iI am a Jew- and according to the laws of my faith, gossip is a sin that is considered to be as serious as murder. In Hebrew it is referred to as "Lashon Ha rah" - the evil tongue. Remember " Thou Shalt not Murder"! Gossip is murdering someone's good name.
In an ethics class at my synagogue my Rabbi put it this way:
Two people could have adulterous sex in the synagogue sanctuary in front of the open Ark on Yom Kippur and then eat a ham and cheese sandwich... and the Rabbis of the Talmud would write that gossiping about them was just as evil a sin as what they had done.
I teach high school- and I tell my students this: I will never say anything about you that I would hesitate to say to you. If I overhear gossip in my classroom I Immediately shut it down by asking these questions:
Was this done directly to you?
Were you there or are you hearing about it?
Do you know for an absolute fact that it is true?
Does repeating the story cause harm or embarassment?
Are you a person who hurts others for your own amusement??
It usually stops them.
