שֹׁמֵ֣ר פִּ֭יו וּלְשׁוֹנ֑וֹ שֹׁמֵ֖ר מִצָּר֣וֹת נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃
דער װאָס היט זײַן מױל און זײַן צונג, היט פֿון צרות זײַן זעל.
Akeidat Yitzchak
Vayikra Rabbah 16, describes a certain itinerant herbs and spices merchant, who used to frequent the district of Tzippori, offering the elixir of life. All the people in the district streamed to that merchant anxious to buy his wares. Rabbi Yannai, who sat in his palace teaching the plain meaning of scripture, heard about this, and invited the merchant to visit him and to sell him some of this life giving herb. The merchant said to Rabbi Yannai "you and the likes of you are not in need of my product." When Rabbai Yannai insisted, the merchant took out a book of Psalms and showed him the verse "who is the man that desires life and loves days that he may see good? keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from deceitful speech" (Psalms 34, 13-41) Rabbi Yannai said "also Solomon proclaims the same message in Proverbs 21,23." He continued "all my life I have read this verse and have wondered about its true meaning, until this spice merchant came and explained it to me."This too is why Moses exhorted the people when he said to the people of Israel "this is the Torah of the person who is afflicted with a skin exzema,( tzora-at), he who slanders etc."