When does the foregoing apply? When at the time he sat down among them they were not engaged in forbidden speech, and even now, he cannot get away from them. But if at the time that he wanted to sit among them, they had already begun to speak in this manner, or if he could have gotten away from them and he was lax in doing so, or if he knew these men to be "natural slanderers," whose desire was always to speak demeaningly of their friends, and he went and sat among them — even though he took no part in their conversation and was "uncomfortable" with them, still he is called a poshea [an "offender"], like them, for having transgressed the words of Chazal, who commanded that one distance himself from improper words. How much more so if his intent is to hear their words! His sin is "too great to bear," and he will be inscribed because of this, above, in the "Book of Remembrances" as a wicked man and "a man of lashon hara," as we find in Pirkei d'R. Eliezer, in the will of R. Eliezer Hagadol to his son Hyrkanus: "My son, do not sit in the company of those who speak ill of their friends. For when their words rise above, they are written in a book. And all who stand there are written down as 'a company of wickedness and men of lashon hara.'" Therefore, men must greatly distance themselves from an evil company such as this.
בַּמֶּה דְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים? אִם בְּעֵת שֶׁיָּשַׁב בֵּינֵיהֶם, לֹא דִּבְּרוּ אָז דִּבּוּרִים הָאֲסוּרִים, וְגם עַתָּה אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּט מֵהֶם, אֲבָל אִם בְּעֵת, שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶּה לֵישֵׁב בֵּינֵיהֶם, (טז) כְּבָר הִתְחִילוּ לְדַבֵּר דִּבּוּרִים הָאֲסוּרִים, אוֹ שֶׁהוּא (יז) יָכוֹל לְהִשָּׁמֵט וְלֵילֵךְ מֵאִתָּם, וְהוּא מִתְעַצֵּל בָּזֶה, אוֹ שֶׁהוּא מַכִּיר מִכְּבָר לְאֵלּוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים בְּטִבְעָם, שֶׁהֵם מִבַּעֲלֵי הַלָּשׁוֹן, שֶׁתְּשׁוּקָתָם תָּמִיד לְדַבֵּר מִגְּנוּת חַבְרֵיהֶם, וְהוּא הוֹלֵךְ וְיוֹשֵׁב בֵּינֵיהֶם, אַף שֶׁלֹּא יְסַיֵּע לְדִבְרֵיהֶם כְּלָל וְלֹא נִיחָא לֵה בָּהֶם, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן פּוֹשֵׁעַ מִקְּרֵי כְּמוֹתָם, (יח) שֶׁעָבַר עַל דִּבְרֵי חֲזַ"ל, שֶׁצִּוּוּ לְהִתְרַחֵק מִשְּׁמִיעַת דְּבָרִים שֶׁאֵינָם הֲגוּנִים. וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן (יט) אִם הוּא מְכַוֵּן לִשְׁמֹעַ אֶת דִּבְרֵיהֶם גָּדוֹל עֲוֹנוֹ מִנְּשׂוֹא, וְיֵחָקֵּק עֲבוּר זֶה לְמַעְלָה בְּסֵפֶר הַזִּכְרוֹנוֹת בְּשֵׁם אִישׁ רָשָׁע וּבַעַל לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, וְכִדְאִיתָא בְּפִרְקֵי דְּר' אֱלִיעֶזֶר בְּצַוָּאַת ר' אֱלִיעֶזֶר הַגָּדוֹל, שֶׁצִּוָּה לִבְנוֹ הוֹרְקְנוּס, וְזֶה לְשׁוֹגוֹ: בְּנִי, אַל תֵּשֵׁב בַּחֲבוּרַת הָאוֹמְרִים רַע מֵחַבְרֵיהֶם, כִּי כְּשֶׁהַדְּבָרִים עוֹלִים לְמַעְלָה, בַּסֵפֶר נִכְתָּבִים, וְכָל הָעוֹמְדִים שָׁם נִכְתָּבִים בְּשֵׁם חֲבוּרַת רֶשַׁע וּבַעֲלֵי לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, עַל כֵּן צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לְהִתְרַחֵקּ מְאֹד מְאֹד מֵחֲבוּרָה רָעָה כָּזוֹ.
When does the foregoing apply? When at the time he sat down among them they were not engaged in forbidden speech, and even now, he cannot get away from them. But if at the time that he wanted to sit among them, they had already begun to speak in this manner, or if he could have gotten away from them and he was lax in doing so, or if he knew these men to be "natural slanderers," whose desire was always to speak demeaningly of their friends, and he went and sat among them — even though he took no part in their conversation and was "uncomfortable" with them, still he is called a poshea [an "offender"], like them, for having transgressed the words of Chazal, who commanded that one distance himself from improper words. How much more so if his intent is to hear their words! His sin is "too great to bear," and he will be inscribed because of this, above, in the "Book of Remembrances" as a wicked man and "a man of lashon hara," as we find in Pirkei d'R. Eliezer, in the will of R. Eliezer Hagadol to his son Hyrkanus: "My son, do not sit in the company of those who speak ill of their friends. For when their words rise above, they are written in a book. And all who stand there are written down as 'a company of wickedness and men of lashon hara.'" Therefore, men must greatly distance themselves from an evil company such as this.