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Lesson #65c

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

Loshon horah about
a Heretic

#1

1. I once heard that you’re allowed to say loshon horah about
   a heretic.  Is that true?

1. Yes.  As a matter of fact, it’s a mitzvah to degrade a
   heretic whenever possible, be it in his presence or behind his back. 
   Whatever negative thing you see or hear about him, you may freely share
   with others.  The prohibition of speaking loshon horah is only about a
   fellow Jew.  One who has rebelled against Hashem, is no longer considered
   a part of the Jewish nation.  To the contrary, one who loves Hashem will display
   hatred towards a person who has rebelled against Hashem.  As Dovid Hamelech
   said “Those who hate you Hashem, I will Hate, and those who have risen up
   against you, I shall fight; a complete hatred I hate them”.

#2

1. Who is considered a heretic?

1. A heretic (an Apikores in the language of our sages) is
   one who denies The Torah, be it the written Torah (the Biblical Canon) or
   the oral Torah, (Mishna, Talmud, etc.).  Even if one says the entire Torah
   is true, except for this verse, this inference, or this derivation, he is
   still deemed an Apikores.  In addition, one who denies the prophecies of
   the Jewish prophets is considered a heretic as well.

Note:  There might be other
factors that need to be considered before deeming someone a heretic; therefore,
a competent halachic authority should be consulted regarding these matters.

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:  Besides all the extra hours a person can gain
from guarding his speech, as we explained yesterday, he can consistently profit
from his silence as well.

Menaseh:  How so?

Oded:  Whenever a person wants to speak, but before
doing so thinks about the fact that what he is about to say contains loshon
horah or verbal abuse or frivolity and thereby refrains; it is considered above
as if he actively fulfilled a mitzvah.

Menaseh:  So to summarize, one who consistently is
careful to guard his speech will benefit as follows:  A) He will save himself
from many severe transgressions.  B) He will free up many hours of his life for
Torah learning and mitzvah performance.  C) Every time one consciously refrains
from speaking because of the prohibition, it is considered as if he has
actively fulfilled a mitzvah.

Oded:  Correct!  As our sages teach us, one who sits
and doesn’t do a sin when confronted with the opportunity, is given reward as
if he did a mitzvah.  A person can accumulate thousands of mitzvos over the
course of a year through doing this!

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Sources

Halachah

1) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 8 Par. 5

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 8 Par. 5

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Section 2 Chap. 6