among men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are a honed sword” (Psalms 57:5). What is written thereafter? “Rise above the heavens, God…” (Psalms 57:6) – David said: ‘Master of the universe, what is the Divine Presence doing below? Remove the Divine Presence to the firmament.’ Another interpretation, Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Why is malicious speech known as ‘the third speech’? It is because it kills three people – the one who speaks it, the one who accepts it, and the one about whom it is spoken. From where is this derived? From Doeg who spoke it, Saul who accepted it, and Nov the city of priests, about which it was spoken.19See I Samuel chapter 22. Another interpretation, Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They asked the serpent, saying to it: ‘Why are you found among fences?’ It said to them: ‘Because I breached the fence of the world.’ They said to it: ‘Why do you walk on the ground and your tongue protrudes onto the ground?’ It said to them: ‘Because it [my tongue] caused me to utter malicious speech against my Creator.’ What was the malicious speech? Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The primeval serpent was able to speak like humans. When Adam and Eve did not want to eat from that tree [the tree of knowledge], he began uttering malicious speech about his Creator. He said to them: ‘It was from this tree that the Creator ate and thereby created His world. He commanded you that you should not eat from it and create another world.’ What did the Holy One blessed be He do to it? He severed its legs and cut out its tongue, so it would not be able to speak. Another interpretation, they asked the serpent, saying to it: ‘What benefit do you have from biting?’ It said to them: ‘Before you ask me, why do you not ask those who utter malicious speech [baalei lashon hara],’ as it is stated: “If the serpent bites without a spell, there is no advantage to the charmer [baal halashon]” (Ecclesiastes 10:11) – what benefit does he get by uttering malicious speech? Another interpretation, they said to the serpent: ‘Why do you bite one limb yet your venom circulates into all the limbs?’ It said to them: ‘Before you ask me, why do you not ask those who utter malicious speech, who can be standing in Rome and kill someone in Syria, or stand in Syria and kill someone in Rome?’ See how harsh is the power of malicious speech, as they [the Israelites] were commanded to build the Temple [upon their entry to the Land], and because the people of that generation engaged in malicious speech, it was not built in their days.
