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Lesson #46

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Halachah

Listening to
loshon horah

#1

1. Yesterday, we learned that one may not believe loshon
   horah.  Is it permissible to listen to loshon horah without believing it?

1. Listening to loshon horah is biblically prohibited as
   well.  However, it is different than the prohibition of not believing
   loshon horah (which is almost always prohibited) in that there are
   circumstances where it’s permissible to listen to loshon horah without believing
   it.

#2

1. I am considering taking on a partner.  The other day I
   overheard someone talking about him.  Would I have been allowed to listen
   in?

1. It would be permissible for you to listen but not to
   believe.  You may, however, suspect that what you’ve heard might be true
   and based on that proceed with caution.

1. By listening to the loshon horah, aren’t I causing the
   teller to sin?

1. You’re raising a valid point.  In your situation, since
   the teller was already engaged in telling loshon horah to the other listeners
   and you only wanted to listen in, you would not be causing him to sin, since
   he already was.  However, if you are the one requesting information from
   him, you must first ascertain that he will not speak out of hatred but
   rather for the purpose of guiding you to make the right decision.

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’ve finished discussing the 7 primary causes
of habitual loshon horah.

Menaseh:  Would you mind briefly summarizing the
causes?

Oded:  Not at all.

• Anger:  A person who suffers from consistent fits
  of anger has no control of what comes out of his mouth during his fit of
  anger.  The only solution is to uproot the attribute of anger from his
  nature.
• Frivolity:  A person, who has accustomed himself to
  excessively engage in merriment and frivolity, will keep company with
  people of a similar nature.  This will inevitably lead to much ridicule
  and laughter at the expense of others.  The solution is to reflect on the
  great evil of frivolity and distance ones self from people who engage in
  it.
• Arrogance:  Arrogance will cause a person to feel
  that he is above everyone else.  He will feel jealous of anyone who has
  attained more honor than he, and feel compelled to slander them in the
  hope of elevating himself.  One must distance himself from this abominable
  trait by reflecting on his lowly origins and his future state, i.e. food
  for the worms.
• Hopelessness:  An attitude that if I try to refrain
  from loshon horah I’m doomed for failure.  One must realize that Hashem
  would not give us a mitzvah which he knows we could not possibly keep.
• Abandonment:  When one notices that the general
  public attitude to the mitzvah of guarding ones tongue is one of
  carelessness, it tends to rub off.  One must reflect on the foolishness of
  such an approach.   If you can save your life, would you blindly follow
  the herd, away from your salvation?
• Complaining nature:  Those who complain about
  everything have a pessimistic nature and will always see the negative in
  others.  This will obviously lead to much negative speech.  A change of
  attitude is essential to avoid this pitfall.
• Rationalization:  If one is not sufficiently
  knowledgeable in the laws of loshon horah, when a doubt arises, he will
  tend to rationalize that it is permissible to speak.  The solution is to
  become well versed in the laws.

Menaseh:  Thanks.  I have my work cut out for me.

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 6 Par.
2

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 6 Be’er Mayim
Chaim 3

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Sha’ar Hatevunah Chap. 13-16