There are few subjects in Jewish ethics that are as commonplace and at the same time so profound as lahon hara (evil tongue). It is not about major sins or dramatic transgressions, but about something everyone uses daily. Words.

The laws are not written down directly and chronologically but 6 of the 7 are described in Bereshit (Genesis) and 1 in Vayikra (Leviticus)

Maimonides (Rambam), in his Shemonah Perakim (“Eight Chapters”), the introduction to Pirkei Avot (Sayings of the Fathers), describes some fundamental ideas regarding the human soul and ethics. An important image he uses therein is that of the sick soul (nefesh cholah).