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Lesson #27

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Halachah

Speaking loshon
horah for a benefit

#1

1. A neighbor of mine went into a friend’s yard and stole his
   unicycle, may I publicize this?

1. If you are certain that he hasn’t yet returned it, or
   asked for forgiveness, you may; but only under the following 7 conditions:

1. You either saw it yourself or heard about it and
   subsequently verified its veracity.
2. You must not rush to judgment, but rather weigh carefully
   whether what he did is indeed halachicly considered stealing.
3. Before publicizing, you must first attempt to gently
   rebuke him.
4. You must be careful not to exaggerate the transgression.
5. You intentions must be for the right reasons and not out
   of hatred for the individual or personal gain.
6. If you can bring about the same benefit some other way,
   without publicizing this fellow’s transgression, then you may not go
   public.
7. Publicizing his transgression mustn’t cause him more
   damage than would be due to him in Beis Din.

Note:  There are important
details that require clarification regarding these 7 conditions, which can have
an impact on the Halachah.  They will be discussed in the coming lessons.

#2

1. A co-worker of mine publicly degraded a fellow co-worker. 
   May I publicize her evil deed?

1. If you know with certainty that she hasn’t sought forgiveness
   from the one whom she embarrassed, then you may, under the above mentioned
   conditions.

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:  We were in the middle of discussing the
negative trait of arrogance.

Oded:  Do you know that arrogance is not just a
negative trait but a biblical prohibition as well?

Menaseh:  I was unaware of that.  What is the source
of the prohibition?

Oded:  It is a posuk in Sefer Devarim: “And your
heart will become lofty and you will forget Hashem…”

Menaseh:  What is the context of this posuk?

Oded:  Moshe Rabbainu is warning Klal Yisroel not to
let all the good that Hashem will bestow upon them get to their hearts and as a
result, forget Hashem.

Menaseh:  I would think that receiving much good is a
reason to feel humble as opposed to arrogant.

Oded:  You are correct.  Logically that’s what we
should feel.  However, the trait of haughtiness and arrogance tends to kick in
specifically when we are blessed with prosperity.  We begin to feel that it was
our power and might that brought us all this good.

Menaseh:  How are we to fight against that feeling?

Oded:  By consciously focusing on the true source of
our good and reflecting on our own inherent weaknesses.

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

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 10
Par. 1 & 2

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 10 Par. 1 & 2

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Sha’ar Hatevunah Chap. 14