Absolutely not! Speech is a very important and powerful aspect of a person, and one should be careful to use it only in a positive way. The gift of speech was not meant to be used for abuse, slander, falsehood or anything negative.
A key rule in Judaism is not to do to another anything that one wouldn’t want the other person to do to him. Hillel, the renowned Talmudic sage was asked by a prospective convert to teach him the entire Torah while the person stood on one foot. Hillel taught him, “That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah; and the rest is commentary….”
Some people are more sensitive to verbal barbs and “cuts” than others. I think that everyone is affected and hurt to some degree even if they have “thick skin” and claim it doesn’t bother them. But deep inside it does. Many people who pretend to smile and shrug it off are actually very hurt by verbal abuse, and some even suffer a degree of trauma that can impact their self esteem and even cause depression.
There are a number of Torah prohibitions against any speech that might be harmful to another. The most well-known one is “lashon hara” – saying something negative about another person even if it’s true. (In certain specific cases saying something negative is permitted when numerous conditions are met that verify that the speech is beneficial, factual and said with positive intent and an expert in this field should be consulted). Another prohibition is called “ona’at devarim”, which is ‘afflicting’ another with words (Talmud Baba Metzia 58). Examples are: If a man is a penitent, one must not say to him, ‘Remember your former deeds.’ If he is the son of converts he must not be taunted with, ‘Remember the deeds of your ancestors.
Let us use our “freedom of speech” and “power of speech” for only good and productive purposes.
