A Twitch of the Nose

It is related that Rav Moshe Midner zt”l was once speaking with a certain talmid chochom. While they were talking, the name of a man whom they both knew came up. When the man he was talking to heard the name, he turned up his nose. He didn’t actually say anything bad about him, but his expression showed his dislike for the man. Rav Moshe immediately said to him, “Do you think it is permitted to speak lashon hara with your nose?”

Rav Moshe continued, “I have a proof that a gesture with the mouth or nose can be considered lashon hara, even when no words are spoken. It says in the pasuk (Bereishis 49:6): ‘With their anger (‘apam’) they killed a man. The word ‘apam’ can also mean ‘nose’. Thus, we see that one can kill a person with his nose.”