July 2017

Chofetz Chaim Daily 23 Taamuz 6:5 If one is in a group of people saying LH who will not accept rebuke & he can’t leave or put his fingers in his ears, then he MUST 1)Resolve not to believe 2)Be unhappy to listen 3)Not show consent. 6:6 It is a sin if he was aware they were going to speak LH before he joined.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 21 Taamuz 6:1 Asur to BELIEVE LH, as it says Lo sisa sheima shav. Believing is worse than speaking. 6:2 Asur to LISTEN to LH. Mutar if there is a valid toeles, for example you’ll be able to protect yourself/others.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 22 Taamuz 6:3 If someone wants to tell you LH, ask him if there will be toeles for you to listen. Otherwise asur. 6:4 Mitzva to listen to LH IF: 1) Letting speaker finish his story will allow you to show listeners its false. 2) Listening to angry speaker will vent his anger and prevent from spreading further.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 19 Taamuz 5:5 Saying that someone is weak can damage him for shidduchim or getting a job. Asur to say that ploni isn’t as rich as thought to be, if it will make it hard for him to get a loan. 5:6 RULE: It depends who you are talking about. A positive for one person may be very negative for another.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 20 Taamuz 5:7 Asur to degrade someone’s belongings i.e. to say ploni’s store sells bad quality items. 5:8 It is worse when two people say LH, because it is more damaging.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 18 Taamuz 5:2 Asur to tell people that ploni is weak/not smart etc. because this will damage him socially & financially. 5:3 See sefer for more details. 5:4 Worse to say that ploni isn’t such a scholar; e.g. if he’s a Rabbi, it will damage his spiritual influence and livelihood. If he’s a newlywed, it will embarrass him and his new family.

Reader submitted clarification regarding yesterdays segment:
The Halacha stated in 5:1 is intended to warn against needlessly engaging in character assassination however one must still take the appropriate steps of rebuke, etc with the seven conditions as will be elaborated upon in Chapter 10. This is especially important if one is found to be hurting another.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 17 Taamuz 4:12 To repent for LH, one must ask subject mechila (only if he was hurt; socially, emotionally, etc.) It is impossible for a habitual LH speaker to ask mechila from everyone he pained. 5:1 If you see someone doing sins bein adam l’chaveiro, (ex. not lending money that he could afford) you must not tell anyone.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 16 Taamuz 4:11 One seeking info about a potential shidduch/partner may ask others, and they may say necessary info (See rechilus Chap. 9 for more detail). However you must explain why you are asking so it will be with proper intention. One MAY NOT ask those who do not like the subject.

Thank you Rabbi Yehuda Cahan for the following clarification regarding yesterdays segment:

According to contemporary Halachic authorities, even if the subject is a sinner, they will most likely be classified as a “Tinok Shenishba” e.g. someone who didn’t receive a proper Jewish education, or did, but has unfortunately had negative life experiences beyond their control. Therefore one may not defame them no matter what the circumstances. As with all Lashon HaRa questions, in case of doubt one should seek the advice of a Rav.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 14 Taamuz 4:7 One may publicly degrade the actions of someone who has no fear of G-d and clearly doesn’t regret his sins. He may be shamed until he mends bad ways. Do not judge him favorably. 4:8 If one does not heed command of Beis Din (w/o valid excuse), publicly degrade him and record his actions in public records.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 15 Taamuz 4:9 If you see someone has bad middos, you may not badmouth him because he probably doesn’t realize the severity of his actions. Instead, influence him to change. 4:10 You may tell your children or students to stay away from a person with bad middos. However, you must explain why you are telling them.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 12 Taamuz 4:3 If you see an average Jew doing something wrong, even many times, you must assume it was a mistake or that he didn’t know it was wrong. 4:4 Even if one is sure that subject KNEW it was wrong, asur to tell. Maybe he did teshuva. Instead you should rebuke him privately and nicely.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 13 Taamuz 4:5 If the person you saw doing the aveira isn’t wholesome, won’t accept your rebuke & is likely to repeat the sin, you may tell someone who can influence him to repent. If two people saw, they may tell Beis Din to rebuke him. 4:6 You may tell that influencer, even if he may leak info to others.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 10 Taamuz 3:7 One must judge his fellow favorably as it says Bitzedek tishpot amisecha. Often, not doing so leads to LH (see sefer for more details). 3:8 Even in scenario that one isnt obligated to judge favorably, one still must not relate what he saw, unless all the conditions are met. See chapters 4, 5, & 10.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 11 Taamuz 4:1 Asur to degrade someone about his parents’ negative actions or his own past misdeeds. Asur to tell about someone actively doing something wrong bein adam l’Makom. 4:2 Even a slight wrongdoing is asur to report i.e. not keeping a minhag etc.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 9 Taamuz 3:5 Asur to say LH in a sneaky fashion, i.e. to pretend you don’t realize that ploni acts this way or that what you’re saying is negative 3:6 Asur to say LH even if you know in advance that it wont cause any harm to the subject.