I was studying the Holiness Code in Leviticus 19 this week through the 18th? Century work Sefer Ha Chinuch (Book of Education).
It argues against gossip because it destroys communal bonds and social peace.
Yet a sociologist would argue you are not regarded as a member of the community until people gossip about you. I’m gossiped about in Pico/Robertson because I am a member of this Orthodox community, whether I’m wanted or not.
If you tell me there’s a member of your shul who nobody gossips about, I’ll say it is 100x more likely that the person is not a member of the community than that the person is truly righteous and beyond gossip.
At the shuls I’ve belonged to, nobody has gossiped about the Mexican help because they are not regarded as interesting or as members of the community. People don’t gossip about those below them in social status.
