Musar sobre Job 35:6

Hence we are obligated to be grateful to Him for everything that He has conferred upon us and for the goodness which He has allotted us. We are also obligated to implore His help to do what is right in His eyes, to tell His greatness, and attain the utmost felicity through our performance of His Commandments. For it is for this that we were created. Not to (achieve) that which is (desirable) or useful of His own. As it is said (Job 35:6, 7), “If thou hast sinned what doest thou against Him? and if thy transgressions be multiplied what doest thou unto Him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him? Or what receiveth He of thy hand?” Indeed He created us (only) to show forth and serve His glory and to make manifest the force of His power and His great worth, as it is said (Isaiah 43:7), “Everyone that is called by My name whom I have created for My glory.” Therefore I entreat Him to accept my work. Perhaps He will reward me in proportion to my desire and not in accordance with the inadequacies of my capacity and performance. For how can a lowly and transitory man conceive the greatness of his Creator? For what can man do that cometh after the King? (See Ecclesiastes 2:12).

And [this holds true] especially in the area of guarding one's tongue. For if he permits, G-d forbid, his soul to be in the category of speakers of lashon hara in this world, and, as a matter of course, does not prevent his ears, too, from always hearing lashon hara and rechiluth and accepting it, (also, so that he will have later what to talk about; for this is the trait of the talebearer, to go and hear in one place and sell this "merchandise" in another place, as a merchant with his wares [viz. Torath Cohanim and Rashi's commentary on Chumash]), then he will have damaged his faculties of speech and hearing, and will certainly be punished in his soul, correspondingly, in the world to come, in these two faculties themselves, speech and hearing. [This is the language of the GRA (R. Eliyahu of Vilna) on the verse (Mishlei 13:13): "He who neglects a thing will be hurt by it, and the fearer of a mitzvah — he will be complete." "For there are 248 organs in a man, and, corresponding to them, 248 positive commandments. And likewise, every thing derives its vital strength from the mitzvoth. And, therefore, anyone who neglects any matter of mitzvah hurts himself. For he is thereby deprived of the vital strength of that matter. But one who fears forsaking any mitzvah and seeks to fulfill every thing [(of mitzvah)] will be complete in all of his organs."] And we may also say that this is the intent of the verse (Devarim 32:5): "[In the transgressions that they have committed,] they have corrupted [themselves], not Him," [G-d forbid], as it is written [Iyyov 35:6]: "If you have sinned, what have you done to Him." The intent [of the verse in Devarim] is as he [the GRA] explains — that through their sins they become blemished in the end. [see Rashi on "banav mumam" ("His sons, their blemish")]. That is, if any mitzvah becomes expendable in his eyes, G-d forbid, then the organ corresponding to that mitzvah becomes blemished in the end, as we have written in the name of the GRA. For in the issur of speaking lashon hara and rechiluth that he speaks with his mouth he transgresses "You shall not go talebearing among your people," most of which [sin] inheres in the mouth. And in hearing lashon hara and accepting it, he infringes on the transgression of (Shemoth 23:1): "You shall not bear a false report." [viz. Sefer Charedim on the negative commandments dependent on the ears, and what I have copied of his words in Principle X of the Be'er Mayim Chayim.] And it is known that these [(speaking and hearing)] are the major faculties of the "form" of man and of his perfection, even in this world. (This is well known from the ruling of Chazal that a deaf-mute [cheresh], who does not hear and does not speak is [legally] comparable to a shoteh [one who is mentally deficient] and to a minor, in all matters. And, in Bava Kamma 85b: "If one rendered another a cheresh he pays him the [legal] worth of an entire man"; for from now on he is not [legally] worth anything.) How much more so is he (i.e., "the counterpart of mouth and ear") rendered defective (for sins by those organs)] in the world to come. And even if we say that he will not be lacking entirely in these faculties, (for did he not also employ them in his lifetime in words of Torah and holiness?) in any event, they will certainly be defective, for he damaged them while yet living and did not repent. And this is known to all who have understanding — that even in this world, if, G-d forbid, a man's faculty of speech and hearing is impaired, even if — with great effort — he can still speak and hear, this greatly grieves him in his lifetime, and he will be more greatly shamed by this lack than if he were affected, in his other organs; for these are man's prime faculties and he will also not be able to conceal their loss. How much more so, in the higher world — how much will his soul grieve there before the eyes of all! Even if no punishment were inflicted upon the man of lashon hara at all, but only his speech and hearing were impaired, how much shame would he suffer because of this! For there it is known and recognized by all that his speech and hearing impairment there is due to his being a man of lashon hara and strife in this world.