Lessons

Sponsored by Rabbi & Mrs. Mordechai Blaustein

As a zechus for all singles throughout Klal Yisroel

Lesson #16

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

Halachah

#1

1. Rabbi, I have a follow-up question about my friend who is
   a Baal Teshuva. Is it permissible for me to tell about his sinful past to
   a person I know won’t look down upon him for it?

1. Generally not, since if word gets out it can cause him
   embarrassment or monetary damage.  However if the following 3 conditions
   are met then you may.
1. Your intention is not to degrade him.
2. The listener will not look down upon for it.
3. The listener is the type of person that will keep it to
   himself.

#2

1. The other day I saw my friend succumb to a cheeseburger. 
   What is the right thing for me to do in such a situation?

1. There are 2 issues that need to be examined here.

1.      Whether you may reveal what you’ve witnessed.

2.      Your obligation to rebuke him.

Assuming your friend does not
habitually eat cheeseburgers, the law is as follows:

·       
A G-d fearing Talmid chacham will certainly feel
terrible remorse for what he has done.  Therefore:

v    
You may not reveal what you have witnessed to
anyone.

v    
If you are able to rebuke him at the time of the
transgression then you must do so.  However, by the following day we must
assume that he already repented on his own.  Therefore, if you haven’t rebuked
at the time of the transgression, it’s questionable whether you should rebuke
him on the following day.

·       
An average chap might have done Teshuva on his
own.  Therefore:

v        
You may not reveal what you have witnessed to
anyone.

v        
You are obligated to rebuke him privately in a soft
and gentle manner.

Aggadah

Oded:  Menaseh, have you invited your friends to join
this program?

Menaseh:  I certainly have.  Some have mentioned
though that it’s a bit time consuming for non Yahoo members to join, since they
have to sign up for a Yahoo username and password

Oded:  We’re aware of this issue.  We plan on
upgrading and making the program more user friendly in the near future.

Menaseh:  Great!

Oded:  Menaseh, I’m wondering if other people have
experienced the same improvement as you have since joining this program.

Menaseh:  Yahoo actually has a polling feature.  Why
don’t we send out a poll and find out.

Oded:  good Idea!

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