The Power of Words: A Child’s Promise That Changed Everything

The following amazing story appears in the book Tuvcha Yabiu, showing clearly how powerful it is to guard our speech and avoid lashon hara (speaking negatively about others).

"We heard this story from the Charar family in Ramat Elchanan, and it happened to one of their nephews who lives in Tiberias. The details became widely known throughout the Galilee and inspired many people to strengthen themselves in the area of lashon hara," said Rabbi Zilberstein.

"A ten-year-old boy was happily playing in the backyard of his home. The yard is built on a slope, and during one of his sliding games from top to bottom, he slammed into a large rock. The impact caused the stone to move, and no one noticed that hidden underneath it was a deadly, two-meter-long snake. The snake slithered out and bit the boy. His younger brother later said he thought he saw 'a pretty rope rolling on the ground'...

The boy soon began to vomit and eventually fainted. His condition worsened minute by minute. Since no one had seen the snake bite him, the family didn’t suspect anything serious at first. Only after his health deteriorated drastically did they call in an expert, who quickly realized that he had been bitten by a snake and needed to be taken to the hospital immediately. In the emergency room, the doctors said that this was no ordinary snake bite—it came from a highly venomous snake.

That night, the child lay unconscious, and the doctors were deeply worried. Then, in the early morning hours, something astonishing happened. The boy suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the people surrounding his bed, and said clearly: “I promise not to speak lashon hara anymore.” Then he closed his eyes again and fell back into unconsciousness.

From that moment on, his condition started to improve rapidly. Within just a few days, he was completely back to himself. The doctors were amazed by his quick recovery. They said they had never seen such a fast turnaround from a snake bite as dangerous as this one.

And with that, the story ends—no extra words are needed.