"You shall not wrong one another and you shall fear your G‑d"—Leviticus 25:17. It is forbidden to verbally distress or humiliate another.

Hurtful Words

"You shall not wrong one another and you shall fear your G‑d"—Leviticus 25:17.

It is forbidden to verbally distress or humiliate another.

Examples:

• If a person has sinned in his youth and then repented, one may not tell him, "Thank G‑d who has taken you away from that path to this good path!" or similar indirect references to his earlier faults that may cause him pain.
• [If a person is suffering from illness, one may not say (as Job's friends did), "Has anyone perished who was totally innocent?"
• If you see people who seek to purchase grain, do not tell them that they can obtain it by a certain person, who in reality has nothing to sell.
• Do not enter a store and ask, "How much does this item cost?" when you have no intention to make a purchase.]

Our Sages taught that hurtful words are, in fact, a graver sin than defrauding another of money.