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Lesson #67c

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Halachah

#1

Who is considered
a heretic?

1. Is someone who harbors heretical beliefs because he was
   raised in a non-religious background considered a heretic in regard to
   speaking loshon horah about him?

1. A person who was raised in a non-religious environment, or
   even in a religious environment, but was never properly exposed to Torah, might
   not be considered a heretic regarding the laws of loshon horah.  However,
   even in such circumstances, one may warn his/her children, or others, to
   keep their distance, if being exposed to this individual might present a
   spiritual danger.  A competent halachic authority should be consulted to
   determine the halachic status of such an individual.

#2

Persistent rumors that
someone is a chronic sinner

1. If the word around town is, that a certain person has been
   maliciously committing well known sins, am I allowed to speak loshon horah
   about him?

1. You may, but only under the following circumstances:

• He is established in the city as a rosha beyond a doubt
  due to the constant reports of him committing well known sins.

• Your intention must be for the right reasons; i.e. to
  disparage such behavior in the eyes of the masses so that they won’t
  follow in his ways and perhaps even he will refrain from such behavior in
  the future when he sees to what extent he is looked down upon as a result
  of his actions.  You may not speak about him out of personal hatred or
  for any personal gain.
• You may not exaggerate the sin.
• You must speak about him publicly and openly and not
  privately. If you are fearful that this individual might harm you, or
  that speaking about it publicly might lead to strife, you may tell people
  privately.

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:  Those who toil in Torah must certainly be
careful to guard their tongue.

Menaseh:  Why specifically those who toil in Torah?

Oded:  Since they have the ability to do so.  A
person who is not learned will have a very difficult time properly guarding his
tongue.  To properly observe the laws of loshon horah one must be fluent in its
intricate laws.  Otherwise, how does one know what is loshon horah or rechilus
and which speech fall into that category?

Menaseh:  You mentioned that in order for the Bais
HaMikdash to be rebuilt we must fix the sin that destroyed it; namely wanton
hatred and loshon horah.  How is that possible?

Oded:  That is why I stated that it is incumbent on
those who toil in Torah to fix this sin, since it primarily them who have the
ability to do so.

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Sources

Halachah

2) Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap. 8 Par. 7 Be’er Mayim
Chaim 15

    Sefer Chofetz Chaim Sec. 1 Chap.7 Be’er Mayim Chaim 10
in the note.

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Section 2 Chap. 7