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Lesson # 44

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have in mind that you are studying this material as a merit for a specific
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Halachah

#1

Telling loshon
horah that was already told

1. I was relating the shenanigans of a classmate to a couple
   of friends.  When I was through, they told me that they already heard
   about it from another classmate.  I was wondering if I violated the
   prohibition of speaking loshon horah, since they already knew about it
   from another source.

1. It is still considered loshon horah for the following 2
   reasons.
1. It is prohibited to speak derogatorily about a fellow Jew,
   even if it will cause him no harm.
2. When people hear it from a second source, it lends more
   credibility to the story and therefore, can cause more harm to the one
   who was spoken about.

#2

Loshon horah about
workmanship

1. The other day, a Jewish plumber did some work in my home. 
   I was not happy with his workmanship.  Would it be loshon horah if I told
   this to others?

1. Yes, it would be loshon horah, as it can cause great harm
   to his livelihood.  If there is a purpose in telling others about his poor
   workmanship, the law might be different.  We will discuss this in more
   detail, G-d willing, in future lessons.

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 discussing cause #7,
rationalization.  You mentioned that when a person thoroughly studies the laws
of Shmiras haloshon, he will pay more attention to what he says and will
redevelop his natural sensitivity to loshon horah that might emanate from his
mouth.

Oded:  Correct.  I also said that this is not only
true regarding loshon horah, but all forms of speech as well.

Menaseh:  How so?

Oded:  When a person speaks words of Torah, for
example, if he’s developed a sensitivity to what comes from his mouth, he will
able to detect whether the thoughts he’s about to express are correct or not.

Menaseh:  I see.  I sometimes find that I’m not sure
what the law is regarding certain speech.  What should I do in such a
situation?

Oded:  It’s best to err on the side of caution

Menaseh:  But what if it might be a mitzvah to say it,
if it’s permitted?

Oded:  It’s still best to refrain.

Menaseh:  Why?

Oded:  Because when you get up to the heavenly court
and they ask you: “Why didn’t you degrade so and so when you should have?”  You
can answer that since you had a doubt as to whether it was permissible to say
it or not, you chose to sit and not take action.  As such, you will not be held
accountable.  However, if you spoke because you thought it might be a mitzvah
to speak and it turned out to be a sin, you will be punished for your forbidden
speech.

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hitting the reply button.

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 5
Be’er Mayim Chaim 11

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 5 Par. 4

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Sha’ar Hatevunah Chap. 16