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Lesson #98

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Halachah

#1

Rechilus about an
am ha’aretz

1. If  I see an am ha’aretz (ignoramus) disparage someone, is
   it considered rechilus for me to go and tell this to the person whom he disparaged?

1. An am ha’aretz is considered “amecha” (part of the Jewish
   nation).  As such, it is forbidden to speak rechilus about an am ha’aretz
   as well.

#2

Rechilus about a
Talmid Chacham

1. Is it worse to say rechilus about a Talmid Chacham (Torah
   scholar) than about an average individual?

1. Yes, for the following 3 reasons:

1. If the rechilus is a lie, it’s obviously a greater sin
   than if it’s true.  When saying rechilus about a Talmid Chochom it’s
   often untrue, since Talmidei Chachomim are less likely to disparage or
   harm someone for no good reason.
2. The Torah commands us to attach ourselves to Talmidei
   Chachomim by eating, drinking, and doing business with them, marrying our
   daughters to them, and treating them with great respect.  Telling
   rechilus about them has the opposite effect of all the above.
3. If someone hears that he was disparaged by a Talmid
   Chochom he takes it much more seriously than if he was disparaged by an
   average individual.   Therefore, such rechilus can cause greater
   animosity and is therefore a greater sin.  This is especially true if the
   rechilus is told about the Rav of the city.

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:  Now a day it’s especially important to marry
your daughter to a talmid chacham.

Menaseh:  Why is that?

Oded:  It increases the chances of the children turning
out to be G-d fearing, mitzvah observing Jews.

Menaseh:  I’ve seen many fine children come out of
homes where the father is not a Torah scholar.

Oded:  That may be true but you would have to admit
that growing up in today’s materialistic society presents great challenges in
raising children.

Menaseh:  Agreed.

Oded:  Would you then agree that exposing children to
less materialism and more spiritualism would be beneficial?

Menaseh:  Yes.

Oded:  I think that a home that is steeped in Torah
learning will generally be more focused on spiritual matters and less on
materialistic pursuits.

Menaseh:  But who’s to guarantee that children
growing up in a home of Torah will be sheltered from the materialistic world.  Let’s
face it, it permeates society, you can’t really escape it.

Oded:  There is no guarantee but when the focus of
the home is Torah, you are certainly increasing your chances.  Additionally,
the merit of Torah protects and saves us.

If you have any
questions regarding these lessons, feel free to contact Rabbi Faivel Adelman by
hitting the reply button.

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Sources

Halachah

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

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

Agaddah

Sefer Shmiras Haloshon Sha’ar HaTorah Chap. 5