The Betrayal

If

Someone tells an untruth about someone

At a social gathering

And they go home and tell their wives

And the wives tell their children

And the children tell their cousins

So that long after this person

who was slandered is dead

No one recalls the many extraordinary kind deeds he did;

only remembering that he was a villain.

Feathers in the Wind

One day the Rabbi asked to see the woman who loved to tell untruths about others. "There's something I want you to do for me," he told her. He gave her a cushion and told her to go outside, cut it open and release all the feathers to the wind. "But why?" she pleaded. "Just do as I ask," he told her. The woman went outside, slit the cushion open and released all the feathers to the wind where they were quickly blown far and wide and out of sight. 'Now," said the Rabbi, "I would like you to go out and bring back all the feathers." "But I can't," she pleaded. "They've been blown from pillar to post, down the street, over the hill. I'll never be able to bring them all back." The Rabbi looked at her sternly. "And so it is with words," he told her. "Words once spoken can never be taken back. There is no telling how far they will travel and what harm they could do. From now on, I want you to think before you speak." And she did.