Hilchos Lashon Hara, Opening – positive commands (8)

If one speaks lashon hara about a old person and derogated him to his face, one transgresses the positive mitzvah of (Vayikra 19:32), “You shall honor the face of the old person,” which means that it is a mitzvah to talk respectfully in front of him, and if one denigrates him, one is certainly not honoring him.
Speaking lashon hara against a Torah scholar, even if he is not old, is a transgression of this mitzvah, since the “zaken” mentioned in the verse refers to a Torah scholar as well. If he is both old and a Torah scholar, one has a double transgression of the mitzvah.