Lessons

Sponsored as a zechus for

Aharon ben Liba

May he have a speedy refuah shelaimah

Lesson #56c

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

Halachah

Believing loshon
horah when told by 2 people

#1

1. If 2 people told me the same loshon horah, may I believe
   them?

1. No.  Since by saying loshon horah they are sinning and are
   considered evil doers, you certainly can’t take their word to lower the status
   of a Jew who until now was considered upstanding.  One who speaks loshon
   horah is also likely to alter the facts, exaggerate, or even outright lie. 
   Even if a hundred people or more told you the same loshon horah, you may
   not believe them.

#2

1. What if 2 people are telling me the same loshon horah but
   are not sinning because it’s for a valid purpose?  Am I allowed to believe
   them?  Don’t we say that 2 witnesses are believed on all matters?

1. Two witnesses are believed on all matters only when they
   testify in Bais Din (a court that judges solely according to the laws of
   the Torah).  Outside of Bais Din, their words do not carry that same weight. 
   Therefore, you may only suspect but not believe. 

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:  Our sages teach us that one who fulfills a mitzvah
is given credit as if he himself innovated the mitzvah.

Menaseh:  What does that mean?

Oded:  That means that even though Hashem actually
formulated that mitzvah, when one fulfills it Hashem considers it as if he who
fulfilled it innovated this way of serving Hashem.

Menaseh:  That sounds like a tremendous merit.

Oded:  It certainly is.  This is true for any mitzvah
a person fulfills.  Imagine how great the reward will be for one who fulfills
the mitzvah of guarding his tongue.

Menaseh:  Why is the mitzvah of guarding ones tongue
greater than other mitzvos regarding the merit of being considered its
innovator?

Oded:  Because as previously illustrated many
parshiyos in the Torah deal with this mitzvah.  Therefore, one who fulfills it
gets credit for all those parshiyos, which are a significant portion of the
Torah.  Imagine how much honor he will receive for this in the future and how
much joy will fill his heart.  As the posuk in Tehilim states: “The heart of
those who seek Hashem shall rejoice”.  

If you have any
questions regarding these lessons, feel free to contact Rabbi Faivel Adelman clicking here.

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 7 Par. 3

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 7 Par. 3

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Section 2 Chap. 3