Lessons

Sponsored l’illuy nishmas

Avraham Mordechai ben Yosef

Lesson #15

Please verbalize or
have in mind that you are studying this material as a merit for a specific
single and/or Jewish singles throughout the world.

Halachah

Revealing the sins
of another

#1

1. If I see someone sin, am I permitted to share this
   information with others?

1. That depends on many factors.  I will list some of the
   factors and then we will address them, one at a time.
1. The type of sin.
2. How long ago was the sin committed?
3. The frequency.
4. The type of person that committed the sin.
5. The reason for revealing the information.
6. To whom the information is being revealed.
7. The number of people who witnessed him sin.

As you can see, there are numerous
factors that must be sorted out in order to resolve this question.  I will do
my best to clarify the law in each situation.

Revealing
someone’s past sins

#2

1. I have a friend who used to not be meticulous in his
   mitzvah observance.  He has since changed his ways and is currently a
   fully observant Jew.  Am I allowed to reveal his past sins to others?

1. Absolutely not.  Since he is no longer a sinner and
   revealing his past can cause him harm and/or embarrassment, it is
   forbidden to do so.

Aggadah

This section is
formatted as a conversation between Oded and Menaseh.   Oded is encouraging his
friend Menaseh to be more careful in guarding his tongue from evil speech.  The
thoughts in this section are primarily based on the sefer, Shmiras Haloshon.

Oded:  Yesterday we mentioned 7 possible causes that
can lead a person to freely speak loshon horah.  They were:

·       
Anger

·       
Frivolity

·       
Arrogance

·       
Hopelessness

·       
Abandonment

·       
Complaining nature

·       
Rationalization

Menaseh:  You said that you would elaborate on each
one; so let’s start today with anger.

Oded:  Sure.  A person, who by nature is easily
angered, will have a hard time refraining from speaking loshon horah.

Menaseh:  Why is that?

Oded:  Because when a person is angry he loses his
self control.  He is liable to speak whatever is on his mind.

Menaseh:  So what is the solution for a person who is
afflicted with anger?

Oded:  There really is no solution other than to root
out his angry nature.

Menaseh:  Can’t he just work on himself to control
his speech even when he’s angry?

Oded:  When people are in a state of anger, they lose
their rationality; they are controlled by their anger.  Whatever commitments
were made in their calm state, will have no effect once the anger sets in.

Menaseh:  Uprooting your nature is no easy feet.

Oded:  That’s correct; it’s not easy.  The next time
we speak, I will explain why it is so essential to do whatever it takes to
remove the bad trait of anger from ones heart.

If you have any
questions regarding these lessons, feel free to contact Rabbi Faivel Adelman by
hitting the reply button.

For information
about sponsorship opportunities, send a message to the following email
address:  lessonaday@yahoo.com

If you know others
who would appreciate this program, please encourage them to join.  The more
people participating, the greater the zechus!  In addition, you will have a
share in the merit of anyone who improves their speech as a result of you
signing them onto this program!!

Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 4

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 4 Par. 1

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Sha’ar Hatevunah Chap. 13