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Lesson #20

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Halachah

Publicizing
non-compliance to a Bais Din’s ruling

#1

1. I occasionally see public proclamations put out by Bais
   Din, announcing that so and so did not heed the decision of Bais Din.  Is
   that considered loshon horah?

1. No.  It’s actually a mitzvah to publicly disgrace, and
   even record in writing for generations to come, those who blatantly don’t
   follow Hashem’s laws as delineated by Bais Din; so that others will not
   follow in their footsteps.  However, Bais Din may do so only under the
   following conditions:
1. He violated a positive commandment of Bais Din (i.e. do
   this).  If he violated a negative commandment (i.e. don’t do this), we
   suspect that he might have been overcome by his Yetzer horah and
   subsequently regretted his actions and did Teshuva.  Regarding a positive
   commandment of Bais Din, as long as he hasn’t complied with their
   decision, he has obviously not done Teshuva.
2. He has no real excuse for not complying.  If he has a real
   excuse, or even if Bais Din has a doubt whether it’s real or not, they
   may not publicize his noncompliance.
3. Bais Din must have clear proof that he did not comply
   with their ruling.
4. They may not exaggerate his noncompliance.
5. Their intentions must be for the sake of heaven.

Loshon horah about
a bad midda

#2

1. Is it loshon horah to say that someone has a bad midda?

1. Absolutely.  A bad midda is considered derogatory. You may
   not publicize that someone has a bad midda, since perhaps he feels bad
   about it and is doing Teshuva.  Even if you see that he has no regret over
   this bad midda, you may still not publicize it.  Some people tend to think
   that middos are just a nice way to act. They don’t realize how severe it
   is in the eyes of Hashem, to be controlled by a negative midda.  Therefore,
   we suppose that if this person understood the severity of a negative midda,
   he would do Teshuva.  As such, we don’t view him as one who is blatantly
   violating the mitzvos of Hashem and therefore, it may not be publicized. 
   The preferable course of action is to rebuke the individual, and show him
   the severity of clinging to a bad midda; perhaps that will motivate him to
   change his ways.

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:  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:  Today, we’re ready for the second cause,
frivolity.  How does frivolity lead to loshon horah?

Oded:  Frivolity is a great sin.  A person, who
accustoms himself to it and consistently makes his company with merrymakers,
will inevitably come to ridicule and disparage people.

Menaseh:  Why do you say that frivolity is a great
sin?

Oded:  Our sages tell us that one who engages in
buffoonery is one of 4 people who will not greet Hashem’s divine presence.

Menaseh:  But is frivolity itself a sin?

Oded:  It certainly is.  As a matter of fact, one who
engages in it also causes others to sin.

Menaseh:  How?

Oded: He entices them to indulge in frivolity as
well.  Our sages tell us that one, who causes others to sin, is not provided
with the opportunity to do teshuva.

Menaseh:  I imagine that it also is a great waste of
time.

Oded:  That’s correct.  Aside from the sin itself of
engaging in buffoonery, he will be taken to task for not using his time for
productive matters such as Torah and mitzvos and for degrading the word of
Hashem.

Menaseh:  How is he degrading the word of Hashem?

Oded:  By not using his time for Hashem’s Torah and
mitzvos, he is showing disdain for them and their reward.

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 4 Par.
8

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 4 Par. 9

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Sha’ar Hatevunah Chap. 13