Mishnayos Eruchin Perek 3 Mishnah 5

There are halakhot with regard to a defamer, who falsely claims that his bride was not a virgin, that are lenient and others that are stringent. How so? Both one who defamed a young woman who is the most prominent in the priesthood and one who defamed a young woman who is the lowliest among the Israelites gives payment of one hundred sela, the fine stated in the Torah (Deuteronomy 22:19). Based on the relative scope of the fines, with the defamer paying twice the sum of the rapist and the seducer, it is apparent that one who utters malicious speech with his mouth is a more severe transgressor than one who performs an action. And this is corroborated, as we found that the sentence imposed on our ancestors in the wilderness was sealed only due to the malicious speech disseminated by the spies, as it is stated at that time: “All those men that have seen My glory, and My signs, which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet they have tried Me these ten times and have not listened to My voice” (Numbers 14:22).

בַּמּוֹצִיא שֵׁם רָע לְהָקֵל וּלְהַחֲמִיר. כֵּיצַד. אֶחָד שֶׁהוֹצִיא שֵׁם רַע עַל הַגְּדוֹלָה שֶׁבַּכְּהֻנָּה וְעַל הַקְּטַנָּה שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, נוֹתֵן מֵאָה סֶלַע. נִמְצָא הָאוֹמֵר בְּפִיו יָתֵר מִן הָעוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂה. שֶׁכֵּן מָצִינוּ, שֶׁלֹּא נֶחְתַּם גְּזַר דִּין עַל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַמִּדְבָּר אֶלָּא עַל לָשׁוֹן הָרַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יד), וַיְנַסּוּ אֹתִי זֶה עֶשֶׂר פְּעָמִים וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹלִי: